All's Faire in Middle School Blog Tour

 
We have been reading the newest book that was just released by Victoria Jamieson, All's Faire in Middle School.  It's like a comic book on steroids, over 250 pages of Renaissance fun.  Kaden and I took turns reading and I have to say it was a highlight of our most recent camping trip.  Bringing books along with you on car rides makes the time go by fast.  It's like the adventure before the adventures.  

We made a few things, 1st let's talk food.... we made yummy Meat and Veg Hand Pies.  These are perfect to wrap up and take on the go.
Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• ½ white onion, diced
• 2 russet potatoes, peeled, diced
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
• ½ Tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 cup mixed bag of frozen peas, corn and carrots
• ½ cup beef broth
• 3 Tablespoons flour
• 1 cup brisket (or beef of choice), cooked, shredded
• 4 (12-inch) pie crusts
• 1 Tablespoon butter, melted, for brushing

Preparation and Cooking:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions, potatoes, salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until onions are translucent and potatoes are softened. Then you add frozen peas, corn and carrots. :)
4. Add beef broth and bring to a simmer. Fold flour into the mixture gently until integrated. The mixture should thicken. Add your beef and cook for 5 minutes or until all ingredients are heated through. Remove from heat.
5. Cut raw pie crusts into circles approximately 5 inches in diameter. Fill the center of each crust with the potato mixture. Don't over-stuff .... Fold over the crusts to create a half-circle and press the edges together with your fingers. Decorate the edges by pressing with a fork, if desired. Brush the top of each pie with melted butter.
6. Line each hand pie evenly over the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until crusts are golden brown.

Now for a quick BOOK DESCRIPTION before we get into some crafts.....

Eleven-year-old Imogene (Impy) has grown up with two parents working at the Renaissance Faire, and she's eager to begin her own training as a squire. First, though, she'll need to prove her bravery. Luckily Impy has just the quest in mind—she'll go to public school after a life of being homeschooled! But it's not easy to act like a noble knight-in-training in middle school. Impy falls in with a group of girls who seem really nice (until they don't) and starts to be embarrassed of her thrift shop apparel, her family's unusual lifestyle, and their small, messy apartment. Impy has always thought of herself as a heroic knight, but when she does something really mean in order to fit in, she begins to wonder whether she might be more of a dragon after all.

As she did in Roller Girl, Victoria Jamieson perfectly—and authentically—captures the bittersweetness of middle school life with humor, warmth, and understanding.

AUTHOR BIO

Victoria Jamieson received her BFA in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design and worked as a children’s book designer before becoming a full-time illustrator. She has also worked as a portrait artist aboard a cruise ship, and has lived in Australia, Italy, and Canada. She now lives with her family in Portland, Oregon, where she maintains a not-so-secret identity as Winnie the Pow, skater with the Rose City Rollers roller derby league.

  We love craft time over here and the list has been long, here are just a few we have done recently.  Kaden was interested in the natural way they dyed things in the era of the Renaissance.  *So, we made some stamps out of potatoes and made paint with paprika, blueberries and corn flowers.  I cheated a little and added some food coloring when he wasn't looking. :O
*This is our attempt to make stained glass with watercolor.  I drew the picture and out lined it with plain elmers glue with black paint mixed in.  Then when it dried overnight I had Kaden watercolor the picture.
*And the last thing I will share is our pony bead bracelets.  So simple to make with pipe cleaners.....way more colorful then what you would find during that time.  But, it was more for the correlation of the crafting of goods part.  They simply didn't walk to a jewelry store.  Their pieces were hand crafted and a lot of the time made by loved ones.

For more Craft ideas that we will be doing over the next few weeks you can check out my Pinterest Board HERE

Blog SCHEDULE:

Week One:

September 4 – Books 4 Your Kids – Review

September 5 – YA Book Central – Author Guest Post | NEED PROMPT

September 6 – The Novel Hermit – Top 5 Things to do at a Renaissance Faire

September 7 – Dazzled by Books – Review

September 8 – YA Bibliophile – Review

Week Two:

September 11 – Teachers Who Read – Review

September 12 – Novel Novice – Styled by Books

September 13 – The Children’s Book Review – Author Q&A

September 14 – Four Violet – Crafts, Food & a Review Too!

September 15 – The Reading Nook Reviews – Review