Author Visits Kids’ Weblogs
The kids in The Write Weblog group are going to be so excited. Pat Street, author of There’s a Frog in My Throat, is planning to make a comment on each of the students’ weblogs. She started off with Ashley with this comment:
Hi Ashley!
I loved your post about spilling the beans! You gave good examples, and told how people react when someone gives away a secret. I collect idioms, so I like to read anything about idioms. I found out that another way to say the same thing is “letting the cat out of the bag.” In the olden days, people would buy baby pigs at the fair. Pigs were expensive, but cats were cheap, so sometimes dishonest farmers would take the buyer’s money and then give them a bag with a cat in it, instead of a baby pig! If someone opened the bag, the cat would jump out and the buyer would know he or she had been cheated.
I like to learn where idioms like this come from. I’m not sure where “spilling the beans” originated though.
I read on the blog that you were hurt in an accident recently, but that you are coming back to school already. Yay! I hope you are completely recovered soon.
Best wishes,
Pat Street
Isn’t that great? Elementary students communicating with an author of a book they have used and loved. This all started with my last year’s group, Thinking &
Writing Wrinkles. See this post. Weblogs can lead you to wonderful people and places.
I have a great book on idioms that I use all the time. I’ve got a copy at home, at work and at the schools where I work. It’s Scholastic Dictionary of Idioms by Marvin Terban.
(I see he has lots of other books that look great, too!) This book explains the meanings and origins behind more than 600 idioms.
Also, Pat Street is working on another book. I can’t wait until it comes out.
I checked it and if you interested in the origin of “Spill the Beans” check out the post I’ve written for my group and Pat Street to enjoy reading. I collect idioms too and it is more fun than a barrel of monkeys!
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