This is my archive

January 15 is National Hat Day!

Hats have been worn for thousands of years. In fact, Egyptian artwork from 3200 BC depicts a man wearing a straw hat! Hats can be practical – keeping people comfortable in the sun or rain. They can also be purely decorative, like the tiny “doll hats” worn atop huge wigs in the 18th century, and the “fascinators” still worn for special occasions today. For some fun stories featuring hats, check out the books below: Read More

National Cupcake Day

The term "cupcake" originally referred to how cupcakes were baked -- in a teacup! Not to confuse matters, but “cupcake” also once referred to a cake made with ingredients measured by the cupful (for example, 1 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 3 cups flour, and 4 eggs). However, this second type of cupcake was usually baked in a pan, not a cup. Today, cupcakes are typically baked in muffin tins. Does that mean cupcakes are muffins in disguise? Definitely not! Not only are the ingredients and mixing methods different for cupcakes and muffins, but cupcakes also have frosting (and we think frosting makes ALL the difference)! Learn how to bake your own cupcakes and other sweet treats (including muffins!) with these fun baking cookbooks: Read More

The World’s Tallest Snowman

According to Guinness World Records, the world’s tallest snowman was built in 2008 in Bethel, Maine. Named Olympia, she was constructed out of 13 million pounds of snow. Her hat was 48 feet wide, her lips were crafted out of five car tires, and eight pairs of skis were used to create her eyelashes.  Celebrate the first day of winter with some of these lovely books about snow: Read More

Nobel Prize Day

Mahatma Gandhi was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times between 1937 and 1948. Nobel Prizes are rarely given posthumously, and upon his death in 1948 Gandhi was no longer considered eligible to receive the Prize.  Over the past 120 years many remarkable people have been nominated for a Nobel Prize but never recognized as Nobel Laureates. Books celebrating some of these outstanding individuals are shared below. Read More

Jazzy’s Nobel Prize Day Bookshelf

 Five different Nobel prizes have been awarded almost every year since 1901 to individuals and organizations deemed to have made the most important contributions to world peace, physics, chemistry, medicine and literature. A sixth prize, for economic sciences, was added in 1968.  Jazzy’s Nobel Prize Day Bookshelf celebrates a number of well-known Nobel Laureates, as well as Alfred Nobel -- the man who made the Nobel Prize possible.  Read More