Om Nom Cupcakes and Cut the Rope Cookies

Om Nom (Cut the Rope) Cupcakes

Cut the Rope Cookies

My older daughter (11) recently found a series of cupcake decorating videos (I Has Cupquake on YouTube), including one on making Om Nom Cupcakes (the candy-gobbling character from Cut the Rope). For her sister's 9th birthday party this weekend, she made these adorable cupcakes.

Review: Dream Friends & Interview with You Byun

A couple of weeks ago I won a copy of debut author and illustrator You Byun's Dream Friends (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2013) in a Writer's Digest giveaway. 

In this charming picture book, Melody plays and goes on fantastic adventures with a special friend in her dreams, but she is too shy in real life to make friends. One lonely day on the playground, Melody dances as she remembers fun times with her dream friend, which catches the attention of the other kids and leads to new friendships. The bright pastel palette and the whimsical, textured illustrations complement the story perfectly.

You Byun was nice enough to answer some questions:

My Favorite Thing: Finding Great Books

I've been quiet the past couple weeks because I was busy organizing the annual used book sale at the Norfolk Academy Field Day. In two weeks, we went from empty shelves and boxes full of books to a pop up bookstore, with shelved books, displays, and gift baskets to raffle off:

Before & After pics of our used book sale

We did really well, making over $2900, which is impressive considering the prices averaged $2 a book. As usual, the most popular event was the end-of-the-day bag sale, where people stuffed as many books as they could into a reusable bag that we sold for $10.