Fun Stuff

Freebies!

Click here for bookmarks featuring my newest titles.

Click here for book-lover stickers I designed that you can print on your own.


Owl Barf Balls Recipe

barfballs

Click for a closeup!

Would you like to fool your friends and tell them you’re eating owl puke? Its easy and fun to make this recipe for yummy, pretend owl barf balls. Don’t worry they taste much better than they look! And always remember to get an adult to help you when you are cooking in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter (half a stick)

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup milk 1 teaspoon cocoa

1/4 cup chunky peanut butter

1 1/2 cups oats (not instant oatmeal)

1/2 cup pretzel sticks (broken into small pieces to look like bones) (optional)

1/4 cup coconut flakes (for fur) (optional)

Supplies:

Large wooden or plastic spoon

Medium saucepan

Teaspoon

Wax paper

Cookie sheet

Directions:

1. Mix the butter, sugar, milk, and cocoa in the medium saucepan with the large spoon.

2. On the stove, heat the pan on medium high and stir the mixture with the spoon until it is smooth.

3. Bring the mixture to a boil for 1 minute.

4. Turn off the burner and remove the pan from the heat.

5. Add the peanut butter, oats, pretzel pieces, and coconut to the mixture, and stir until combined. Allow mixture to cool for 5 minutes in pan (until it is cool enough to touch).

6. Scoop out the mixture and drop by the teaspoonful onto the cookie sheet lined with wax paper. (Use a little butter or margarine on the teaspoon so the mixture doesn’t stick.)

7. Place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.

8. Remove the blobs from the wax paper and form into balls.

Store in a container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 2 months for fun snacking anytime. Makes 2 to 3 dozen Owl Barf Balls.


My Favorite Websites

Here are a few of my favorite research websites that have wonderful photos and information you can use for your own research:

If you love to write and would like to become a published author, here are the websites of some magazines that publish poems and stories written by kids:

And if you’re a big reader, Shepherd.com is almost like browsing a bookstore but from the comfort of home, while receiving great recommendations from authors. Here’s a list I created of my top-five favorite animal behavior books, and here’s a bookshelf list of all kinds of animal books for kids and adults by lots of authors.


Author Names

Check out this cool website that provides recordings of thousands of authors (including me!) telling you how to pronounce their names and a little information about themselves:

http://www.teachingbooks.net/pronunciations.cgi


Fun with Nonfiction

Here are some fun activities you can do with your parents or on your own at home that connect to my books and to using your hands and your imagination to play with nonfiction:

fun-with-nonfiction