A Day in France--Around the World in 12 Dishes

This month we are "traveling" to France with some dishes, crafts and stories. Won't you join us?

Coloring Pages Available at DLTK

Wednesdays are our day to catch up with life and relax since it is the day between Hazel's two school days. This Wednesday we didn't have plans, so we decided to explore France a bit. I had gotten some books out of the library about French cooking. We decided to look at the Fiesta one.

This is a fun series which focuses on celebrations in countries. Each book introduces the country with a map and things about the different parts. There is always something about the religion as well and then it gets into holidays and festivals. The first recipe we found was for Croque Monsieur (or what I call a grilled ham and cheese sandwich). Hazel asked for a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch and I asked if she wanted ham as well on it. She of course did since she has my love of ham. 

Then we saw a recipe for a French Apple Tart. Now apple pie is Steven's favorite dessert, so we decided we had to try it. Before going to the store to get the ingredients I looked for some French themed crafts and found some great ones over at DLTK's Kids including a recipe for a food her family had while in France, so we decided to try it for dinner as well. We went out to run errands and stopped at AAA for a tour book on France and some maps. They gave us a tour book for Europe since they did not have one on just France and some maps. We haven't had time to look at them yet, so look for our follow-up post on our "trip" to France. We also stopped at the library for some French stories. Again, look for details in our follow-up post. Today it is about the food!

We made the French Apple Tart first. My little baker loved helping with cutting the butter and controlling the mixer. She also tried to peel the apples, but had a bit of difficulty. The recipe for the tart came from the Fiesta! France book. It was very simple and delicious! 

Next we made the tartiflette.The recipe came from DLTK Kids. I used of course fat free sour cream and reduced fat cream cheese and fat free mozzarella. The only cheese of the three choices listed our store had was Gruyere. I wish I had shredded it. It did not melt well, but the meal was still delicious!!

We also discovered at DLTK Kids that the rooster is the national animal of France and the iris is the national flower. We also got all the coloring pages from that link.

The France coloring placemat right here and the passport right here. Also check out these great French adventures and add your own here.

Easter in France

Today we are taking a look at Easter in France. Earlier this week we looked at Easter traditions in Bermuda. I have to say with giant omelettes, flying bells, and egg battles there are a lot of interesting things going on in France around Easter. I shared a bit about Easter in France a few years ago as well. Now one of the more interesting things are the Flying Bells or Cloche Volant. Since France is mostly Roman Catholic the tradition says that all the church bells fly to Rome to see the Pope on Good Friday. No bells are rung between Good Friday (the day Jesus died) and Easter. This custom started in the 12th century. When the bells return from Rome they drop all sorts of treats for the children to find. Some have changed the Flying Bells to the Easter Bunny, but the Flying Bells are still popular. Candy shops sell chocolate bells as well as bunnies and eggs in France. I was surprised not to find too many flying bell crafts on-line. I found this one to color but that was about it. I decided to make my own. 

Easter Around the World--France, Spain and Portugal

Today we are going to continue exploring Easter Around the World. Today's stops will be Spain, Portugal and France. Now my first knowledge of Easter in Spain came when my grandparents toured Spain and Morocco at Easter time. They brought back for me a doll which was filled with candy. The doll I had in our doll collection, however it always made me feel uncomfortable, because if you do not know about the Easter celebrations in Spain, it looked like a member of the Ku Klux Klan. It did not help that the doll was wearing a red robe with a white headdress (so red where the picture above is white and white where it is blue or similar to the ones below without the black capes).

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Source: By Alessio Damato (Own work) [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC-BY-SA-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Now these marchers are called penitents. They represent feeling sorry for any bad acts. They often carry the cross or Jesus on the cross and find it a heavy burden to carry for their sins. In Spain, Holy Week is called Semana Santa. People drape black clothes from balconies and statues of Mary are dressed in black lace. As they are mourning the death of Jesus. There are parades like the one above and people dress up in clothes that were worn in Jesus' time. On Good Friday men take part in Los Tamborados. It is a ceremony where they beat drums to mourn the death of Jesus. Even when the drummer gets tired he does not stop. No candles are lit in the church on Good Friday or Holy Saturday. On Easter a special candle is lit in the churches to symbolize Christ's victory over death. Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny are not a big thing in Spain. For children too young to receive the First Communion, the dessert on Good Friday is mona. Mona is a large bun decorated with colorful eggs. Once a child receives their First Communion, they have more serious things to think of and no longer get the special mona.

