Miri Attwater and the Ocean's Secret named one of Reads4Tweens best books of 2012!

I'm a bit late announcing this on the blog, but I was so thrilled when Reads4Tweens came out with a best books of 2012 list during the holidays. Miri Attwater and the Ocean's Secret made the list!

Reads4Tweens says Miri Attwater and the Ocean's Secret is ... "a wonderful book for young readers who love mermaids and princesses. It’s in a modern setting, so it’s easy for them to put themselves in Miri’s shoes (fins?)."

Reads4Tweens is a fantastic book review resource aimed specifically at parents and teachers trying to find books for kids to read. If you haven't seen it yet, you really should check it out! The logo pretty much says it all, "because you want to know what they're reading." The reviews cover anything and everything you might be concerned about or want to discuss with your child.

Reads4Tweens was started by a mom trying to find good books for her kids. But she also happens to be very qualified to talk about children's books. She has a degree in children's literature, she's taught literature in middle school and high school, and she's currently a freelance editor. Needless to say, a great review from this caliber of reviewer was especially gratifying. You can see her full review of Miri Attwater and the Ocean's Secret here.

Ms. Ivy's Guide to Table Manners

As I mentioned in the last post, You are Hereby Cordially Invited to Dinner with the Queen - Don't Panic! has been getting a lot of interest! Apparently there are people getting dinner invitations that are a lot more exciting than the ones I get. Who's been invited to dinner at the White House? Come on, spill! I want to hear all about it!

Some people seem to be finding that post when they go in search of guides on manners. So what do you do when you get a nice dinner invitation. How do you act? Maybe I can make a little series of posts out of this.

First, let's start with some basic table manners. You know, the ones I'm trying to teach my own kids with various levels of success.

I try to scare table manners into them with a tale from my dating days. I was on a first date with a guy and we went to the local eatery  and got fried chicken. My date picked up a piece and tore into it like a hyena. Then he talked with huge pieces of meat hanging out both sides of his mouth. Not attractive.

Perhaps it was shallow, but I quickly had not desire for a second date!

You might not be trying to get a date, but at the very least I'm sure you would rather not turn the stomach of the other people at the table. And so, I give you...

Ms. Ivy's Guide to Basic Table Manners 

1. Sit up straight. Don't put your elbows on the table.
You are sitting at the table, not lounging at the table.

2. Put your napkin in your lap. This will catch any crumbs that happen to fall in your lap and you can pick it up and discreetly wipe your mouth if you need to.
But you really shouldn't need to much. Chocolate stains napkins, so try to eat without chocolate drooling out of your mouth. Believe it or not I made this comment just last night, and my kid's aren't little! <sigh>

3. Wait for your hostess to pick up her fork before you take a bite.
There is nothing more frustrating to a hostess than serving the last plate (their own) and sitting down to the table just as everyone else is done and ready to leave the table.

4. Put a reasonable sized bite on your fork.
If you have to turn your fork sideways to get the bite in your mouth or open you mouth so wide that you're in danger of unhinging your jaw - then there's a good chance it qualifies as too big.

5. Chew one bite and swallow before putting another bite in your mouth.
Your fork is not a shovel and your mouth is not a dump truck. And for goodness sakes, don't lean over your plate like you are trying to guard your food and shovel repeatedly without a breath. I understand that is considered fine etiquette for chopsticks and rice, but that's not what we're talking about here.

6. Don't talk with your mouth full.
This can be a tough one. Some dinner companions make it almost impossible to follow this rule. Either they give you very little chance to jump into the conversation, or they give only short responses so you don't have time to eat your bite before they ask you another question. But, if you are taking small bites it will be easier to try to do this discreetly and not show the whole table your mouthful of half-chewed steak.

7. If you're having trouble getting something on your fork, like the last pieces of corn, don't use your fingers to push them on. Use another utensil, like the back of a spoon or your knife.
Okay, I admit to being guilty of that occassionally. If I don't need the spoon or knife for something else I hate to get another piece of silverware dirty. But, for goodness sake, if you cheat on this wipe your fingers discreetly on the napkin in your lap. Don't lick them!

8. Don't pick up your dessert plate to lick it clean.
Even if it was the best chocolate cake you have ever had. Don't Do This. It is not a compliment to the chef. It's just the impersonation of a dog. (And what is it with people letting their dogs lick their plates clean anyway? Eew.) In fact, you're not even supposed to try to get it squeaky clean with your fork, but if you try hard enough you can do a pretty good job and I doubt many people will know that particular manners rule.

So there's a basic list. I'm sure Miss Manner's could find something I have left out.  But this should get your through a meal without scaring off the rest of the diners!

So what did I leave out? Any dining manners pet peeves? Leave a comment!

I may seem idle here but I've been busy over at my author blog...

I have to apologize for neglecting this blog. I'll leave it at that because, really, who wants to read a post that's just a bunch of excuses? I usually wish the blogger would get over the apology and on with it already!

Even though I've been neglectful here, I have been posting over at my author blog, E.S. Ivy. At this blog, Miri Attwater's World, I only post things directly related (at least remotely) to the Miri Attwater books. At my author blog, E.S. Ivy, I blog about that and also anything else that strikes my fancy, including crafts and entertaining ideas.

Recent posts include:

Heart Shaped Thin and Crispy Pizzas

Make your Own Valentine Fortune Teller

Making two blogs seemed like a good idea at the time! Maybe one day I'll combine them, maybe not, but meanwhile... I'll try to do better with this blog.

