I hope i'm not late for the screenshots thingy!

Here's who i got!

(i got lucky cause Epel and Idia are my faves LMAO)

And for the theme, maybe them reacting to MC cooking them meals from their world? Or maybe them visiting MC's world with them? You choose!

(romantic btw!)

LET'S GET THIS BREAD!!! I'm sorry it took some time to get out

I'll do a half and half~

Let's go!

~ Other Worldly ~

With: Epel Felmier, Idia Shroud, Vil Schoenheit, Jack Howl, and MC

Them reacting to MC cooking food from their world, and visiting MC's world

--

First off, let me start by saying that a good 3/4 of these characters are super picky(? with their food, Vil and Idia being the most critical (according to what Master Chef events tell us)

Hope you have some super cooking skills and/or premium ingredients at hand! ^^''

Some headcanons didn't come out too romantic orz

🍎 Epel Felmier 🧹

Foreign dishes

Epel noticed the peculiar cooking going on in Ramshackle after visiting one time

While he may be critical of ingredients and overall resulting taste, Felmier is curious to try new things (specially if it's in big portions, unlike Pomefiore's dinners)

He approaches MC shily, asking if he could have a taste of what they were eating at the time

"Sure, no problem! In fact, let me cook some for you fresh!"

Before he could even protest to get them to stop, the Prefect already got to work

He tries to help, but MC shoots him down and tells him to patiently wait

Epel's appetite and curiosity are increasing with every second

Once the food's ready to be savored, he digs right in! And will provide some feedback about what he liked about it, what it reminds him of, and if needed be points out what he thinks it lacked

Eager to try out more of the food MC was accustomed to eating back in their world!

Visiting a far away land

EPEL IS PUMPED!!! FIELD TRIP TO A LAND HE'S NEVER SEEN OR HEAD ABOUT, UNLESS IT'S FROM MC'S MOUTH!!

He's eager to visit all the places his love adores! Make some memories and have a blast discovering the place such a wonderful person comes from

He wants to know how their two worlds differ, how a world without magic unfolds before his eyes

Let's be honest: this boy right here is excited to wreck havoc in supermarket and fast food places' parking lots. Y'all probably woke up at 3am once and decided to go scream and mess around at your nearest McDonald's parking lot

Please show him vine compilations, I'm positive Epel will love to get to know the humor of this world (although he once used a vine reference when talking with a cashier once, thinking it was common knowledge for everyone in MC's world)

Out of the four guys here, Epel is the one most open to improvised plans

Eager to try out any strange fruits and vegetables, interesting snacks and bizarre cookie flavors that catch his eye

"How can your world have such specific flavors? Rosemary garlic jalapeño bread chips? How???"

💀 Idia Shroud 💙

Foreign dishes

MC probably brought some of their homemade food over to Idia's dorm after getting concerned that this boy's diet heavily relies in junk food and sweets, and when he does eat it's a very small portion

So in MC comes and asks Idia if he would like to try some food they prepared, one of their favorite dishes

At first, Idia is very reluctant, saying how he doesn't feel hungry

But the Prefect has a trick under their sleeve: a crestfallen expression with an adorable pout

Seeing them having a meal on their own while occasionally sighing sadly has the flaming haired boy debating what he should do

Then a memory of Ortho's voice resounds in his skull: "Meals are typically shared between people to develop or strengthen a bond. If you want to win [Name]'s heart, you should take them out for dinner."

That and he can't deny the contents of that container in their hands look appetizing

Shroud finally accepts and brings you over to Ignihyde's kitchen to grab a couple of plates

He's hesitant, but takes a nice first bite of food. Chews it carefully as he analyses the taste, texture, consistency

"I've never tasted something like this before. What is it?"

"One of my favorite dishes, [food name]!"

Silence followed, "Huh? I-I'm afraid I have... never heard of it..." He said

"Yeah, Ace and Sebek said the same when I introduced them to it. Makes me believe this is something only seen back in my world."

A nice chat develops and, before they know it, the food's gone and Idia himself ate a nice amount of it

It's in the walk back to his dorm, when they're enveloped in a nice comfortable silence, pinkies entwined, that MC confesses they purposefully did all that out of concern for how much he eats

It ensues some light pushing-and-pulling around and tickling, him saying how that was a tactic well taught out, but also saying how he eats just fine and they shouldn't worry about that. You know, light banter between a loving couple

That dish ends up in Idia's list of favorites. He has asked Mc to bring it with them a couple of times when they hang out together and play games

Visiting a far away land

Frankly, he's curious and very nervous about this trip

MC of course is aware of Idia's dislike of crowds and being out in public, so they prepared a nice and calm trip for him

Visiting the less frequented parts of town, quiet cafés (cat cafés!! because those normally have controlled influx of costumers for the kitties' safety), couple of history museums, supermarkets late at night for snack runs, lots of staying at home to play a plethora of videogames and watch many anime series and movies

He's amazed at the variety of games MC's world has, and is also surprised by how some titles are similar to those he likes to play. Same goes for some anime series

While he appreciates how the Prefect tries to show him what their world and society there is like, he much more prefers their stay at home time

He gets to cuddle with them in their room! Their actual legit room with many memories of their life!

