Finding Christmasville

Book Menu for Finding Christmasville   by Michael Dutton

ISBN of edition I read: 9780978665524 (trade paperback)

Food mentioned in Finding Christmasville:
Hot cocoa, 2, 5-7, 15-16, 21, 26, 29, 31-32, 51, 95
     167, 184, 200, 210, 223, 225, 273, 359
Corned beef hash, 3
Biscuits and elderberry jam, 7
Cheese and crackers, 7, 296, 300, 406
Apple cider, 10
Caramel Bulls'-Eye candies, 21
Peanuts, 23, 26, 359-360
Cherry coke, 23-24
Fifth Ave. candy bar, 24
Raspberry truffles, 27
Coconut clusters, 27
Almond bark, 28
Chocolate covered pretzels, 28
Licorice sticks, 28
Fig Newtons, 30
Chocolate chip cookies, 43-44, 46, 61
Eggnog, 45
Turkey sandwiches, 45
Shortbread, 46
Plum pudding cakes, 48
Pumpkin bread, 49
Tea, 51, 55
Angel's food cake, 61
Strawberry jello, 69
Meatloaf, 186
     Meatloaf with mushroom gravy, 75
Vegetable lasagna, 79
Yankee pot roast, 83
Blueberry pie with vanilla ice cream, 84, 86-87, 91
New York Cheesecake, 91
Walnuts, 97
Almonds, 97
Cashews, 97
Chestnuts, 97
Biscuits with apricot jam, 114
Gingerbread tea, 114
Soft boiled eggs, 128
Oatmeal, 128
English muffin with blueberry jam, 128, 389
Birch beer, 131
Babe Ruths candy bars, 154
Almond Joys, 154
Snickers, 154
Sugar Pops, 156
Juicy Fruits, 196-197, 361
Pizza, 200-201, 252, 254
Cream soda, 201
Peanut butter and jelly sandwich, 208, 362
Bridge mix, 210
French cruller, 214
Penny candy, 231
Caesar salad, 252
Petit fours, 258
Madeleines, 258
Cheese sandwiches, 289
Cupcakes, 364-365
Watermelon, 380
Minestrone soup, 406
Apple juice, 406

Books/Authors mentioned in Finding Christmasville:
James Joyce, 32-33, 126, 207
Pride and Prejudice / Jane Austen, 32-33, 92, 125-126, 366
Arabian Nights, 120, 154
The Chronicles of Narnia / C.S. Lewis, 249

Television programs mentioned in Finding Christmasville:
The Howdy Doody Show, 152, 156, 161
The Lone Ranger, 153, 62
The Flintstones, 388

Music mentioned in Finding Christmasville:
"Miroirs" / Maurice Ravel, 47-48
"Rockin' Round the Christmas Tree" Brenda Lee, 75
"The Most Wonderful Time of the Year", 77
"Happy Trails to You" / Roy Rogers, 80
"Blue Christmas" / Elvis Presley, 91
"Deck the Halls", 96
"We Three Kings", 114
The Beatles , 241
"The Nutcracker Suite" / Rachmaninoff, 241
"Amore" / Frank Sinatra, 252

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Christmasville

Book menu for Christmasville by Michael Dutton

I absolutely loved this novel and couldn't put it down.  I've been telling everyone who will listen about it.  I'm sure I will read it again and again.  It's certainly not just for reading at Christmas time.  Christmasville is told from the point of view of 14 year-old Mary Jane.  This story is filled with humor, wit, good feeling, and mystery.  There is even a key scene that takes place in one of my favorite places...the public library!

ISBN of edition I read: 9780978665593 (trade paperback)

Food mentioned in Christmasville:
Tollhouse cookies, 3-4, 67, 89-90, 94, 105
Turkey sandwiches, 4
Hot cocoa, 5-7, 11, 13, 16, 21, 30, 37, 70, 72, 97
     113, 149, 155, 184, 197
Candy canes, 7, 34, 116, 129
Peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, 11, 21, 184
Chocolate bars, 11, 15
French fries, 27, 29, 39
Belgian waffles, 30
Ice cream sundaes, 36, 49
Chicken teriyaki, 37, 42
Texas toast, 37, 111
Swedish meatballs, 38
Boston cream pie, 38, 111, 311
Cheesecake, 38, 111
Hot apple cider, 49
Butterscotch pudding 67
Malted milk balls, 67, 137, 211
Baked ham, 67
Apple pie, 67
Gingerbread cookies, 67, 80
Ice cream sodas, 68, 199
     Black Cow (chocolate ice cream w/rootbeer), 119
Eggnog, 115-116
Fudge brownies, 118
Lemon meringue pie, 118, 142
Penny candy, 123, 129
Fruitcake, 131
Mincemeat pie, 131
Black forest cake, 142, 144
Berries jubilee, 142
Jellybeans, 143
Chocolate custard, 146
Jack Daniels, 184-185
Clark Bar, 193
German chocolate cake, 212
Ginger ale, 221
Meat loaf, 224
Coffee cake, 227
Corn muffin, 247
BLTs, 284
Chicken soup, 303
Cheese and crackers, 303

Discussion questions for Christmasville:
What do Mary Jane and Otis and Willy Wright have in common?
Describe Mary Jane's relationship with her father.
What other books or movies did you think of while reading Christmasville?
What themes run through this story?  What, if any, are the author's messages?
Christmasville is told in the female first person point of view by a male author.  Does this work?
Describe Mary Jane in one word.
Will you read the sequel, Finding Christmasville?   Why or why not?