The post You are Hereby Cordially Invited to Dinner with the Queen - Don't Panic! has been getting a lot of interest! Coming soon: Ms Ivy's Guide to Table Manners. That is, as soon as I can figure out why Blogger is taking me to Google Docs when I try to upload new images from my computer. It seems to have something to do with a change in my pop-up blocker. I just love technology! Not.

Book 2 has a title! Miri Attwater and All That Glitters

Gold nugget

Book 2 has a title!

Miri Attwater 

and 

All that Glitters

So what glitters? Is all that glitters gold?

Gold is a pure element, which means all the atoms in a nugget of gold are the same. Chemists abbreviate gold with its chemical symbol Au. In it's pure form before it's been polished, gold doesn't really glitter. In fact, it's kind of dull.

Pyrite

Pyrite, though, glitters a lot! Pyrite is sometimes even found in the same types of formations as gold. It's shiny appearance has given it the nickname "fool's gold." 

But pyrite isn't gold at all! It is only iron and sulfur combined together to form a compound called iron sulfide. Chemists write its name FeS_{2 .}

_{It is sure has fooled a lot of hopeful gold diggers!}

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A kid's review of Miri Attwater the the Ocean's Secret

This review is special to me because it's my first official kid's review of Miri Attwater and the Ocean's Secret!

Holly is in 3rd grade. She says, "I like mermaids and I loved the bubble world in the book."

I am so glad you enjoyed that part, Holly, because I really had fun dreaming up the underwater world of Kai Kaona. When I decided that mermaids were going to be mammals it created an obvious problem. If they were going to be hiding at the bottom of the ocean, how were they going to breathe?

I decided I needed some way to get oxygen from the ocean water. And, if I could have the building walls themselves collecting oxygen, I could have lots of area to do it with. Somewhere in there my imagination landed on the idea of giant bubbles! (In the book, Fisk explains a little about how the bubbles work.)

Also, I wanted the mermaid world to be beautiful.

Link to a gorgeous commemorative pop-up book

When I was about the same age as Holly, I started reading all of the Wizard of Oz books. (Okay, I think I was actually older than Holly when I started doing that. I was not an early reader.) I was hoping that Dorothy would visit another place just as beautiful as the Emerald City. She never did. I think the only thing that came close was maybe where Glinda the good witch lived? But in any case the description was not any where detailed enough for me.

Another favorite of the books from the school library that I read over and over was Witches, Ghosts, and Goblins: A Spooky Search for Miranda's Cat. Oh, how I loved this book. Let me assure you, if I loved it, it was not scary, in spite of its title. Aside from all the color pictures (remember, I said I wasn't an early reader!) I loved the description of the gem caverns that they traveled through. I loved this book so much I located a copy for my own kids and I was surprised to see that the description was only one or two lines! My imagination did a lot with those two lines.

So, all that to say, when I started dreaming up Kai Kaona, I wanted to make it the beautiful mystical world I longed to visit in books when I was a kid.

You can read the rest of Holly's review at V.K. Finnish's blog where V.K. posts a regular feature "Reviewed by Kids."

Thanks Holly!

You are Hereby Cordially Invited to Dinner with the Queen - Don't Panic!

Our Christmas dinner table. Sparkling fruit juice always adds a pretty touch.

Happy New Year! We set a pretty table for our Christmas dinner and that got me thinking about dining with the Queen. Have you ever dreamed of being invited to a palace for a banquet?

The first time Miri met the Queen in Miri Attwater and the Ocean's Secret it was at a fancy, schmancy dinner. Sadly, the Queen wasn't wearing a tiara. (Don't worry! A crown is coming in Book 2 - All that Glitters.) But there was plenty of sparkling china, crystal, and silver that Miri had to worry about not knocking off the table!

So what are the rules for dining with the Queen? Don't worry, if your manners aren't royal perfect, Queen Elizabeth II of England doesn't order "Of with her head!" like the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland. At least not very often.

President George W. Bush and Queen Elizabeth II at a state dinner

According to the British Royal Family's official website, there aren't any special rules for meeting or dining with Queen Elizabeth II. You wouldn't know it from reading the stories in the British press, though. They love to print stories about mistakes made by various leaders, including our Presidents and First Ladies! Can you imagine how hard it is to have a crowd of reporters just watching for you to make a mistake?

So what do you do if you get invited to dinner with the Queen? Don't panic! here are a few pointers to help keep you out of the headlines.

1. Don't arrive after the Queen.

2. Remain standing behind your chair until the Queen takes her seat.

3. Don't eat until the Queen starts eating.

4. When the Queen is finished, the meal is over. (Even if you haven't managed to scrape the last bit of the delicious shrimp newberg off your plate.)

Tables at the State Dining Room at the White House

But, alas, let's face it. If you live in the States you are much more likely to be invited to dinner with the President. No crowns, but the tables are still pretty. And you'll still be faced with all that silverware! So how do you not end up having to eat your fruit sorbet with a fork like Miri did?

Come back next week and learn all the secrets to make it through a formal dinner. Better yet, sign up by email or put the blog in your feed reader so you won't miss it!

(Because I'd hate for you to be embarrassed when you're invited to the White House. You might not get a second chance!)

Related Post:

Ms. Ivy's Guide to Basic Table Manners

Miri Attwater and the Ocean's Secret Now Available on Kobo

Miri Attwater and the Ocean's Secret is now on sale in the Kobo Store!

Buy it now for your kobo reader!

So Kobo won in the race with Barnes & Noble to see who gets an ebook up first. Have a nook? Don't fret. It should be in the cue. But if you just can't wait, did you know that you can download kobo books to your nook? Both kobo and nook accept epubs. Yeah for versatility!