He may not look like it, but Idia likes to snoop around and ask what this or that photo, a toy or poster is about and what memories they hold

Honestly, Shroud came over to his lover's world to know about their life, not so much to learn about the world as a whole

Baby pictures, photo albums, the occasional video of their childhood, diaries and old Valentine's cards, he looks through and reads them all!

He will treasure every bit of information he learns about his partner and their life in this world. Probably takes one of their baby pictures with him back to Twisted Wonderland

👑 Vil Schoenheit 🍎

Foreign dishes

Vil is the hardest to convince to try your food out of this group, no doubt

He does know MC cooks, and knows that some of their dishes are uncommon, but the model has yet to asked them for a taste

It takes one brave "Do you want some?" for the model to finally have a taste of the food

He's very hesitant, you can see it clear in his expression, but it all fades away after the first bite

He will openly state if he likes it or not and why

"Perhaps you have other dishes that suit my fancy better? Come on, I want you to show me more."

He genuinely does want to taste more of those unique dishes

Visiting a far away land

Eager to take a little vacation to a world full of opportunities

I see Vil as someone who would like to visit the most prestigious places (though MC will have to tone it down and remind him they don't have an unlimited amount of money to spend)

Art museums and a couple theatre plays are his go-to, along with nice restaurants, popular cafés, and lovely parks to have a picnic on (he jumps into the idea of attending one of those outdoor cinema projections, those are probably his favorite because he gets to cuddle with his lover under the night sky while a movie plays)

He will want to learn about the history of MC's world and the way society, politics work there

He gets word of the horrible things that happened and the threat of climate change, human rights violations and he will want to take action to protest against it

Okay, but Vil will get along so well with the Prefect's younger siblings and mother/aunts/fem guardian if they have one

Get ready to have him judge favorite makeup products. Prefect better lead him away from the beauty and skincare sections of farmacias and supermarkets

All in all, having Vil over to their world allowed MC to visit many nice fancy-ish places and allowed them to enjoy some simple things they forgot

A wonderful person to have by your side in any world and universe~

🐺 Jack Howl 💛

Foreign dishes

With his fine sense of smell, Jack detected the food MC was preparing for their little date was something unfamiliar

"What's that? Something new?"

Yet MC tries to keep the surprise until the plates are presented and served

Seeing the smile on their face, Jack can't help but think that this dish will taste wonderful due to the love shining on their face

"This is [dish name], one of my favorites back in my world. Haven't seen it offered in the cafeteria, so I decided to try my hand and prepare it for you, Jackie!"

First bite, fluffy tail wagged. He compliments their cooking with a smile before diving in for a couple morsels

Jack isn't too picky, he enjoys food truthfully

I think he will be curious about the story behind the dish and why his love categorizes it as a favorite. Ingredients, techniques, tell him all about it!

I'm sure this boy will be happy to try more of the unique dishes found in a world ways away from his!

Visiting a far away land

A visit to his partner's world, huh? Well, Jack is certainly excited to see what sort of outdoor activities and exploring can be done in this new place!

Dates with Howl in the Prefect's world will consist of visiting natural parks, gardens, forest trails, perhaps do some fishing or bird watching

Jack grew up with snow as a constant. He would like to explore the winter sports scene in this foreign world (if MC lives somewhere with snow/with designated paces on which to practice said sports)

Aside from these outdoor sporty visits, the wolf would like to attend concerts or maybe a local team's game

However, he soon finds out these events aren't suited for his acute hearing (poor baby 😭)

So he's content with spending time inside MC's house, get to know their family a little, look through their family pictures, and have pleasant late afternoon walks in the nearby park

Something as simple as going out for icecream is tremendously pleasant with Jack by your side

(but poor MC if they aren't athletic or into nature because this big puppy will drag them to loooots of nature watching dates asdfg)

-- --

Ngl, this prompt was a little hard to fulfill. I'm well aware this isn't the most romantic, but hope it was enjoyable

Thank you for your request!

and sorry again for taking long

Weirdly specific asks:

12, 19, 26.

12. Brand of hair/body/skincare that you trust 100%?

Bath and Body Works. Yes, I’m basic 😌💅🏻

19. The veggie you dislike the most?

Tomatoes. I don’t dislike the *taste* at all, and I’ll eat any tomato products no problem-soup, sauce, paste, ketchup-it’s just the TEXTURE 😖!! It’s probably the one veggie I simply cannot put in my mouth no matter what.

26. How’s your spice tolerance?

HIGH. And by this I mean scare-my-dates-by-biting-into-a-raw-jalapeño-at-dinner high 😆

i know this is weirdly specific, but what are your thoughts on jalapeño potato chips?

Is . . . . Is this for me?

Uh if it's for one of the 2ps sorry but if it is for me then I really don't like them, I tend to dislike most spicy things as I'm kind of senstive to it although I can handle a bit of spice i still have a weird tendency to like space out in pain when eating spicy things.