My favorite passages from Christmasville:
p. 107 "Are there whole worlds that are bigger than us? Smaller than us?
p. 144 "The whole notion of remembering--of memory--is something that is almost too much to bear."

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Dash & Lily's Book of Dares

 
Book menu for Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

ISBN of edition I read: 9780375866593 (hardcover)

This is a sweet and hilarious comedy about two 16-year olds who have to spend Christmas alone in their hometown of New York City. It's a new twist on the boy-meets-girl plot and great for bibliophiles. There is also a "dash" of Cinderella and Ebenezer Scrooge.  I wish I had an aunt like "Mrs. Basil E."!

Food mentioned in Dash & Lily's Book of Dares:
Coke Zero, 7
   Coke, 39
   Diet Coke, 117
Eggnog, 10
Cookies, 15, 45, 47, 51-2
   Spritz cookies, 46
      Chocolate snowflake, 53
      Eggnog, 53
      Gingerbread, 53
      Lebkuchen spice, 53-4, 102, 183, 199, 258
      Min kiss, 53
      Pumpkin, 53
Hot chocolate with peppermint liquor, 17
Peanut butter and banana sandwiches, 19
Pizza, 23-4
Calzones, 24
Goldfish crackers, 44
Popcorn, 47
Corn muffins, 62
Eggs, toast, pancakes, 70
Orange juice, 70, 180
Snickers bars, 73
Sno-Caps, 79
Yogurt, 86, 190, 205, 258
Milk and cookies, 91
Chicken soup, 99
Hot cider, 102
Ice cream sundaes, 105
Fanta, 126
Fresca, 126-7
Diet Rite, 126
Vegetarian lasagna, 137
Mountain Dew, 144, 155
Tea, 150
   Earl Grey, 151
   Lady Grey, 151
   Chamomile, 151
   Green Tea, 151
   Mint tea, 151
   English Breakfast tea, 151
Hot toddies, 162, 164
Candy cane drink (alcoholic), 164
Pancakes, 179-80
Chocolate pizza, 204
Noodle pudding, 236
Rice Krispies treats, 244, 255

Books/Authors mentioned in Dash & Lily's Book of Dares:
Marcel Proust, 2
French Pianism: A Historical Perspective / Charles Timbrell, 4, 10, 14
Fat Hoochie Prom Queen / Nico Medina, 6-8, 10, 14, 21
The Joy of Gay Sex(3rd ed.)/ Charles Silverstein, 8, 10-11, 21, 130
   203
What the Living Do: Poems / Marie Howe, 12, 24-5, 90
Harriet the Spy / Louise Fitzhugh, 19, 23
 J. D. Salinger , 263
   Franny and Zooey, 21, 74-75, 86, 90, 203
   Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters, Carpenters, 203
   Nine Stories, 203
The Godfather / Mario Puzo, 23-4
Vile Bodies / Evelyn Waugh, 33
Oxford English Dictionary, 61-2, 68, 74, 78, 251
John Cheever, 90
E.B. White, 90
   The Trumpet of the Swan, 90
The Tender Bar: A Memoir / J.R. Moehringer, 90
Revolutionary Road / Richard Yates, 90
The Gathering/ Anne Enright, 90
A Christmas Carol / Charles Dickens, 101
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler /
   E.L. Konigsburg, 104
Federico Garcia Lorca, 128
Cain, 145
Winston Churchill's memoirs, 146
James Patterson, 147
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes / Arthur Conan Doyle, 149
Jane Austen, 149
Mark Strand, 186
   "The Story of Our Lives" (poem), 195-6
Langston Hughes, 232
Nicholas Sparks, 250

Movies mentioned in Dash & Lily's Book of Dares:
Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer, 10, 38-9, 42-45, 49, 156
The Godfather, 25
The Godfather III, 25
Clueless, 25-26
The Sorrow and the Pity, 26
Miracle on 34th Street, 26
Meet Me in St Louis, 79

Magazines mentioned in Dash & Lily's Book of Dares:
Maxim, 20
Vogue, 152
The New Yorker, 184

Plays mentioned in Dash &Lily's Book of Dares:
Rent / Jonathan Larson, 21
Hedda Gabler / Henrik Ibsen, 175

Artists mentioned in Dash & Lily's Book of Dares:
Georgia O'keeffe, 151

Music mentioned in Dash & Lily's Book of Dares:
O Holy Night, 17
Mozart, 19
"Handel's Messiah ", 46
Mamma Mia Soundtrack , 86
Eminem , 109
Green Day , 113
Klezmer music, 113, 135
The Beatles, 162, 164
"1812 Overture", 213
"Stop" / Spice Girls , 229

Great vocabulary mentioned in Dash & Lily's Book of Dares:
ersatz, 1
philatelist, 2
infinitesimal, 61
arcane, 61, 67, 75
magnanimous, 74
sycophants, 88
liquescent, 91
epistolary, 150
germane, 152
sentient, 156

Door prize/Gift basket ideas for Dash & Lily's Book of Dares:
Red notebook/journal
Gift card to The Strand bookstore (NYC)
Gift card to Two Boots Pizza (NYC)
Copy of the movie Gramma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
Copy of the book What the Living Do: Poems by Marie Howe
A tin of Lebkuchen spice cookies
Gift cards to Macy's or FAO Schwarz toy store

Libraries mentioned in Dash & Lily's Book of Dares:
page 65: ...I spent the whole weekend darting through alleys and peering inside every bookcase crevice I found in the library, looking for my cats.

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