A cloudy Martin Luther King Jr. Day here. Lucky us - our dentist is open today! Both Steve and I have appointments. I have disliked dentists since I was a little kid and threw up every time I had to go through those nasty fluoride treatments. I shudder remembering the taste of that stuff. And, it isn't like I don't have a mouth full of fillings anyway!

You know how you loved a movie and wasn't at all impressed with the sequel. Happens with books too. I loved Cherry Whytock's My Cup Runneth Over but am not impressed with the sequel My Scrumptious Scottish Dumplings. It is partially because of the cover and the title. The cover art shows the bottom of a girl's face, which looks nothing like the drawings of Angel, the chubby main character, that Whytock includes in the book. Also, the huge "dumplings" in the pot look like mounds of mashed potatoes. The British title - Angel: Haggis Horrors and Heavenly Bodies is so much better and indicative of the story. Let's just say there is not Scottish scrumptious anything. After a trip to Scotland and the factory that makes the haggis, Angel's eccentric father, Potty, decides to picket Harrods because of their bogus haggis - a Scottish dish consisting of a mixture of the minced heart, lungs, and liver of a sheep or calf mixed with suet, onions, oatmeal, and seasonings and boiled in the stomach of the slaughtered animal. (from Webster.com) He is arrested and horrors - the family is banned from Harrods. How can that be for an ex model mother and a cooking crazy daughter who wear out their shoes between their front door and Harrods? At a 169 pages, with lots of white space and many drawings, this is a very quick read and lacks the flavor of the first Angel book. Recipes are still included, but not one for Scottish dumplings. Oh - the heavenly body is the chef at the spa her mother insists she go to - where Angel spends her time in kitchen cooking. Only Angel can gain weight at a spa! I love this character, just not this book.

For the itty bit crowd, try I Will Kiss You (Lots & Lots & Lots) by Stoo Hample. A cute book for Valentines day - about a mommy bunny kissing her baby "on the floor, in the air, and I'll kiss your teddy bear" etc. With the romping silly rhyme this will be loved by little ones at bed time. The rhythm and rhyme remind me of a Dr. Seuss book. Sadly, no babies in the family anymore to read to sleep. This one is too cutesy for my 4 year old grandson.

Off to dentist. GRRR!! Hope that isn't the sound of a drill!