Source: By Fun25 (Own work) [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Source: By Joseolgon (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0],
via Wikimedia Commons

Portugal has a very similar celebration as Spain. On Good Friday crowds gather in town wearing the white hoods as a sign to God they are sorry for their sins. They pray and carry torches. In some parades children carry floats that tell a story from the Bible. In the evening there are Easter fireworks to show light comes out of darkness. The new hope and new life are born. In Braga, there have a funeral procession for the Lord.

Source: By Joseolgon (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

France Source

In parts of France there are similar Good Friday parades. In Sartène, a man in red robes and hood covering his face, called the Red Penitent, carries a cross through the streets (see picture above). He is followed by men in black robes chanting a hymn. This goes on until midnight. In Corsica the penitent repeats the suffering of Christ by carrying a heavy cross. Otherwise Easter or Pâques in French is very similar to Easter in the United States. Children who go to their first confession on Holy Saturday may bring eggs as a gift to the priest. La Semaine Sainte or Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday where people bring branches to church. The decorated branches can be from palm trees or many other types. Palm Sunday is also called Pâques Fleuries or Easter in bloom. In France the children are told that on the evening of Holy Thursday the church bells fly away to Rome. No bells are rung until Easter morning when the bells fly back. The bells drop chocolate bunnies, bells, and eggs for the children to find when they fly back. The chocolate is from the Pope who the bells visited. In some parts of France children look for little chariots of goodies. The Easter Bunny also makes an appearance by hiding little nests that the children make and leave out Saturday night. The children have a great time looking for all the treasures. A game children play in France is to throw raw eggs in the air. The first person to drop one loses the game. 

That is our look at Easter in Spain, Portugal and France. I find the similarity of the hooded outfits so interesting. All of my information for this post came from the books shown above and from Euroclub Schools - Easter in France which has some great information about the holiday from a child's perspective. If you live in one of these countries and want to correct or add something about your celebration, please let me know!

For more Multicultural and Easter Posts check out:

• Easter in Ukraine and Russia
• Multicultural Easter Books
• My Easter Craft Round-Up
• Easter in Guatemala
• My Easter Pinterest Board
• My Multicultural Resource Pinterest Board
• Easter in Ethiopia
• Easter in Sweden 
• Legend of the Sand Dollar (an Easter Story)
   

Fairy Tales in Different Cultures--Perrault's Cinderella

In honor of our "trip" to France with Around the World in 12 Dishes, I thought we would feature Charles Perrault's Cinderella. When I introduced this series I gave a little history on Perrault's version. The version I shared however was more of the Disney one that I grew up with rather than Perrault's.  Before going on the story, we will talk a bit about France.

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France is located in Western Europe with several overseas territories and regions. It is the largest country in Western Europe and the third largest throughout Europe. It has the nickname l'Hexagone (the hexagon) because of its shape. France is a developed country with the world's fifth largest economy. It is the wealthiest country in Europe. French residents have the longest life expectancy, a high standard of living including the best health care according to World Health Organization and a high level of public education. It is also the most visited country in the world with 79.5 million tourists a year. (Source)

The translation of Cinderella I am using came from The Complete Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault by Neil Philip and Nicoletta Simborowski. We had taken this out to get some French stories to go with our French dishes. It is the first time I had read a real Perrault version.

The story begins with a man with a young daughter of his own marrying a haughty, stuck-up woman who has two daughters exactly like her. The woman takes a dislike to the man's daughter since she is so good and beautiful and it makes her daughters look even worse. She gives the man's daughter all of the worst household chores. The girl does them all without complaint. She knows her father would scold her for complaining. When she finishes her work she would retire to the chimney, so her stepsisters took to calling her Cinderbutt or Cinderella. (The younger one called her Cinderella since she was not quite as mean as her elder sister). Cinderella was also given a room in the attic on a shabby mattress while her stepsisters have beautiful bedrooms with the latest beds.