I remember when I was a kid I used to have bad coughing fits (I have like bad lungs or something) and my mom would try to force feed me spicy candy to help, so yeah I don't really like spicy anything

On Being the Support Beam in My Family’s House: Holding the World Throughout Loss by Yena Sharma Purmasir

Here is a memory: I come home from school and the apartment is dark. My father’s wheelchair is empty, facing his bed. He is on the floor. His forehead is bleeding. I am six years old. I help him up, which involves putting my arms around him and repeatedly saying that he is okay, that everything is okay. My father is strong. I know this because there is no way I have the strength to lift him back into his wheelchair. But he does. I am just a beam supporting the house. I get a damp paper towel and wipe his forehead. He is quiet, his whole body slumped down. I call my mom at work, tell her that I got home from school and Daddy fell down but he’s okay and I helped him and I only have spelling homework tonight, so I’m going to go watch some TV now. As a young child, I was incredibly close to my father. I loved spending time with him, especially when it was just the two of us. Those few hours after school — when my mom was at work and my brother was at daycare — brought me tremendous joy. My father would watch Sailor Moon with me, a plate of cookies between us. He would show me how to use the computer. I would tell him about my day. Those were on the good days. On the bad days, my father would be at the hospital, sometimes for weeks on end. I would think about him all day at school. I would imagine his loneliness, his dislike of hospital food, and his total loss of control. On those afternoons, I would go to a friend’s house, do my homework, and wait for my mother to pick me up. The day my father was in the car accident, I was at a friend’s house, eating healthy after-school snacks and fiddling with his Sega game console. When my mother came to get me, she was crying — a vulnerability I had never seen from her before. I was terrified on the way to the hospital for that first time. I was five years old — everything I knew about hospitals and accidents and broken bodies came from glimpses of TV dramas, the kind of shows I should have been too young to watch. But my father was fine. Or, he wasn’t fine — his body was a series of breaks, wrapped in plaster, stitched up and swollen. He looked hurt, but he also seemed happy. He joked with us. He made me laugh. My father could always make me laugh. I saw him cry exactly once, in the middle of the night. He was talking to my mom -- it was a tender moment between the two of them. I remember climbing onto his lap, and I told him to be brave. He wiped his face and hugged me. According to my mother, I’ve always had a pleasant disposition. Apparently, as a toddler, I only had a tantrum once. After seeing a friend of mine fling herself on the floor, kicking and screaming, tears running down her face, I thought about adopting her dramatic insistence for myself. It worked for her. It did not work for me. I never tried again. I was a happy child, quiet but friendly. I never broke down in school, I didn’t sulk, I wasn’t envious of other children. There was no reason to be angry — life was complicated, but it was also good. Every week, my family would share a Cadbury chocolate bar, rationing four square pieces. I remember this tradition as the sweetest, purest thing. In the evenings, I would rub my father’s back. My little hands worked on his knots — he seemed to bend like the letter C, all curvature. I used to rub lotion on his leg, paying special attention to the bolts of his metal brace embedded in his skin. A few years later, that leg would be amputated. When we saw him after that surgery, my father asked us what kind of animal his stump looked like. I thought a dog. My little brother thought maybe a pony. A few months later, he had an operation that involved removing skin from his chest to take out his decade old pacemaker, completely irrelevant to the plethora of issues that came from the accident, but even more serious. It was one of the more invasive surgeries that he endured. The scar was huge, the size of a steak, with the pink and white layers exposed. My mom couldn’t bear to look at it. Neither could my father’s sister. I was seven years old. I said I could do it. One of our neighbors, a lovely nurse, came to check on my father daily. I was her assistant, changing his dressing and cleaning the wound. He winced through the whole process. Once, he tried to tell me that I had already cleaned it. It started off as a joke, but then he became irritable. He wheeled himself away from me. I had to coax him to sit still, to let me peel off the medical tape and gauze. It hurt him, the wound, and maybe the fact that I was the one looking at it. The day my father died was the second time I saw my mother cry. In the days and weeks and months that followed that moment, when the strongest force of nature in my life suddenly lost steam, everything changed. The kids in my class had written sympathy cards to me and my brother, and every single one of them insisted that I had to take care of my mother, because she needed me, and because she could die too. I don’t remember the exact point in time when I became so close to my mother. Just that one day, she was the person who knew me best, the voice on the phone when I came home, the body on the sofa as I watched Seinfeld reruns, a bag of jalapeño chips sitting between us. And I worried about her just as I had worried about my father, imagining her developing loneliness and unfurling nightmare. While my mother never asked me to rub her back and I never found her crumpled on our living room floor, I still felt that same overwhelming responsibility. It’s wonderful to be needed, to be given a sense of purpose. In the adult world, where young people so often become background noise, and living metaphors for innocence void of personhood, I was given the space and agency to participate in my family tragedy. I had a role and a function. But, in taking care of my father, and later my mother, I also gave up the ability to be more than caring — to be anything else but happy. The truth is, after my father died, I was furious and sad and scared. My entire world had shifted, as though the roof caved in. I was eight years old — it should’ve been okay for me to feel those things. Someone should have seen that storm growing inside me and asked me to let it out. But no one did, and I locked a lot of those thoughts away. In fact, writing was the only space that allowed me total freedom of expression, serving as powerful medium in my life. But it has limits. Creative autobiographical content is still treated as content, still seen as separate from reality. When I first started writing, teachers thought I was innovative and resilient, not lonely or unhappy. Here is another memory: I break my arm and it hurts. It’s a hairline fracture, so on a scale of pain, it’s not the worst. I have no reference point because this is my first big injury. But I’m afraid to talk about how it aches, how it itches in the cast. My father recognizes this. He tells me that my pain is real. And that it’s okay to say that it hurts. That it doesn’t make him feel bad. My arm is broken and it’s supposed to hurt. Just because he has more broken bones than I do, it doesn’t change the fact that my arm is broken. He tells me this. When he’s done, I say, Daddy, my arm hurts. Loss is complicated. Sometimes, I mourn my father’s life because there is so much he didn’t get to do. Towards the end of his life, he talked about going back home to South Africa. But he couldn’t travel, not in his precarious condition. He never saw his children graduate from elementary school or high school or college. He never got to celebrate his 20 year wedding anniversary. I mourn these never’s from his perspective, because he once had a perspective — because he was a person with hopes and dreams and goals, so many of which were never realized. But sometimes, I mourn the loss of these things from the other perspective — from mine, from my brother’s, from my mother’s. There are things we each lost, parts of our lives that will always be incomplete. For the three of us, some of these things are the same. We all lost the simplicity of splitting a Cadbury bar four ways. But some of our pains are more specific, and they go unshared. My mother lost her life partner. I lost my favorite grown-up. If pain and suffering are essential parts of life, then love and care help us endure. Loving my parents has changed me, has made me stronger. Maybe I did lift up my father that day, I don't know. My mother has changed, too. In the years of my father’s absence, she has begun to take life less seriously. Now, her laughter inspires my laughter. We’ve adopted parts of my father — his strengths and weaknesses, his easy sense of humor, his overpowering obstinance. We give up these roles and then reclaim them as our own. Not all is lost. Some part of our old family, our old time, is still here. Some part of us survived.

