The Pagemaster Meets Story-Hour Kids

Adventure, Fantasy and Horror come alive at The Neat Little Bookshop after school on Wednesdays.
Photo: Gizmo ( Pekingese Person ), Jessica, Coco ( Brown and White Rabbit), Maddie and Lilli meet Adventure, Fantasy and Horror. ( Click to view larger image. )

Robert Bateman Signing Books

Robert Bateman signs a book at The Robert Bateman Art Show, London, Ontario, Canada.

Upcoming Shows: Tuesday, October 27, Downtown Toronto and Saturday, October 31, Stouffville.

For more information visit http://www.goldeneagleart.ca/

Photo: by Lorna

Artist and Naturalist Robert Bateman

Renowned artist and naturalist, Robert Bateman, describes how he painted the polar bear. The Robert Bateman Art Show* was held today in the Carousel Room, Western Fairgrounds, London, Ontario.
* Hosted by Golden Eagle Art Galleries. http://www.goldeneagleart.ca/
Photo: by Lorna

Wit and Wisdom

Journalists, aficionatos of the written word -- anyone dabbling in writing -- is generally a hoarder of quotations. It is an interesting phenomonon. Easily understood. Much of the world's wisdom is encapsuled in quotations if one thinks about it.
Newspapers use quotations to fill an awkward space. Scholars use quotations to express a thought more eloquently stated than perhaps they could themselves. Writers enhance their papers by referencing the wit and wisdom of others.
We often talk about the literary value of books. As descerning readers, is it fair to suggest that if there is nothing worth quoting between the covers of a book, the value of the book is in question?

Bookshop Butterscotch Crunchy Cookies

You continue to ask for our Butterscotch Crunchy Cookies recipe. We got this recipe from the Dunnville Heritage Society; however, we think that the bookshop has made the cookie famous!
Here it is:
2 c. flour*, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 2 c. Rice Krispies, 2 c. Corn Flakes (well-crushed), 1 c. flaked coconut, 1 - 300 gm. pkg. butterscotch Chipits (or much less), 1 egg (beaten), 1 c. butter (melted), 1/2 c. brown sugar (or less), 1/3 c. liquid honey.
Combine dry ingredients. Cream egg, butter, sugar and honey. Add to dry ingredients. Bake at 36o F. for 8 min. or less. Don't over bake!
* We have seen healthier versions of this recipe using whole-wheat flour; however, folks seem to prefer the white flour!

Source of Comfort

What motivates the avid reader to sit alone with a book? Of course, there is the academic aspect to it; however, ultimately, I believe that reading is a source of comfort. An insatiable appetite for ideas. An intriguing insight into other people's lives. The thrill of adventure. An escape from the everyday pressures.
Avid readers carry a book under their arm wherever they go. They can be found in restaurants, on subways, in parks, at ballgames, in auction halls. Author, Upton Sinclair, confessed that he "would be missing at a party and be discovered behind the sofa with a book."

Journalist, author, Eric Burns, believes that the serious reader

"expands his circle of acquaintances, but is not unhappy with his friends... expands his knowledge of place, but is not dissatisfied with home. ... expands his awareness of self, but is not confused about his identity, his responsibilities, or his beliefs."
Eric Burns, The Joy of Books, Prometheus Books, 1995

Photo: by Lorna

119 Year Old ~ Lye Opus 107 Pipe Organ

The last Lye organ was built in 1954 in Toronto, Ontario. In addition to the 119 year old working Lye organ in Smithville, Ontario, there are sixty scattered among churches in Toronto and others remain in B.C., Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and the Yukon. The Royal Canadian College of Organists has designated the Smithville organ as "one of the only working pump organs of that era."
Born in Crewkeme, Somerset, England, Edward Lye, a cabinet maker, arrived in Canada in 1857. He began his organ building business in 1864 at 18 and 20 St. Alban's Street, Toronto.
Photo: by Lorna