The Mission Viejo Library wants you to create art and no experience is required! Teens are invited to pick up a Bad Art Kit and come up with beautiful, thought provoking pieces of fine art using random stuff we found in our craft room!
Kits are available upon request and can be picked up during the library’s curbside service hours (Tuesday through Saturday, 12pm to 5pm). When you’re done, take a picture of your incredible creations and send it to libraryprograms@cityofmissionviejo.org!”
Hi gang! Your Teen Services Librarian chiming in again with a wonderful gallery of photos we received from teens who decorated pumpkins! Take a look at what we got below and let us know what are your favorites! Got photos of your own pumpkins you want to share? Send them to libraryprograms@cityofmissionviejo.org and we’ll add them!
A big “THANK YOU!!!!!” to those who participated!
Although Halloween is this weekend, fall is staying for the next month. With that, pumpkins are still going to be in season before the pine trees roll in. Recently, I have seen more and more pumpkins being carved, but with that comes a lot of effort that some parents can’t take the time out of the day to help their children with. But I have also seen some fun ideas for decorating pumpkins that just takes some paint and permanent or paint makers.
I originally saw this idea from @belleoftheball45 on Instagram. She uses both white and orange pumpkins, both large and small. When I made this, I started with pouring acrylic paint onto a plate and using gloves to make the process cleaner. I used green, white, orange, and black paint. With the green paint, you stick your thumb into the paint and place thumbprints all over the pumpkins. Then, you can repeat with the rest of the colors, although keep in mind that the white paint won’t show up on the white pumpkins and the orange paint won’t show up on the orange pumpkins. I would also recommend using a separate glove for each color.
Once all your thumbprints are on and dry, you can begin decorating them. With the green paint, you can use green and black to make little Frankensteins. With the black, you can make many things including cats, spiders, and mice. With the white, you can make ghosts and with the orange, you can make pumpkins. You are, of course, not limited to just these. Have fun and experiment with this easy pumpkin decorating idea!
-Danielle B.
Nearly a year ago I wrote a post about my fascination with fictional food and its function within books (“Fictional Food: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”). In the post, I discussed a few food items mentioned in the first Harry Potter book and how they contributed to the mood of certain scenes, the relatability of the characters, and the complexity of the story overall.
Here, I’d like to revisit some of the delicious food from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone that I included in that post (along with unmentioned items), this time with some illustrations to accompany them. I hope you enjoy this visual feast :).
At the beginning of chapter 2, Harry finds himself at the zoo with Dudley and his friend, Piers Polkiss, to celebrate Dudley’s birthday. While a visit to the zoo in itself is an unprecedented treat for ten-year-old Harry, Harry’s good fortune seems to persist: at the zoo, “The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice lolly. It wasn’t bad either, Harry thought” (Rowling 33). The treats for Harry didn’t stop there. When Harry and the Dursleys ate lunch at the zoo, “Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory wasn’t big enough, [and] Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first” (34). I guess some good can come out of the spoiling of Dudley Dursley.
Chocolate ice creams, ice lollies, and knickerbocker glories are left behind when, overwhelmed by the persistence of the letters inviting Harry to attend Hogwarts, Uncle Vernon pulls his family on a wild excursion to “Shake ‘em off,” during which the Dursleys and Harry spend a night at “a gloomy-looking hotel” where they eat “stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast” (50). At this same meal, the hotel owner informs them of a surplus of letters addressed to Harry with the exact number of the room he is staying in. At this point it looks as if, despite Uncle Vernon’s admirable efforts, it’s going to be a bit harder than he thought it would be to “shake ‘em off.”
Despite the apparent futility of his efforts, Uncle Vernon does try harder to escape the Hogwarts letters. His determination culminates in Harry and the Dursleys spending a night in a hut on a rock, stranded by turbulent waves and a storm of wind and rain. Did Uncle Vernon think this through? Not thoroughly. Though, to his credit, he did bring some rations: “a packet of crisps each and four bananas” (53). The insubstantiality of this meal makes the next food that enters Harry’s mouth extra delicious.
After Hagrid enters the hut (by breaking down the door) and deduces that Uncle Vernon is not going to offer him tea or a drink (or anything, for that matter), he takes a number of objects out of his coat, including “a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, [and] several chipped mugs” and proceeds to cook the sausages over the fire. Soon, Hagrid offers “six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages to Harry, who [is] so hungry he ha[s] never tasted anything so wonderful” (57, 58).
While Harry meeting Hagrid is a defining moment in itself, Hagrid’s sausages may be the first tasty food offered solely to Harry out of kindness and care. This is one of Harry’s first tastes of a world where he is regarded as important and admirable and not as a messy-haired nephew who ought to be hidden in a cupboard under the stairs.
The delights of Hagrid’s generosity continue when he buys Harry “chocolate and raspberry [ice cream] with chopped nuts” in Diagon Alley (89). Whenever I read this part, this ice cream sounds so delicious, and I marvel at the fact that the simple inclusion of these little details makes the story so much richer and entertaining. Where Hagrid bought these delectable desserts is not stated, but I think it’s reasonable to guess that they were crafted by Florean Fortescue, the owner of an ice cream parlour where Harry spends much of his time two summers later.