Midotaka for the shipping questions please?

1. Who liked the other first?

Takao more or less annoys Midorima into liking him.

That’s Midorima’s story and he will stick to it until the inevitable heat death of the universe, as should be perfectly obvious. Because there is no other story.

None. At all.

Actually, the “other” story is that a combination of poor socialization and emotional constipation cause Midorima to crush harder than a first-grader whose case of the cooties gets overwhelmed by the fact that Bethany from the next row over smiled like cotton candy and daisies and all the other pretty things when he (begrudgingly) lent her his eraser that one time.

Except Takao is no Bethany, and the only way “pretty” is associated with his smiles is in the sentence “pretty much Satan incarnated into five foot nine of obnoxious highschool freshman.” Also, Midorima has yet to get back his eraser. It’s been three months, and a decent human being would be ashamed.

2. Where is their ‘special spot’?

They don’t really have one. As much as Midorima is a creature of habit who likes to stick to familiar places (unless it’s to search for lucky items, in which case he’d probably trek to Antarctica if he had to), Takao is a creature of ooooooh what’s over there? :D

Midorima can no longer count how many spontaneous dinner plans he got dragged into (seriously, how many Korean barbecue places can there be in one area? at least stick to one nodayo!), or how often they just had to check out a criminally predictable movie with an atrocious plot and even more atrocious acting (Megashark versus Giant Octopus? really?), or how many times they ended up in some kind of hole-in-the-wall trading card shop because sec, Shin-chan, I promised my sis I’d pick up a booster pack~~

(And of course Takao attempts to drag him into the stupid card game which by all rights Midorima should be winning because he has the superior strategic intellect and the superior math skills, but Takao, the fiend, keeps drawing absolutely ludicrously situationally specific trap cards at the last possible second every time how is this possible what utter maniac invented this broken travesty nodayo?!?!?!)

3. How do they cheer one another up?

Uh, depends on what’s wrong? Midorima is terribly awkward at providing comfort; he’s really more likely to come up and thrust a lucky item in Takao’s face (over whose selection he did not agonize for close to an hour and on which he did definitely not drop something like 30,000 yen, of course not, as should be perfectly obvious!!!).

If it’s perfectly obvious (heh) what the matter is, he’ll offer encouragement, and it’s a very good thing that Takao is both a man of saintly patience and fluent in emotionally constipated nerdspeak, or else he might mistake what Midorima is attempting to do for a dressing-down by an arrogant dickhead. 

The other way around, well… Midorima is kind of a hard person to take care of even on the best of days. When he’s upset, he tends to recluse himself until he’s either worked through whatever was bothering him or at least gets over feeling humiliated (which almost always happens because if it’s not the situation itself that’s humiliating, then it’s the resultant feelings that are). Takao mostly gives him space, but sees it as his god-given duty to blow up Midorima’s phone with on- and off-topic text messages because he knows Midorima will read each and every one over carefully before consigning them to the trash. XD

4. What is their favourite movie to watch together?

Takao is pretty easy-going when it comes to movie choices, and he has a hard time picking favorites with anything, anyway. And while Midorima will lament his poor tastes in cinematic arts, he still always sits through whatever affront to common sense and good tastes Takao insists on watching this time.

5. When did they know that they are each other’s soul mate?

*snerk* Well, as big a nerd as Midorima is, I don’t think he believes in soulmates? He does, however, very much believe in perfect compatibility achieved through the position of imaginary star clusters in the night sky, and believe me, he has researched their horoscopes right down to the second of their births and is utterly dismayed (and most definitely not inordinately pleased) at the ridiculous level of compatibility ascribed to them by pseudoscience this very accurate investigative method.

6. Where do they primarily kiss one another out in public? Examples forehead, cheek, hand etc.

Neither of them is super-touchy, though Takao absolutely does fun stuff like blow kisses because it never fails to make Midorima descend into sputtering, embarrassed outrage honestly, Takao, have you no shame???

