2006 PULITZER PRIZE WINNERS

The annual Pulitzer Prize winners were announced earlier this week for 2006. While primarily given for excellence in various areas of journalism, awards are also given in several categories of literature and arts.
The prize for Fiction went to Geraldine Brooks' March (2005) (FIC BRO)--the story of the father of Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy from Little Women, from his early years through his Civil War experience and after.
The prize for History went to David M. Oshinsky's Polio: An American Story (2005) (614.549 OSH)--controversial account of Polio, the research and vaccines that were developed, and the personalities connected to the disease.
The prize for Biography went to Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin for American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer (2005) (BIO OPP)--covers the life of the famous Manhattan Project physicist, before and after the development of the atomic bomb.

MARSHMALLOW PEEPS

What would the Spring Holiday Season be without Marshmallow Peeps? They've become not only a source of tasty candy flavor, but a source of fun and experimentation. Many websites are devoted to Peeps, including a Wikipedia entry, a Lord of the Rings Peeps spoof, a site with song lyrics, a Flash games site, a Peeps as famous Rockers site, an NPR site, and recipe sites. You can even make your own marshmallow chicks and bunnies by using the Martha Stewart Living Magazine version recipe or the one at All Recipes.

WEBBY AWARDS 2006

The nominations have just been released for the annual Webby Awards. This "international award honoring excellence in web design, creativity, usability and functionality" has been given out since 1997 by the The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. There are more than 60 categories of submitted websites, ranging from personal to political, from commercial to entertainment, and more. Each category has two winners, one from the Academy and one from the People's Voice--anyone can register to vote (until May 5) for their own favorite sites from the nominees. The winners will be announced on May 9.

EASTER & PASSOVER 2006

This year these two religious holidays are occuring within a week of each other: Easter is on Sunday, April 16 (Orthodox date is April 23), and Passover begins on the evening of Wednesday, April 12. There is even more overlap this year when taking into account the fact that Passover lasts about a week and Holy Week (culminating in Easter) also starts this week on Sunday, April 9. In fact, the Last Supper was supposedly a Passover Seder.

Food is an important part of both days:

Passover Recipes
Kosher Cooking
Recipezaar
Kosher for Passover
All Recipes
Angel Fire
Food Network
Epicurious

Easter Recipes:
Epicurious
All Recipes
Recipezaar
Razzle Dazzle Recipes
Land o' Lakes
Food Network
Mr. Free Free (links)

Some thing for the kids to do for these holidays:

Passover Crafts/Games
Kids Domain
DMOZ (links)
Billy Bear 4 Kids
Pesach Games
Torah Tots
Angel Fire

Easter Crafts/Games
DLTK
Billy Bear 4 Kids
Kids Domain
Primary Games
A Kid's Heart
Black Dog
Family Fun
Rexanne's (links)
Fun Munch
Woman's Day
DMOZ (links)

The Youth Department has many story and picture books available concerning Easter and Passover, most of which are on display now. There are also some related cookbooks available at the Elk Grove Library:
Matzah Meals: A Passover Cookbook for Kids (2004) by Judy Tabs and Barbara Steinberg (J 641.5676 TAB)
A Passover Holiday Cookbook (2002) by Emily Raabe (J 641.5676 RAA)
The New York Times Passover Cookbook: More Than 200 Holiday Recipes from Top Chefs and Writers (1999) by edited by Linda Amster (641.5676 NEW)
Let My People Eat!: Passover Seders Made Simple (1998) by Zell Schulman (641.5676 SCH)
Passover Desserts (1996) by Penny Wantuck Eisenberg (641.5676 EIS)
An Easter Holiday Cookbook (2002) by Emily Raabe (J 641.568 RAA)
Easter Treats: Recipes and Crafts for the Whole Family (1998) by Jill O'Connor (641.568 OCO)
Easter: A Spring Celebration of Traditional Crafts and Recipes (1994) by Tessa Evelegh (745.5941 EVE)
Easter Cooking (2003) by Rebecca Gilpin and Catherine Atkinson (J 641.568 GIL)

APRIL FOOLS DAY

Today is the annual celebration of pranks and tricks on others--sometimes really gross ones. Hoaxes (here's another site) and practical jokes abound today. Some relatively easy jokes involve food. Here's more on the Day and some ideas for "celebrating" it. There's even an annual [phantom] Parade announced for New York City.
Some quotations about April Fools Day and Fools. More quotes can be found here.