Houdini and A Humpback Whale Walk into Alcatraz...

Hi, PBnauts! I got to do something really fun yesterday! I was a... Secret Santa! I'm participating in the fabulous Book Blogger Holiday Swap (http://holidayswap.wordpress.com/) and yesterday was Package O' Goodness shipping day! I hope my Santee likes their stuff--I LOVE what I got from my BBHS Secret Santa! Here it is:

It's a collection of the public street sign mascots, advertising characters, etc. from Japan! Kore wa kawaii, desu ka? Thank you, thank you Secret Santa... whoever you are! Wanna get in on the fun? Leave yourself a Post-It to sign up for next year!

Got a fun reply from illustrator Ross Collins--I may have found my weirdness equal!

Great birthday with Monkeykid! And, ever wonder what's inside those star-shaped weights that they tie onto helium balloons? Monkeykid and Husband Guy did... and then, they attacked it! KI-YA! So, what's inside? It's CEMENT! So now, we have a teeny star-shaped cement stepping stone in our garden!

I just splurged on an $89/year Amazon Prime membership. Me want book. Me order book. Book arrive with free shipping two days later. Me happy! (Me likely to spend mortgage payment on books.)

And other little extravagances... I just discovered there's a Peanut Butter of the Month Club! Listen to this: "gourmet, hand-crafted peanut butters from boutique, regional producers across the country." Whoa. From Amazing Clubs: http://tiny.cc/51mi1

Can you stand some more leftovers? Nope, not turkey and stuffing--PBs! I just looked at my return-to-the-library bag, and I can't really pull together a "theme" for my PBs today. (Note my failed post title attempt!) But, like real leftovers often are, these are good, too! Here are just a few recent reads:

Alcatraz to Zanzibar: Famous Places from A to Z by Colleen Dolphin (ABDO Publishing Company, 2009). Amazing photos and cool facts about famous places all around the globe. My fave: the Giant's Causeway, a natural rock formation in Northern Ireland. (It looks like a giant left a big pile of stone Legos on the beach!)

Humpback Whales Up Close by Jody Sullivan Rake (Capstone Press, 2010). Amazing photos and cool facts about humpback whales! Something I didn't know: a group of humpback whales will swim below a school of fish, blow bubbles from their blowholes to confuse the school--then gulp 'em up!

A Picture Book of Harry Houdini by David A. Adler and Michael S. Adler, illustrated by Matt Collins (Holiday House, 2009). Amazing illustrations and cool facts about Harry Houdini. Something that made me go, "Ohhh!": at age eleven, Houdini took a job with the local locksmith, where he soon learned to open all the locks without keys!

Hey, wait a minute! Those are all non-fiction titles! So hey, we have a theme after all! "Cool New Non-fiction Titles!" HOORAY!

I have a Broomstix deadline this week (yea, YULE! You RULE!) so I'll see ya Friday or Monday, PBnauts!