( “…we’re at home in your room, Shin-chan.” - “This has nothing to do with it, as should be perfectly obvious!”)

7. Who goes all out for the other person’s birthday?

Neither. Midorima dislikes surprises and making a huge fuss, and Takao’s more the kind of guy who enjoys organizing his own birthday by arranging a fun get-together with friends at a bar or a restaurant. It’s all good.

8. Whose clothes are too big for the other, but they wear them anyway?

Takao would, except Shin-chan is dreadfully fashion-challenged and even he has an embarrassment threshold. (Note that this embarrassment threshold does not extend to swiping Midorima’s glasses, ever).

9. Who is the one who stays up late baking brownies and dancing in their underwear wearing a baggy shirt, and who is the one who comes down to see the other being all cute?

…How is this question not the stuff of nightmares, seriously? Actually, for Takao, it probably is the stuff of nightmares. He can have very weird dreams. He blames last night’s jalapeño pretzel dogs, even when he hasn’t had any jalapeño pretzel dogs. He just refuses to accept that his brain can concoct ideas like that on its own.

10. Would they cuddle even though it is super hot outside?

*snerk* No. No way. Not even in regular weather. They aren’t cuddly by nature. Sure, Takao drapes himself all over Midorima whenever he feels like it, but that’s more just him being himself (and/or possibly wanting to bug Shin-chan to take a break from staring at his textbooks, seriously, you’re starting to go cross-eyed) than it is any sort of attempt at physical affection.

Idk, they just move to a different tune.

Picture Books

Image

Salmieri, D. (2012). Dragons love tacos. New York, NY: Penguin Random House, LLC.

Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin, Illustrated by Daniel Salmieri

If you thought you loved tacos, wait until you read about these dragons! In the book Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin, illustrated by Daniel Salmieri, we meet a young boy excited to invite some dragons over for a party, however, he must remember the golden rule of giving tacos to dragons- NO SPICY SALSA!

Evaluation of Book 

In the book Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin, illustrated by Daniel Salmieri, the illustration does a great job of showing various traits, however one of the strongest is depicting action. Throughout the entire story, you see the main character (a “kid”) getting ready for a taco party. Throughout all the scenes in the book, you can see the action that is taking place, from reading of the salsa recipe, to when the actual party is taking place, and even towards the end when someone gives dragons spicy salsa which makes the biggest explosion ever! This specific trait is able to guide the reader and feel more involved with the story. Perhaps one of my favorite scenes that depicts action in the story is towards the end when the dragons are helping the child rebuild his home. You can see various dragons helping with the construction, and other dragons eating tacos- per usual.

Another trait that is portrayed within this book is interesting asides. The illustrations provide various little tidbits of information that are able to engage the reader even more. For example, on page 5, you see the child preparing salsa, however the first line in the page reads  “But wait!” (Rubin, 2012) as it reminds the child that dragons hate spicy salsa. However, all the ingredients that are surrounding the child are extremely spicy ingredients! There are jalapeño peppers, salsa’s that read “way too hot” or “Orla’s spicy salsa” (Rubin, 2012). This engages a conversation with the audience to ask if the child is choosing the right ingredients, perhaps he needs to change the ingredients he is using and then this begins the question of what those ingredients look like. The interesting asides that are provided allow the reader the ability to make more of a connection, and if this is a read aloud book, allow the audience more of a chance to participate.

In regards to the text, one of the traits that is portrayed the most is understatement. This is seen specifically in a scene where there is dragon standing tall and proud walking out of “Taco Cave.” The text reads:

“Either way, if you want to make friends with dragons, tacos are key. Hey dragon, why do you guys love tacos so much?” (Rubin, 2012)

That is the extent of the text. The text does not go on to have the dragon respond. Rather, it allows the reader to make their own inferences as to why dragons do love tacos so much. When I read this book aloud once, I had a child tell me during this scene that dragons love tacos because they are in a cave. Throughout the entire book, the reader never really gets an exact answer as to why dragons love tacos. The reader is allowed to make that conclusion on their own and it might be that the reason dragons love tacos is because of the same reason the reader might love tacos.

Response

One of the biggest connections I found to this book is when you have a love for something, and you just do not have the words to explain why. As stated in the previous paragraph, throughout the book, the reader never gets an exact answer as to why dragons love tacos, instead the reader is allowed to make their own guesses as to what the reason might be. I have my own personal opinion about tacos, but I can tell you exactly why I love them. However, there are sometimes things that we enjoy and things that we like in our lives that if someone was to ask us, why do you like that,  you might answer, “I just do.” Without having to go too in depth, you just know you like that thing, maybe it makes you happy, maybe you are not sure, and that is okay. This is definitely a message that can be shared with children because sometimes they might not be too confident about the things they like or enjoy because they are afraid of what their classmates will say or think. Reading a book like this can reiterate the message that it is okay to love or like something for your own specific reason. 

I think while reading this book, there were not any topics that clash with my specific view of the world. This book is a great book for children and it does not go into too many topics in depth. The topics that are touched upon with the book are very simple and do not push any type of deeper discussion. For example, when I read this book at an elementary school, this book started up a conversation of food. It allowed the students the ability to share what food they liked or disliked and why. Some of the students shared specific food that was near and dear to their heart based on their backgrounds. However, at the end of the day, the conversation started with food, not with anything too deep. I do think one of the great messages of this book is towards the end, when the dragons are helping the child rebuild his home. It does show that everyone can come together and help one another to get something done.

