Friday, March 11, 2011

Ooblek!!









After looking at these pictures, you cannot be blamed for asking yourself:

What is this man doing?

Well, the answer, dear reader, is:

Ooblek.

That man has made himself a big bowl of Ooblek--which, for those of you who missed that day in science class or summer camp--or, skipped that particular Dr. Seuss book where it found its fame, you can learn more about it and get the recipe to make your own bowl of Ooblek HERE.

So why should you even bother with making Ooblek, thinking about Ooblek, reading any further about Ooblek, much less clicking that link??

Because Ooblek is not only fascinating and fun, but it provides a really important life lesson as well. One that twelve-year-old Soul Catcher, Riley Bloom, is forced to confront during the course of her latest, tropical island, Soul Catching, adventure in SHIMMER (in stores 03.15.11!)!

You see, Ooblek is both soft and liquidy, which would seem as though you should be able to make a fist and pound your way through it, right?

But Ooblek, like life, will not be forced. If you try to pound your way through it, you won't make a dent, your fist will not only not penetrate, but will actually bounce back!

But if you soften your fingers and tread gently, your hand will easily find its way through, all the way to your final destination--er, the bottom of the bowl.

So go ahead, make yourself some Ooblek and try it for yourself! And for added fun, add a little food coloring to really jazz it up!

And speaking of SHIMMER/Ooblek . . .

Next week I'll be signing copies of my books both here:

Tuesday, March 15, 6:00 PM
SHIMMER Talk/Reading/Signing
El Camino North Shopping Center
2615 Vista Way
Oceanside, CA 92054
(760) 529-0106


& here:


Thursday, March 17, 7:00 PM
SHIMMER Talk/Reading/Signing
1010 El Camino Real
Menlo Park, CA 94025
(650) 324-4321


Hope to see you there!

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

Alyson
:)

Note: A special thanks to my husband who not only prepared the Ooblek but who also braved the Ooblek so that I could act as photographer. No hands were damaged in this experiment.


3 comments:

Michelle @ Much Loved Books said...

I love this stuff, we make it for the kids in work although over here (uk) we call it gloop, especially were i live, not sure about other areas of UK.

Unknown said...

I love Ooblek!! lol I used to make it as a kid all the time. I remember when the movie Flubber came out, and they had a recipe for it as well! But it all seriousness, I'm excited that you will be in Cali, I am currently begging my husband to take me as I type.

Alyson Noel said...

Michelle - It was a fun experiment--and gloop is a great name for it! :) Thanks for stopping by!

Racheal - Hope to see you at one of the signings in Cali!