One day  the prince invites the stepsisters to a ball.  They are so excited and try on many gowns and outfits to decide what to wear. Cinderella offered to do their hair for them and of course they accepted. They teased her while she did their hair by asking her if she would like to go to the ball. Once they left, she watched them until they were out of sight and then she began to weep. Her godmother came by and asked why she was weeping. She was crying too hard to tell her, so her godmother asked if it was that she wanted to go to the ball. The godmother told her she would send her. She sent Cinderella to get a pumpkin. Cinderella looked for the finest pumpkin she could find. The godmother hollowed it out and then tapped it with her wand (she was a fairy afterall) and it changed into a beautiful gilded carriage. She changed mice into horses, a rat into a coachman and lizards into footman. Then she changed Cinderella's dress into a beautiful gown made from silver and gold fabric. She warned Cinderella that she must leave by midnight or everything would be back to what it was. She promised and went off to the ball.

The prince as told a princess no one knew arrived and he went at once to greet her. He even helped her out of the coach. Cinderella made quite the entrance on the prince's arm. Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at her beauty. She was given a seat next to the prince and he danced with her as well. She even took time to go talk to her stepsisters, but they did not recognize her. She left before midnight and was telling her godmother about the ball and how the prince asked her to come the next evening as well when her stepsisters came home. They were so excited to tell her about the beautiful mysterious princess. 

The next evening the stepsisters went off to the ball and then Cinderella went off in a gown even more beautiful than the one the night before. The prince did not leave her side all evening and she was having so much fun she lost track of time until she heard the first chime of midnight. She ran out and lost one of her glass slippers.

The sisters came home and told her again about the mysterious princess and how upset the prince was after she left. A few days later, there was a trumpeted announcement that the prince would marry the woman whose foot fit the glass slipper. After trying it on all the princesses, duchesses, etc., the servant came to the stepsisters. They tried to force their foot into it, but could not. Laughing Cinderella asked to try it on. The servant noticed her beauty and said she should. Of course it slipped right on. Her stepsisters were shocked and even more so when she pulled out its mate from her pocket. They begged her forgiveness for how they mistreated her and she forgave them. She even brought them to the palace with her and had them marry lords. The prince and Cinderella were also married the same day.

For crafts I made Hazel a clothespin doll and shared again some of the pictures we colored the other day.

Josephine Baker: Performer, Spy & Activist -- #blacklivesmatter

This week our focus for Black Lives Matter is Josephine Baker. She was a singer, dancer, spy and activist. Her story has a bit of it all. Read along to learn more about her amazing life and why it matters to us all.

Kids Like Us -- Young Adult Novel Review

Disclosure: Macmillan Publishing sent me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Today I am sharing another book that has been sitting on my bookshelf for way too long without sharing it. It is a young adult novel that delves into the world of autism.

Traveling with Books

Disclosure: I was sent these books to review free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.

Do you enjoy traveling? Ever wonder what it would be like to raise children in another country? Want to teach your kids about the world and other cultures? Or perhaps you have a big trip coming up and need to figure out what to pack? Well today I am sharing books that do all these things. These books are for different ages. Last year I had the pleasure of reviewing a book that compared Asian parenting to American parenting. Today I am sharing a book that looks at parenting from Paris to New York. It is Say Bonjour to the Lady by Florence Mars and Pauline Leveque. 

Travel with Books at Home Product Reviews

Disclosure: Candlewick Press gave me a copy of this book free of charge to review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease but receive no compensation.

Do you love to travel? Or do you dream of traveling without hassles? We love to explore the world from home with dreams of someday getting to see more of it. For now we like to explore with books and posters and such to see and learn about the world without leaving home. Candlewick Press has some products that makes this really fun and easy. The first three books are from a series called Panorama Pops. We got to explore The Louvre, Australia and Venice in this form. It was so much fun. These books are like pocket guides with pop-up pictures. The book is double sided since it folds out and has the pop-ups on both sides.

Around the World in 12 Dishes-- Canada

This month we are exploring Canada with the Around the World in 12 Dishes group. Hazel and I have been having so much fun with it. If was warmer weather, I might even consider taking her to Canada, however I cannot imagine going anywhere colder and snowier than what we already have. I am so done with winter, but alas, we are expecting snow again tomorrow. Anyway, a bit about Canada. Canada borders three oceans: Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic, and its southern border with the United States is the worlds longest land border between two countries. Canada is the second largest country in area. Canada was settled by both France and Great Britain. After the French and Indian War, France ceded its colonies to Britain in 1763. As a result of both countries settling, Canada is officially a bilingual country. Canada is a federal parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state. The Queen's representative carries out most of the federal royal duties in Canada.