As a whole, I think this book is more for entertainment, rather than a book to have a long discussion afterwards. It does tell a wonderful story about dragons and tacos and what to do and not to do, while providing great illustrations, but overall it is more of a funny story. There is a specific dialogue before the dragons eat the spicy salsa between the narrator and the child and it goes as follows:

“It’s a good thing you got rid of all that spicy… Wait a second-- what are those little green things in the salsa? You didn’t read the fine print?!” (Rubin, 2012).

The illustrations that are provided on the page are entertaining for the reader because they show the child shocked at what is about to happen. This type of text and illustration allows the audience the ability to be able to react and feel more in the moment of what is about to happen. In many instances, if this is read aloud, the children are able to conclude what is about to happen.

Conclusion 

Overall, Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin, illustrated by Daniel Salmieri is a wonderful book to read aloud to children. In addition to having very humorous text, the illustrations allow the audience the ability to participate, and the ability to have a conversation after the book is done. I would give this book four out of five stars.

Citation

Salmieri, D. (2012). Dragons love tacos. New York, NY: Penguin Random House, LLC.

Rubin, A. (2012). Dragons love tacos. New York, NY: Penguin Random House, LLC.

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Robinson, C. (2016). School’s First Day of School. New York, NY: Roaring Books Press

School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex, illustrated by Christian Robinson

Do you remember your very first day of school? The smell of new crayons and freshly sharpened pencils? How do you think your school felt? I bet you have never thought about that. In Adam Rex’s School’s First Day of School, a very excited school goes through the first day of class, and shares their excitement.

Evaluation of Book

Throughout the book School’s First Day of School the illustrations demonstrate a lot of different aspects of the story. One of the things the illustration does best is establish setting. From the very first pages, the reader is able to identify where the school is exactly and what specific rooms of the school are being visited. There is a specific illustration that shows the kindergarten class learning about shapes. The illustrations depict a Kindergarten class as you would imagine it: ABC’s on the wall, a chalkboard, books, a bulletin board, a circle rug, and some children paying attention to their teacher! The way the illustration is set throughout the entire book does aid the reader in being able to piece together more about what this school really looks like and the different places inside of it.

In addition to the previous trait, the illustrations also reinforce the text. Much of the text that is written is very straightforward and easy to keep up with. The illustrations allow the reader the ability to be able to match both the text and the illustrations cohesively. There is a scene in the beginning that reads:

“A sign above the door reads, FREDERICK DOUGLASS ELEMENTARY. “That’s a good name for me,” thought the school.” (Rex, 2016).

The illustrations that are provided show a school, however the windows on the doors of the school look like eyes, and the door handles look like a nose, and at the bottom of the door a black line looks like a smile. Since the school seems to be talking in this page, it is appropriate that the school also have these characteristics as it makes the school look more human like.

A trait that is displayed wonderfully in the book is the dialogue that the book has with one of the characters, the Janitor. Through various scenes in the book, School seems to be doing actions and talking, however no one is noticing, it is not until the Janitor is there after everyone is gone that someone talks to the school. However, although no one seems to hear what the school is saying, he hears everything they are saying, and sometimes he does not particularly like or agree with some of the statements. At the end of the book, the Janitor comes back to clean up school for the next day, that is when School talks about his experience. Perhaps my favorite part from the entire dialogue is when School asks the Janitor if he could invite everyone back tomorrow, and the Janitor states, “I’ll see what I can do” (Rex, 2016). That type of attitude reminds me of a child when they had such a great day and they ask “can we come back again!” Since this was School’s first day of school, he has no idea that he will definitely have more than one day. 

Response

One of the biggest things School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex did for me, is it reminded me of my first day of school. I have always enjoyed school, ever since I was a child, so to be reminded of that feeling of a first day of school was very nostalgic. I think a lot of the time when kids think about going back to school, they do not think about the school itself, rather what school means. For some kids, school might mean homework, and teachers, and friends, but it never means “big building with rooms and supplies.” I think this means a lot because we really do impact children’s views on school or their perception of what school means. If they are assigned work that is uninteresting or not fun, they can associate school (or that subject) with boredom or just dislike. Knowing that power, it is in our better interest to really make learning interesting and engaging for kids so they are able to associate school or learning with positive experiences.

In addition, this specific book demonstrates the different viewpoints that other children might have about school. While school might be a positive experience for some, that does not mean that it will be a positive experience for all. There is one specific child that School keeps mentioning, the little girl with freckles. She does not want to go to school so her mom has to carry her inside. School’s response is “I must be awful” (Rex, 2016). As the day progresses, she has a hard time opening up, but slowly she manages to get comfortable around the idea of school and her classmates. This specific viewpoint is something to share with children. Some children dread thinking about the first day of school for many reasons. It is important to show to children that it is okay to be scared, and that they are not the only ones that have ever felt this way.

Overall I have to say I enjoyed reading School’s First Day of School, however, I do associate part of that reasoning to the fact that I have always enjoyed school, and I have had positive experiences with school. If someone who does not like school or who has had negative experiences in school were to read this book, they might have a different opinion. I do think the way that the school was portrayed was wonderful, he was portrayed as a living breathing being with feelings and emotions. This is definitely something different from everything that I have read in the past. Also, I did particularly enjoyed how School went from thinking that he was probably not a cool place, to realizing he was way cooler than he thought.