Once at Hogwarts, Harry enjoys more food with Hagrid at Hagrid’s cabin, though perhaps it’s not as tasty as the ice cream in Diagon Alley. On Harry and Ron’s first visit to Hagrid’s, Harry introduces Ron while Hagrid pours “boiling water into a large teapot and [puts] rock cakes onto a plate … The rock cakes almost broke their teeth, but Harry and Ron pretended to be enjoying them” (154). Although Hagrid’s rock cakes are not the most scrumptious or easy-to-eat delights, I think they’re still endearing and fitting to the story—Harry and Ron don’t visit Hagrid for the food. Plus, maybe if you soaked the rock cakes in tea or milk they would make a delicious treat (or at least a softer one).
Here’s an illustration of the steak-and-kidney pie served at Hogwarts the night Professor McGonagall discovers Harry’s talent as a Quidditch Seeker (I’ve accompanied it with some pumpkin juice, though it’s not mentioned in the book). By the time Harry’s done telling Ron the news that he has been made Seeker on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Ron has “a piece of steak-and-kidney pie halfway to his mouth, but [he’s] forgotten all about it” (166). We know a piece of news is important when it makes Ron forgets about food.
In his state of excitement from unwittingly finding himself on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Harry probably does not forsee the state of his nerves on the morning of his first match. While “the delicious smell of fried sausages” pervades the Great Hall, Harry does not even want to eat the “bit of toast” Hermione tries to coax him to eat. His appetite is probably diminished further when Seamus reminds him that “Seekers are always the ones who get nobbled” while “pil[ing] ketchup on his sausages” (200).
The last two illustrations are inspired by Harry’s first Christmas at Hogwarts:
“Harry had never in all his life seen such a Christmas dinner. A hundred fat, roast turkeys, mountains of roast and boiled potatoes, platters of fat chipolatas, tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce—and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table … Flaming Christmas puddings followed the turkey” (220).
After a “happy afternoon having a furious snowball fight in the grounds” with the Weasleys and a chess game with Ron, Harry enjoys “a tea of turkey sandwiches, crumpets, trifle and Christmas cake” (221).
I really enjoyed illustrating these dishes and treats from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, which wouldn’t have been possible without J.K. Rowling’s detailed and generous descriptions. I loved learning about new kinds of food when I looked up pictures and descriptions of Yorkshire puddings, rock cakes, steak-and-kidney pie, chipolatas, trifle, and flaming Christmas puddings for reference (if you’re interested and haven’t seen a flaming Christmas pudding, I would suggest looking up an image—they look so cool!). I hope these illustrations were entertaining for Harry Potter lovers and food lovers alike!
– Mia T.
-Wenqing Z., 12th grade
Published in 1851, Moby-Dick tells the story of a man obsessed with hunting a whale, and is considered to be a classic of American Romanticism. The following pieces of mixed-media art were inspired by the text.
Editor’s note: Have you read the 1979 Newbery Award winning title, The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin? If not, put this clever mystery on your to-read list. If you’ve read it, you’ll be able to picture the following script as an edge-of-your-seat awesome movie trailer.
This is a game that is worth two hundred million dollars.
[I, Samuel W. Westing, hereby swear that I did not die of natural causes. My life was taken from me- by one of you!]
Sixteen heirs, one winner.
[They were mothers and fathers and children. A dressmaker, a secretary, an inventor, a doctor, a judge. And, oh yes, one was a bookie, one was a burglar, one was a bomber, and one was a mistake.]
Who is the dead soul looking for?
[Who among you is worthy to be the Westing heir? Help me. My soul shall roam restlessly until that one is found. The estate is at the crossroads. The heir who wins the windfall will be the one who finds the…]
Who is the final answer?
[“Somebody’s in real danger, and I think it’s me.”]
For the two hundreds million, the answers are given.
[Wrong! All answers are wrong!]
What is the real purpose behind everything?
[“Uh—uh——UHHH!” His hand flew to his throat. He struggled to his feet, red-faced and gasping, and crashed to the floor in eye-bulging agony.]
That one- that person is the answer!
[Shhh! They were struggling with their conscience. Millions and millions of dollars just for naming the name.]
The heir who wins the windfall will be the one who finds the… what?
Who will be the one?
Welcome to The Westing Game.
-Wenqing Z., 11th grade
The Lovely Bones is one of my favorite books. The main character, Susie, tells the story from a unique point of view– she is dead, and tells the story of her dear ones from Heaven above. The concept of Heaven and the usage of flashbacks are the highlights of this book.
What will happen to a family that loses one of its members? What will happen when this girl dies but still has the chance to watch her family while she’s trapped in her perfect heaven?
Inside the snow globe on my father’s desk, there was a penguin wearing a red-and-white-striped scarf. When I was little, my father would pull me into his lap and reach for the snow globe. He would turn it over, letting all the snow collect on the top, then quickly invert it. The two of us watched the snow fall gently around the penguin. The penguin was alone in there, I thought, and I worried for him. When I told my father this, he said, “Don’t worry, Susie; he has a nice life. He’s trapped in a perfect world.” (The Lovely Bones prologue)
-Wenqing Z., 10th grade
Mission Viejo Library Teen Voice 