Multicultural Monday--Princess Grace

You can still enter to win a copy of My Garden by Kevin Henkes (the August author for the Virtual Book Club for Kids), but hurry!! Time is running out!

Sharing Saturday is also still open for you to share your child-oriented crafts and activities, or stop by just to be inspired!

It feels like it has been awhile since I have had a Multicultural Monday post. Today I would like to share a wonderful book that Hazel chose from the library awhile ago.

Princess Grace by Mary Hoffman is apparently another book in a series of them. Grace is a young girl who loves the idea of being a princess. When an opportunity arises to be a princess on a float in a parade, Grace asks her grandmother to make her a dress (before she knows whether she is chosen). Her grandmother asks her what she would like the dress to look like and what princesses do all day. After some help from her teacher Grace and her class discover princesses like Princess Amina of Zaria, Princess Pingyang of China, Princess Anastasia of Montenegro, and Princess Noor Anayat Khan. To the entire class these princesses sound much more exciting than the storybook princess they knew. I mean warriors, spies and more--true adventure.

Now, I know I did not know anything about most of these princesses, so I did a little research on-line for you. I have to say I love that it introduces our children to a different breed of princess than the ones that wear ball gowns all the time and drink tea. Now mind you, Hazel saw the cover and picked this book because of the ball gown and tiara Grace is wearing on the cover. However we both enjoyed reading it and learning more about real life princesses.

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Princess Amina of Zaria (now a province in Nigeria). Her mother Queen Bakwa Turunku built the capital  Zazzau at Zaria (named for her youngest daughter) in the sixteenth century. Princess Amina was her oldest daughter and apparently inherited her mother's warlike nature. Princess Amina is credited to have created the strong earthen fortification walls around the city and the captured cities. It is said she made war on cities until her kingdom reached the sea in the south and the west. Source

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Princess Pingyang of China also was a great war hero. In 617 her father Li Yuan had decided to attack the emperor who had imprisoned him. He sent word to his daughter and her husband, Chai to come to a safe place. Chai worried that it would not be easy for them to travel safely together. Pingyang insisted he go first since it would be easier for a woman to hide than a man. She stayed on and eventually distributed her wealth to the needy which bought their support for her father's cause. Basically she began her own army with the people she helped. Others offered them food and drink when they saw them since they viewed them as a group that would save them.  Eventually she and Chai set up separate headquarters as generals and her army became known as "the army of the lady." Eventually the emperor yielded his throne to Li Yuan and he made Pingyang a princess and bestowed much honor upon her, much more than his other eighteen daughters. When she died she was given a military funeral. Source

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Princess Anastasia of Montenegro is the only one of which I had previously heard. She was born a Russianprincess however when the last czar was thrown out of Russia, her family had to flee the country for safety. She and her second husband briefly stayed in Italy with her sister who was queen there and then left for France where they lived the remainder of their lives. Source

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Princess Noor Anayat Khan was the great-great-great-granddaughter of Tipu Sultan, the Muslim ruler of Mysore. She eventually becomes a spy for the British Army during World War II. She was the first female radio operator sent into Nazi-occupied France. Since her family had moved between France and Britain during her life she spoke both English and French fluently and this was extremely helpful in becoming a spy in a time when most women would not be considered. She went against her father's Pacifist beliefs and joined the army to fight the Nazi. She was praised for flawless transmissions. In October she was betrayed and captured. After trying to escape with others she was sent in chains and solitary confinement at Pforzheim Prison in Germany in November 1942. There she was beaten and abused, but she never talked. In September 1944 she was sent to Dachau to be killed.  Source

Another interesting topic brought up in Princess Grace is that many cultures have similar fairy tales. Rhodopis is mentioned. In Princess Grace it is said to be the Egyptian version of Cinderella. With the help of Wikipedia I see it is considered the oldest version of Cinderella. How much fun it would be to compare our versions with versions around the world.