Conclusion 

As a whole, I enjoyed reading School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex. The content itself was written in a way that was easy to follow and very relatable for the reader. Also, it was wonderful that the school was made to almost seem as a living breathing being. The illustrations also played a role in making sure the story was well told. I would give this book four out of five stars.

Citation

Robinson, C. (2016). School’s First Day of School. New York, NY: Roaring Books Press

Rex, A. (2016). School’s First Day of School. New York, NY: Roaring Books Press

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Novak, B.J. (2014) The Book With No Pictures. New York, NY: Penguin Random House

The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak

In The Book With No Pictures B.J. Novak, the reader is able to engage in a story that does not have pictures, but also does not need them. Through funky sounds and colorful words, the audience is able to have a good time listening to this silly story.

Evaluation of Book

In the book The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak, there are absolutely no illustrations, however, there is color in the text of some words. The color does make the sounds from the page “pop” so when the reader reads them, it gives the reader the opportunity to really say things in a different manner. For example, there is a page that has nothing but sounds, and there are varying colors on the page, such as red, blue, orange gray, yellow, and so forth. Since most of the text throughout the page is in black and white, the contrast in the color is refreshing and it is able to contrast what the reader is meaning to read, versus the silly things the author wants you to read. 

Another trait within the book is overstatement rather than understatement. Since this is a short book, there is not much room for understatement. Also, since there are no pictures, it is very hard for the reader to try and get an understatement from the text that is provided. However, there is a lot of overstatement, tons of noises and it is necessary for the book since it is so short and there are no illustrations. In this situation, overstatement is extremely important and necessary for the story as it makes the story interesting and engaging for the reader.

In addition to overstatement, the dialogue in the text is essential to making the story so engaging. The way the book is written is perfect for a read aloud book. Also because it is meant to be a read aloud book the dialogue that occurs within the book is between the reader and the audience. There are various parts within the book where the reader is talking to the audience and even mentions that the child listening to the book is “The Best Kid Ever” (Novak, 2014). Also, the fact that the way the book is written is in dialogue allows the reader the opportunity to give the narrator whatever personality they would like. 

Response

I enjoyed reading this book a lot because I connected with the style of the writing. When I tend to read a picture book, I tend to be very animated, and I like for the kids to know what the intention was when the author wrote the book. The fact that there are no pictures is not a bad thing for this book, rather it really makes the audience appreciate the writing and the imagination behind it. Also, the fact that there are so many colors allow the reader to add a different twist to the words and sounds that are on the page.

The one thing this book did is kind of break that stereotype of picture books. This is a picture book, but it has no pictures. When you think picture books, you think a story with illustrations to match the text. Now a days, we even have picture books with no words, which allow the reader to make their own conclusions of what the book means. However, this book had nothing but words, and no pictures. Personally, I thought the book was great, and if it would have had pictures, it would have distracted the audience from the exact words that were being read. The lack of pictures is what makes the book so interesting and engaging.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. I think this is a wonderful book to read aloud to a classroom as it will allow the kids to be silly and to enjoy the story. Also, I think it is a fun read for the reader. There is no concrete content within the book, but the overall point of the book is just to be silly which is enjoyable for the younger kids. I do think the book serves a purpose, not so much to imagine what is happening, but rather just be silly and listen to the content of the story.

Conclusion

As a whole, I would say this book is one I would recommend especially in a classroom setting. I think the book itself is enjoyable for both the reader and the audience. Also there are various aspects that make the reader realize that you do not need pictures to make this a picture book. Overall, I would give this book four out of five stars.

Citation

Novak, B.J. (2014) The Book With No Pictures. New York, NY: Penguin Random House

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Roberts, D. (2016). Ada Twist, Scientist. China: Abrams Books.

Ada Twist, Scientist 

In the book, Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts, the author introduces us to Ada, a child that is full of questions and curiosity and is always asking “Why?” In addition, the young scientist is eager to make her first scientific discover. Through questions and hypothesis, maybe she will be able to find out why there are such stinky smells.

Evaluation of Book

Through reading Ada Twist, Scientist, there were various traits that were evident, but perhaps the most evident was the illustration’s ability to provide a different viewpoint. The entire book, in my opinion is a depiction of a differing viewpoint. Ada’s parents are trying to figure out why she does not talk or why she is always questioning things, but in reality, Ada just sees things differently than she does. An example of this is in the illustrations where everyone in her family is holding up illustrations of planets, and she has an illustration herself and its of a planet named “Haumea” her question then is “why?” (Beaty, 2016). The entire book, the illustrations depict the differences that her and her parents have in thinking, she has an approach where she questions everything, and her parents do not always have an answer.

Another trait that is evident within the book is define and develop characters. The illustrations within the book are able to show us what kind of dynamic takes place within the household Ada lives in. Also, it gives us a sense of who Ada’s parents and brother are. From the illustration, the reader can see that Ada’s parents are supportive and her brother plays tennis. Also, the reader can see that Ada’s class really does like her (they are always smiling and cheering when she does science experiments). Overall, the illustration is able to really help and see more of who Ada is and what is going on in her mind.

