Butter is its own food group!

This food-chain poster is from World War II. That was a more innocent time . . . when people thought butter and margarine were an entire food group!

Of course, people had all SORTS of weird ideas of food back then. I mean, they thought that adding a little vitamin B1 made doughnuts good for you!

From the National Archives.

The story behind the birthday cake!

When someone asked my nephew about his middle name, Ulysses, he explained that in mythology, Ulysses fought a cyclops. Asked to define a cyclops, he pronounced the monster, "A one-eyed freak." 

At this, his three-year old sister squealed in delight. The phrase became her favorite endearing insult . . . and when asked what kind of birthday cake she wanted when she turned four, she responded, "I want a one-eyed freak cake, please."

What the heck?

I leave my car parked for ten minutes at the grocery store and THIS is what happens to it?!

Keeping a youthful attitude is important.

But on the playground? Maybe not so much!

Wikipedia teaches me stuff!

Today I learned that seven is actually six.

Now THIS is a great idea!

Over at the Arlington Public Library (in Virginia), Anne did a book-talk about The Big Book of Gross Stuff.

Thanks, Anne!

FIRST!

National Geographic.

"Lower Macungie Patch" is one cool name.

Lower Macungie Patch is in Pennsylvania. And it's there that youth librarian Erin Stephens works . . . and where she wrote this kind note about The Big Book of Spy Stuff!

I don’t know a boy (or “big boy”) who hasn’t been obsessed with James Bond at one point or another. Whether it’s the gadgets or the thrill-seeking, what boy wouldn’t want to be a spy? Enter The Big Book of Spy Stuff. 

If anyone read 2007’s The Dangerous Book for Boys [blech!], it’s much the same humorous delivery of both facts and how-to’s. And much like how parents learn to sneak vegetables in a picky child’s favorite dish, I like that this book mixes in some legitimate history, like spies in the Revolutionary War and Cold War, as well as spy organizations like the CIA. Topics cover code-breaking, how to keep secrets, what some of the worst spy names through history have been, and more. 

You might have to give your little James Bond a warning to not attempt his eavesdropping skills on his sister, but this book will definitely be a hit with the boys!

Sheesh...

All I did was skip a rock across this lake, and look what happened.

The worst part was, I got DRENCHED.

Fan mail hurts me brain!

"Dear Mr. Bart King, you are my favorite author ... Please write back and tell me why!"



This is a tough one! Here are four possible answers:

1.) "Because I rule!" (Nah, too egocentric.)

2.) Nice try, kid, but I can spot a paradoxical riddle that demonstrates the inadequacy of logical reasoning when I see one. (This might come across as dismissive.)

3.) Since he lobbed me a Zen koan, maybe the proper response is a haiku: “The sound of a book/dropping to the forest floor/Favored author smiles.” (Hmmm… not bad!)

Of course, I could just tell HIM to go first. (Or send the reader a free book for making me think so hard!)

Nice Bookmark!

Over at Craftster, a creative type came up with this Wizard of Oz-inspired bookmark.

I like it!

And look . . . it can even stand up!

I'm getting the hang of this marketing thing!

"Sir, THE BIG BOOK OF SPY STUFF is out."

Man on left: "YEESSS!"

From here.

That's Me: An Otter Wearing a Beret!

I have a piece about author photos in today's Oregonian.

To the left, you can see MY author photo. (Newspaper version of the article is here!)

We have a winner!

Over here, a "lucky" reader writes about winning a copy of The Big Book of Spy Stuff.

And she was kind enough to blog about the experience, from receiving the book to getting an author's note:

But the story ends on a sad note . . . the Big Book is a little TOO big to fit in her bookcase! Drat. :(

(BTW, GoodReads has book giveaways going constantly. Check it!)

This reminds me of how my brother and I used to dance!

We were better, though.