Today's Highlights:
Saturday, April 12, 2008
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A Beverly Cleary Book Source |
Spotlight: If you try to imagine the kind of person who would write books about children like Henry Huggins and Ramona Quimby, or pets like Ralph S. Mouse and Ribsy, it wouldn't be much of a stretch to come up with someone like Beverly Cleary. Like her characters, Cleary grew up in Portland, Oregon, in a time of greater innocence. Cleary calls the neighborhood where her characters live "the most stable neighborhood in the United States." But when she was growing up, there were few books about children like her and her friends, so she worked to fill that void. Her books have been published in 20 countries and in 14 languages and have earned her numerous awards including the Newberry Medal and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award. Happy 92nd birthday to beloved children's author Beverly Cleary.
Question of the Day: What were the books that Beverly Clearly wrote?Among others, she wrote a series of books about Ramona, the sister Ramona called Beezus, their friend Henry, and his dog, Ribsy. Following is a list of her books:
- Henry Huggins
- Ellen Tebbits
- Henry and Beezus
Word of the day: fettle (n.
- Proper or sound condition.
- Mental or emotional state; spirits: was in fine fettle.
- Metallurgy. Loose sand or ore used to line the hearth of a reverberatory furnace in preparation for pouring molten metal.
To line the hearth of (a reverberatory furnace) with loose sand or ore in preparation for pouring molten metal.
[From Middle English fetlen, to make ready, possibly from Old English fetel, girdle.]
Usage: After a week of cleaning, the house was in top fettle, but I was a mess!
Some believe that the time-honored practice of spring cleaning came from the Jewish world's traditional pre-Passover cleaning. In the spirit of the season, dust off your thinking cap, clear the cobwebs from your mind and have some good clean fun with this week's words.
Today's History:
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| Comets Rehearse |
- Galileo: Italian scientist's heresy trial began during the Inquisition (1633)
- US Civil War: started when Confederate troops attacked Fort Sumter (1861)
- Bill Haley and His Comets: recorded "Rock Around the Clock" and ushered in the era of rock 'n' roll (1954)
Today's Birthdays:
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| Andy Garcia |
- Lily Pons (1898-1976): coloratura soprano; diva Montserrat Caballé (75) also has a birthday today
- Herbie Hancock (68): jazz musician who wrote the score for 'Round Midnight
- Tom Clancy (61): techno-thriller novelist, The Hunt for Red October; also, novelist Scott Turow (59)
- David Letterman (61): late-night talk show host
- David Cassidy (58): singer/teen idol on The Partridge Family; other singers born today include Vince Gill (51), Amy Ray (44) and Guy Berryman (30)
- Andy Garcia (52): actor, Ocean's Eleven, The Air I Breathe; actors Ed O'Neill (62), Dan Lauria (61), Nicholas Brendon and Shannen Doherty (both 37) and Claire Danes and Jennifer Morrison (both 29) were also born on this date