Perhaps the biggest thing with the text in the book is figurative language. The text within the book is written in a way that it rhymes. This makes the text easy to read and it flows very nicely. In addition, the words that are written are witty and they match the illustrations that are shown within the page. An example of the writing is:

“Her parents calmed down, and they came back to talk, they looked at the hallway and just had to gawk. No patch of bare paint could be seen on the wall, the thinking chair now was the great thinking wall” (Beaty, 2016).

In this scene, the reader sees the parents come back to check up on Ada, but what they see is a wall of thing written on the wall. This gives the reader and even her parents, an insight as to what is going on in Ada’s mind.

Response

Personally, I was able to relate to Ada Twist, Scientist especially to the fact that no one could understand what was going on through her mind. Sometimes I have felt like I have a really good idea, or I want to express something I am thinking, but I just do not have the words to do so. In the story, Ada just wants answers, and no one is able to understand that all she wants is to know why. I think this might be something that happens with many children. They might have a lot of questions about things or they might not know how to express themselves so I think it is important to be patient and give them opportunities to thrive.

This specific book did bring up one issue that I think is going on in our society. Sometimes, children just want the answer to questions because they are trying to figure out the world themselves, but parents might be too consumed in their own things (their phones, work, etc.). The easy thing to do is to just tell a child “because that’s how things are” but is that really encouraging kids discovery? I think it is important to encourage kids and to make time for kids to ask questions. If the adult does not know the answer to something, maybe that will spark up a conversation to try and figure out the answer.

Overall, I think this was a great book and it serves multiple purposes. I think it served as a wonderful book to read for entertainment, but it can also serve as an informational book to encourage children that it is okay to be curious about the world. Also, I think that the illustrations that are provided encourage different discussions about curiosity. Perhaps if reading this book aloud, the reader could encourage a discussion as to what items Ada is testing and what they think will happen when she does science experiments. This can also start a discussion about what science experiments are fun.

Conclusion 

As a result, I think Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts is a wonderful book for kids at any age. I think it is a great read aloud book that has a lot of different characteristics that make it engaging for the audience and also is able to enable a lively discussion. I would give this book five out of five stars.

Citation

Beaty, A. (2016). Ada Twist Scientist. China: Abrams Books.

Roberts, D. (2016). Ada Twist Scientist. China: Abrams Books.

Crispy Yam Fries

Chocolate Peanut Crunch Bar With A Scoop Of Vanilla Ice Cream

Pesto Chicken Quesadilla

White Chocolate Cheesecake

Hello everyone, got another catch up blog up and this time it was a birthday celebration dinner with one of my girl friend and we chose to have dinner at Cactus Club Restaurant in Coquitlam on Nov 4, 2017.

As my girl friend and I arrived at the restaurant, there was a group of people on wait list and we approached one of the hostess and told them we have a reservation and after shortly after a minute we were escorted to our table.

As we sat down, we were given three sets of menu by our hostess and she mentioned our server will be back and take our drink order. As we had a couple of minutes to glanced over our main and drinks menu as we were also waiting for our third girl friend of ours. Our server approached us and introduced herself and asked us what we like to drink. My girl friend decided to order a Bellini and as for myself I decided to order a Long Island Ice Tea with an ounce of vodka.

Once our third girl friend showed up we took a moment and glanced through the menu once again and our server approached us and we decided to order our food. Two of my friends decided to order the same entrée which was Chicken Tacos made with Mexican style braised chicken, avocado, lettuce, pickled radish, onions, Jalapeños, feta, sour cream, cilantro, sea salted fries; when ordering my girl friend dislike sour cream so she specifically told our server not to have any sour cream in the tacos itself. As for my entrée, I decided to order Pesto Chicken Quesadilla with yam fries.

After about fifteen minutes, our entrée was served to all three of us; as two of my friends took a bite out of their tacos and it didn’t taste like chicken. So my friends called the server over and we explained that the chicken tacos does not taste like chicken, it tasted like a fish tacos. The server quickly apologize for serving the wrong dish and took the incorrect dishes away and left their french fries to munch on. As for myself, I took a bite out of my pesto chicken quesadilla and it tasted alright and not made to the best quality. Shortly after ten minutes, our server came back to our table and served my two friends their chicken taco entree. As my girl friend took a glanced at her tacos there was sour cream on her tacos and she specifically told our server she do not wish to have sour cream and her tacos. It got to a point,  where we were all quite frustrated at their customer service as this is the second time our order was not corrected. Finally, their restaurant assistant manager visited our table and spoke to us and apologized for their mistake once again and promised to remake my girl friend entree and will provide us free desserts on the house for all of us just to smooth things over with our frustrations. After about another ten minutes later, her entree chicken taco finally arrived and was made to my friend specification and it was good. After our entree meal was finished, we were given a dessert menu and since we were promised free desserts on the house with the restaurant, all three of us ordered three different kinds of dessert. We ordered Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Bar, Caramel Chocolate Mousse and White Chocolate Cheese Cake.

Overall, I rate this restaurant a 3.5 out of 5 star. Reason being their customer service wasn’t that great as it being a chain restaurant across British Columbia. I might go re-visit Cactus Club but probably not this particular location.

Phone:

604-777-0440

Address:

Unit 110 – 101 Schoolhouse Street

Coquitlam, BC

V3K 4X8

      Cactus Club Coquitlam Location – Visited On Nov 4, 2017