Women in World War I

 

Today we continue our Women in Wars Series and focus on World War I. Since I'm American and it is National Women's History Month I am going to focus on mostly American women. The changes in the world affected the roles of women in the war. In the Revolutionary and Civil Wars some women disguised themselves as men to fight. This would not have been as easy to get away with during World War I and there military roles for women now. In 1901 the United States established the Army Nurses Corps and in 1908 it established the Navy Nurses Corps. They

Women in World War II

 

Today we are going to look at some of the American women who made a difference during World War II. Women's rights had progressed between the two world wars as well as progress in technology. By World War II women were pilots. Computers were introduced to the mix. And of course there were the nurses and spies. Once again my go to book is Heroism Begins with Her by Winifred Conkling. I will be sharing additional sources as well as books (mostly children's) about each of the amazing women I will share. 

Printable DIY Advent Calendars and Week 1--Hope

 

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent is always my favorite time of the year. I love the preparation building up to Christmas. It always seems like such a happy time to me. The lights are hung and trees get decorated. People seem a bit more bright and giving. This year even Advent is looking different. We are not physically in church yet, so there isn't the beautiful organ music of Advent songs. But even with Covid the meaning of Advent and Christmas remains. Jesus was born to save us from our sins. To celebrate Advent I created three printable "Advent Calendars". Now we have a beautiful wooden Advent calendar that I need to fill each year. I decided to use one of these in our Advent calendar and one in her lunch box (at least the days she will be in school). The first ones I have to share are the names of Jesus. I made two versions. The first is a small and plain one with the different names in different colors and fonts. 

Gift Bringers Around the World

So the other day Hazel came home from school and told me she had been arguing with some of her friends at school about whether Santa Claus is real or not. She asked who was right. In the past (maybe November) I told her Santa Clause only brings gifts to children who believe in him. She grew very concerned that one of her friends at school did not believe in him so she wouldn't get any gifts. At almost six I didn't want to ruin the magic for her, but I was not going to lie to her face. We had a discussion of how she learned about St. Nicholas in her old Waldorf School and how Santa Claus came from his stories. However since St. Nicholas is no longer alive there really is not a Santa Claus alive, so Mommy and Daddy buy the gifts from him since the spirit of Santa Claus is really part of the holiday spirit. She took this information and decided she was right--there is a Santa Claus. The next day she wanted to get her picture with Santa again at the mall when we were there (though she did tell this Santa that she already told the Santa at the other mall what she wanted for Christmas and he did not know what to say to that).

Of course I should add that the two Santas looked very different from each other. Having just written the history of Christmas trees and Christmas tree traditions around the world post, I was curious as to the Santa Clauses or Gift Bringers from around the world. I of course turned to two of my favorite sources for information, Multicultural Kid Blogs bloggers and the library!

Mega Science Book Review #STEM Part 1

Disclosure: I was sent these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This Saturday we are going to STEM Saturday at Hazel's school. In honor of STEM Saturday I am sharing several science books with you. We will cover animals, plants, space and more!! Are you ready? We will start with some general science and information books. Our first book is What Would Happen? by Crispin Boyer. 

A Look at Real Life Princesses -- National Princess Week Resources & Giveaway

Disclosure: Penguin Random House Books gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation.  As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Last week I introduced our big giveaway for National Princess Week (April 23-29). Today I am going to share our first post about the amazing resources we are giving away. The prizes in this giveaway are the resources I like to use with Hazel to see princesses as strong, brave and wonderful role models and not just weak girls waiting to be saved or who just go to tea parties and balls. To begin with resources my favorite place to start is a look at real life princesses. One of my favorite places to start especially with younger girls is Princess Grace by Mary Hoffman and illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu. 

The Tales of Charlie Wags: Paris -- Book Review & Giveaway with Paris-Themed Craft & Resource Roundup

 

Disclosure: I was sent a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. I am working with The Children's Book Review and Sofie Wells and Ali Barclay to bring you this post.

When Hazel was young, she loved when we read books about other places and cultures.  She would have loved The Tales of Charlie Wags Series. And guess what? Charlie Wags is back and this time he visits Paris!! The book we are sharing today is The Tales of Charlie Wags: Paris by Sofie Wells and Ali Barclay with pictures by Sanna Sjöström. After my review there is a roundup of Paris-themed crafts as well as other books to learn and explore Paris from home! Plus, there is a giveaway!! 

