8.15.2004

Manga and Comic Workshop

This summer, Sarah Ryan is running three sessions of her Manga and Comic Workshop for teens at Sellers Library. Participants practice their drawing techniques and learn professional art skills by developing characters, storyboarding a plot, and finally creating their own comic book. This is a six-week program, but many teens spend hours at home coming up with ideas, practicing techniques in sketches, and drawing final copies. By the end of the sessions, participants are able to show off their comic books, complete with a binding by Sarah.

8.09.2004

Yu-Gi-Oh! Club...Still Going

The Yu-Gi-Oh! Gaming Club has grown to nearly 50 members! Each week, about 30 guys show up to play the game and swap cards. We are holding an end-of-summer tournament for club members during our regular meetings on August 13 and 20. Then, the club will take a break and return on September 17. Current members will not need to submit a new permission slip. New members are welcome to join in September, so tell your friends to stop by and pick up a permission slip today!

8.07.2004

Redwall Feast and Fun

On August 5, 15 teens attended the Redwall Feast and Fun event. We solved Redwall puzzles, build catapults, watched an episode of the Redwall cartoon, and ate a lot of food! The feast table included Otter Hotroot Stew, Onion Shrewbread with Bee Butter, Banana 'n' Raisin 'n' Chocolate Chip Loaf, Fruit with Meadowcream, Spiced Cupcakers, Chocolate Abbotcake, Spiced Leaf Cookies, Peachy Lemon Iced Tea, and Strawberry Cordial. Needless to say, that was the best part of the evening!

If you missed this fabulous feast, here are some links you can check out:
http://www.redwall.org
This is the official website of Redwall. Find out anything you want to know, including how to send fan mail to Brian Jacques!
http://www.terrouge.com/terr/
This is a webzine devoted to Redwall. Check out their stories, as well as their Fun and Games link.
http://www.rwclub.org/f/insult/index.php
Find a Redwallish insult at this site. Just choose the length and click!
http://www.geocities.com/dabdibbun/index.html
Dibbuns Against Bedtime (DAB) is a great Redwall site that you can join. Go into the Great Hall to test your knowledge or look at art, or just get recipes from the Kitchen.
http://www.kidsreads.com/authors/au-jacques-brian.asp
Read a biography of Brian Jacques, as well as an interview.

You also might be interested to read the books in chronological order:
Lord Brocktree
Martin the Warrior
Mossflower
The Legend of Luke
Outcast of Redwall
Mariel of Redwall
The Bellmaker
Salamandastron
Redwall
Mattimeo
The Pearls of Lutra
The Long Patrol
Marlfox
Taggerung
Triss
Loamhedge

Don't forget to check out this Redwall news flash:
A new Redwall book is coming out in September, called Rakkety Tam! The publisher writes: “The most captivating Redwall novel yet! There has never been a Redwall hero quite like Rakkety Tam, the roguish Highlander squirrel who sets off for Mossflower Wood on a mercenary errand and loses his heart to the charms of Redwall Abbey. And there’s never been a villain quite like Gulo the Savage: a vicious beast-eating wolverine who descends upon the Abbey in search of a relic called the Walking Stone. Readers will cheer at the return of the Long Patrol, the antics of a renegade vole thief, and the emergence of a new champion to wield the sword of Martin. As fans of Brian Jacques and the bestselling Redwall series know, the adventures just keep getting bigger and better.”

Redwall Recipes

Here are the Redwall recipes you requested:

OTTER HOTROOT SOUP
This recipe uses a crock pot. You can also make this on the stove in much less time.
Ingredients:
1 stick butter, 1 zucchini, 1 yellow squaush, 1 red pepper, 2 leeks, 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 onion, 4 scallions, 2 stalks celery, 4 potatoes, 2 large carrots, 2 cans chopped tomatoes, 2 cups water, 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, 2 tsp. salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp. cajun seasoning, 1/2 tsp. dried hot red pepper, 2 tsp. oregano, 2 cups salad shrimp
Directions:
1. Slice zucchini, squash, leeks, scallions, carrots, and celery. Dice onion, garlic, potatoes, and red pepper.
2. Melt butter in a large frying pan. Add all of the sliced and diced vegetables. Saute them in the butter until the leeks and onions look clear (5-10 minutes).
3. Pour all of the veggies and their juices in the crock pot. Add the water and tomatoes. Mix in all of the spices.
4. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
5. After a few hours, taste the broth. If it is not spicy enough, add more of the spices used earlier. Also, add more water if needed to create a broth while the soup is cooking.
6. Add the shrimp during the last hour.

STRAWBERRY CORDIAL
Ingredients:
1 package strawberry lemonade Kool-Aid mix, one cup sugar, 3 strawberries, water, 2 cans of lemon-lime soda or ginger ale
Directions:
1. Chop the strawberries in tiny pieces. Put them in a bowl and sprinkle them with some sugar. Let them sit for about 1/2 hour to get juicy.
2. Put the Kool-Aid mix in a pitcher. Add the rest of the sugar, and fill it 1/2 of the way full with water. Stir unti all of the sugar is dissolved.
3. Add the strawberry mixture and stir some more.
4. Stir in the soda.

BEE BUTTER
Ingredients:
1 stick of butter, 4 tbsp. honey
Directions:
1. Put butter in bowl. Let it sit out until soft. Do not use the microwave or stove to melt it. (You could sit it on top of a heated oven to soften it faster.)
2. Stir in the honey. Mix them together until smooth.
3. Refrigerate until solid.
4. Let soften before using.

CHOCOLATE ABBOTCAKE
Ingredients:
1 (8.5 oz.) package yellow cake mix, 1 (6 serving) package of instant chocolate pudding, 4 eggs, 2/3 cup vegetable oil, 2/3 cup white sugar, 1/3 cup water, 1 (8 oz.) container sour cream, 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, small amount of powdered sugar
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt pan.
2. Dump all ingredients in a bow and mix, adding sour cream and chocolate chips last (if using and electric mixer, stir in chocolate chips by hand).
3. Pour batter into greased and floured bundt pan.
4. Bake for 55 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes before inverting on to cooling rack.