Beverly Cleary turns 90 in April and all her 39 of her books are still in print. She’s sold 91 million copies — so far. She hints that her last book 1999’s “Ramona’s World” may truly be the last saying that although she has some notes on a new one she has no plans to write it and “it’s important to know when to stop.” Cleary has, however, agreed to a Ramona movie.

Operetta for preschoolers? Well it’s not highbrow culture, but the NY Times takes note of Nickelodeon’s new “Wonder Pets” series for its unique all-musical format. Of course music and singing is old hat for children’s shows, but “Wonder Pets” is completely music driven, with the animated characters singing their parts. An orchestra plays the original score, so these are not synthetic or pared down accompaniments. A guinea pig, turtle, and duckling star in the series, helping other animals in need. They have day jobs as classroom pets so the singing rescue gigs take place after school. I have yet to hear “Wonder Pets,” but this makes me think back to the old Looney Tunes use of classical music and those wonderful opera parody episodes.

There were plentiful piles of organic and regular bananas at Trader Joe’s this weekend, but there was also a little sign warning of a “worldwide banana shortage.” Their orders were coming up short but, the sign reassured me, they were doing their best to procure the necessary supply of bananas. Of course what I got out of the sign was “research project!” First, we go to Australia where a cyclone has destroyed 95% of the country’s $350 million banana crop. Sydney is soon expected to suffer from “an acute banana shortage.” But this is a situation I assume is contained to Australia and while I certainly want The Wiggles to always have yummy fruit salad (that was a toddler parent joke), I have selfish motives. So let’s find some news on bananas in the Americas. A November tropical storm destroyed 2100 hectares of bananas in Honduras. Weather has also affected the crop in Ecuador with heavy rainfall and cloud coverage. These conditions also make the plants more prone to the black sigatoka fungus. So it may be a season of higher prices for consumers. By the way, if you’ve heard a rumor about bananas becoming extinct in 10 years, Snopes reveals only a little truth in the tale.

Need a shot of coffee in your Coke? Coca-Cola BlaK, “a sophisticated, premium blend of Coca-Cola, natural flavors and coffee essence,” hits U.S. stores on April 3rd. It’s stylishly contained in a sophisticated 8 ounce bottle with the Coca-Cola trademark curves (and apparently Coca-Cola’s font designers are running short on Cs). One bottle has slightly more caffeine than a can of Coke, which is about half the amount in 8 oz of coffee. Along with the usual high fructose corn syrup, the new beverage contains both aspartame and ace-k sweeteners, totaling 45 calories. BevNET reminds us that the mid-1990s already brought us Pepsi Kona, Java Cola, and Cafe Cola. And Pepsi Cappucino is sold in Europe.

Renee Zellweger is portraying Beatrix Potter in a movie currently filming in England (I have to wonder if Kate Winslet was their first choice). The Independent has taken the opportunity to write up a small biography of the children’s author, with a little emphasis on what the film may gloss over for the sake of Hollywood. Potter kept a coded diary until she was 30; it was deciphered many years after her death. She was brought up by governesses in a wealthy family and took comfort in pets and art. A foray into botany was cut short because she wasn’t male. Peter Rabbit was born in a letter to a former governess’ son. Self published at first, Potter achieved financial independence and invested in property. The Independent says “it was Beatrix Potter who invented merchandising” as she suggested that her publisher market Peter Rabbit dolls, wallpaper, and games. When her eyesight worsened she took up sheep farming. She willed most of her property to England’s National Trust and you can visit her home where certain surroundings may feel familiar, as if they’d come out of the watercolors of a tiny book.

This is the fourth year I’ve compiled a list of the items that make up the Official Academy Awards Gift Bag. That’s the bag given to presenters and performers. The bag that neither the Academy nor their event planner will comment on. The bag that’s spawned a plethora of unofficial siblings presented to the nominees, the losers, the eco-friendly, the invitees to the swanky gifting suites.

That noble lack of PR participation from The Academy leaves Official Bag inclusion publicity in the hands of those who provide the goods. Those who are PR savvy deploy their big guns while those of more modest means call up local papers. This makes for confusing and often intentionally ambiguous press releases and news items. I’ve spotted errors in most articles about the Official Bag and since I’m working from the same sources my list likely also has inaccuracies. Only the lucky recipients will know the truth.

But enough with the chit chat, on to the list:

For the third year in a row, the bag is weighted down with an amazing Canadian travel package:
-stays at the Opus Hotel in Vancouver and the Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino
-dinner at five restaurants: Elixir, West, Coast, Pointe, Shelter
-yoga sessions, spa treatments
-kayaking in Clayoquot Sound, a scenic flight to a remote lake
-and always my personal favorite: two Oxia Oxygen Personal Canisters

A BRUGO Travel Mug (featuring the Perfect Temperature Zone)
As usual, I suspect that some really nifty stuff remains unpublicized. Now on to a few noteables from other giveaways: Victoria’s Secret’s prize to the best actress nominees this year is a bra and panty set with a removable gold and diamond brooch. Kodak and Kwiat Diamonds have created EasyShare V570 cameras with the best actress nominees’ initials in 75 brilliant-cut diamonds (valued at $20,000). Motorola is handling out a special edition gunmetal PEBL phone in a custom gift box to directing and acting nominees. And M&M;’S Candies is presenting nominees with personalized M&Ms; with their names and words of congratulations printed on each M.

A big thanks to everyone who sent along a press release or article.

My favorite part of the Oscar gifting research is discovering self-employed folks whose handcrafted items are getting a chance in the spotlight. This year, I ran across a press release from DeLuce Design. Jill DeLuce left her graphic design career in California for Nevada to open her dream business creating letterpress greeting cards. A California day spa contacted by the Academy for inclusion in the bags asked Jill to create the invitation for their gift of services. I emailed her for more information and she responded with a description: “the card was letterpress printed by me using pink and green ink onto pearlescent/irridescent card stock and tucked into a square transparent vellum envelope.” The piece has an Asian-inspired botanical theme based on an existing design her clients had seen and liked. She also notes “the piece I made had to be approved by the Academy first, it was somewhat of a lengthy process.” Custom creations such as this are likely part of the presentation packaging for many gift bag items. It’s neat to get a behind the scenes look from Jill.

If you haven’t seen the panda kindergarten video yet you are missing out on incredible cuteness. My favorite part is when they attack one of my son’s favorite playground toys, a plastic rocker. There are at least three weblogs devoted to panda news: pandafix, pandafans, The Panda Blog.