The Pop-Up Guide Cities Around the World -- Book Review with Crafts, Recipes and More!

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Looking to teach little ones about the world? Today we are sharing a fun pop-up book that takes us around the world. I am also sharing links to crafts, activities, and recipes to go with each city and/or its country. The book is The Pop-Up Guide: Cities Around the World by Maud Poulain and illustrated by Sandra de la Prada. It is recommended for ages 3 to 5. 

A Spanish Day--Around the World in 12 Dishes

Today we had our adventure in discovering Spain. We read stories, made a craft and cooked a flan. But first a bit about Spain. Spain is located on the Iberian Peninsula. It is the third largest country in Europe and its southern tip is eight miles north of Africa. Spain has a long and varied history. It was under Roman and Moor rules before becoming independent. It is now a democratic government under a constitutional monarchy. The Moors reign ended in 1492, the same year that Christopher Columbus "discovered" America for the Spanish monarchy. Each ruling culture left its mark on Spain. You can still find Roman aquaducts, the Moors Mosques as well as the Gothic Cathedrals built when the Christians took over the country.

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There are many traditions that Spain is well known for. One being bull fighting and the another the siesta. Meals in Spain differ from meals in the United States. Breakfasts are usually small--a roll and a coffee. Lunch is the big meal of the day. Traditionally the stores, factories, schools, and businesses would close for two to three hours for all the people to return home for lunch and a nap known as the siesta. Although this is not as widely practiced now, it is still in some places. Dinner is much later around 10 or 10:30 and is usually very small. A paseo or evening walk is another custom. Many people in Spain will go for a walk after the stores are closed. They walk in their nicest clothes and may stop to chat with friends or perhaps to get a drink at a cafe or bar. Then they may have their late dinner out or at home. Many Spaniards eat out often and there are many choices of good restaurants. 

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So for our day in Spain we took four resource books out of the library.

To make our flan we used the recipe in Cooking The Spanish Way by Rebecca Christian. Now the flan I have eaten has been Brazilian and I loved it. However this recipe was not a success for us. None of us enjoyed it. Hazel and I did enjoy making it though. It involved a lot of stirring of which Hazel did most.

Flan just out of oven

Flan with Sauce

Stirring the sauce

While the flan was in the oven, Hazel and I made a black lace fan. We got the instructions from the Fiesta! Series book Spain published by Grolier Educational. Making the fan was a lot of fun and rather simple. We did not make it as fancy as the one in the book since we used supplies on hand. I found some black lace leftover from a Halloween costume. However making the fan also required using a compass. This was Hazel's first time using a compass or even seeing one and there were a lot of math lessons that could be tied into it with older children.

We also skipped the step of painting the cardboard just because we were running short on time. Our plan is to try some of the Spanish dances using the fan (and the one I bought for her in Epcot). We'll see if we find time soon.

We also took time today to read through Food in Spain by Nancy Loewen. Much of the information I wrote about Spain came from this book and the rest came from Wikipedia.

We also have been enjoying some stories from Spain. We took all of these out of the library. I would like to comment on Princess Florecita and the Iron Shoes by John Warren Stewig. This is a wonderful story where the princess hears about a prince in needing saving and she goes through a great deal to find him and save him. It is a nice twist on common tales of the prince saving the maiden. Medio Pollito means half chicken and that is who the main character is. A chicken who was born with only half a body (one leg, one wing, etc.) and it is his adventure traveling and how he helps others and then they repay him when he finds himself in hot water (literally being made into soup). 

So that was our adventure in Spain thus far (we may try another recipe soon). I have to admit I was sad to see that Epcot did not have Spain as one of its countries in its World Showcase. I saw recently that they will be adding it, but unfortunately for us it will be too late to have been included in this month's adventures. We did however enjoy seeing France which was our adventure in April. Unfortunately the only pictures I took in France were of the kids with Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty). We also spent some time in the Canada exhibit, but it was mostly a movie so I don't have pictures really from there either. Oh, well. I am sure I will find some good resources when we get there.

Also for your own passport check out this link from Glittering Muffins and for a fun placemat, this link.