Punnybop

Mini Media Mogul: Sizing up CDs by Justin Roberts, Hullabaloo, Rebecca Frezza and Laura Freeman

2009-11-11T17:25:19-06:00

Welcome to another music edition of Mini Media Mogul. Here are four CDs we've been listening to recently, arranged from our favorite to our least loved.

Pop Fly by Justin Roberts

Pop Fly isn't a new album, but it accomplished something that no other children’s CD has ever done - it literally made me squeal with delight when a scared little boy catches a pop fly ball (in the wonderfully energetic title track). Then, just a few songs later, it made my eyes well with tears with the beautiful “From Scratch,” a tribute to a grandmother who cooks everything from scratch.

This is our first experience with Justin Roberts, but certainly won't be our last. His voice is similar in tone to James Taylor's, but the songs are primarily lighthearted, entertaining slices of life about the elementary school years. They will bring you back to the best parts of your own childhood.

With subjects ranging from the student crossing guard to pool kickboards and stay-at-home dads (“If I were giving grades, he'd get a B or an A”), this collection hits just the right chord.

High Roller by Hullabaloo

Hullabaloo is a children's band for people who like country/folk/bluegrass music. The lyrics on the catchy High Roller often move fast, so you have to pay attention, but it’s worth it - they’re really funny. (“Sometimes things get crazy back home in my crib/ Sometimes I eat breakfast wearing nothing but a bib.”) They mix originals with a few traditional songs.

You can figure out if you like their style on the band's YouTube page, which has plenty of good samples. Their ode to caffeinated moms, "Sippy Cup" (not on this album), made me laugh out loud:

Rockin', Rollin' and Ridin' by Rebecca Frezza and Big Truck

You may recognize this band from their music videos on Nick Jr. and PBS. I'd never seen them before, and this eight-song EP is the first I've heard of this band.

It's high-energy pop written with elementary-school-age kids in mind. One of the album's selling points is that one song features Roscoe Orman, better known as Gordon from Sesame Street - but this was a letdown because the song is in too high a key for him, and it just sounds like he's straining.

Overall, this one's a mixed bag. Out of only 8 songs (23 minutes running time), I thought about half were entirely forgettable, with lyrics that didn’t do anything for me, but the other half were fun and danceable. My daughter was already singing along with “Hey-O” before the end of the song the very first time she heard it.

Somersault Season by Laura Freeman

I have a feeling Laura Freeman must be a hit in person with little kids. That doesn’t automatically translate to a good CD, though. I'm iffy on it; she's very “dramatic” on Somersault Season, and into using weird voices and repetition, which got grating to me. If I were a completely selfless person, I'd probably let my daughter listen to this again - but I'm actually afraid she’d like it.

That said, it's a compilation of songs about the four seasons, and has plenty of opportunities for kids to “play along” and help act out the songs. This might work well in a preschool or day care setting.

Jenna Glatzer is the author of 19 books. Her latest is the inspirational Christian memoir Unthinkable with Scott Rigsby, a double-amputee who completed the Hawaiian Ironman. Visit her at www.jennaglatzer.com. - Jenna G.

Sesame Street Word Families: -at, -ake, -an

2009-11-06T15:01:11-06:00

We're using Hooked on Phonics' newly revised curriculum to teach our five-year-old daughter Z to read. A lot of that learning centers around word families, groups of short words with similar endings (basically, they rhyme) that can be easily learned as a group. This is the first of a series of posts that collects fun Sesame Street clips that can help kids learn words from different word families. Each post will collect 2-3 word families. Enjoy!

-at

-ake

-an

- Jennifer

Alexei Alexeev’s KJFG, and its many fans

2009-10-22T11:00:11-06:00

I'd have to know you a little better personally to have any idea whether you would find the following videos extremely annoying or endearing and funny. I do know, however, that any child in the vicinity who is between the ages of four and eighteen is going to love Alexei Alexeev's KJFG series, which I discovered yesterday on Drawn.

Interestingly, the YouTube tributes to KJFG #5, while undeniably annoying, may actually improve the flavor of the original, if you liked these cartoons already. Note that these tributes are coming out of Japan, Russia, and Brazil, respectively.

Annoying, right? But now that you've sat through one or two, watch the originals at the top. They're even better. - Jeremiah

Performing stories for children: A shadow puppet “Three Robbers”

2009-10-21T17:54:42-06:00

I aspire to this kind of experience for our family. Someday!

(For the origin of this story, see today's Halloween notes on Z Recommends.) - Jeremiah

Mini Media Mogul: Three great picture books for the young child’s Halloween

2009-10-21T14:08:11-06:00

Happy Halloween, Punnyboppers! For this episode of Mini Media Mogul, Sarina and I have picked out three picture books perfect for the season.

Over in the Hollow

By Rebecca Dickinson, Illustrated by Stephan Britt (Chronicle Books, 2009)

Do you know the classic rhyme "Over in the Meadow?" That’s what inspired Over in the Hollow - it has the same rhyme scheme and children-echo-their-parents format, but with a Halloween twist. The characters in the book are a mother and daughter spider ("'Spin,' hums the mother/'I spin,' hums the one"), a mummy dad and his kids, plus families of owls, vampires, bats, witches, and so on. Appropriately for the holiday, this counting book goes up to the number thirteen.

The illustrations in this one are busy and energetic -cluttered, even, but still cute. It's nice to have a book that not only mentions mommies and daddies, but also grandparents and an aunt and uncle. It’s also easy to sing along with if you know the melody of the original.

Mouse's First Halloween

By Lauren Thompson, illustrated by Buket Erdogen (Simon & Schuster, 2000)

This is one of Sarina's favorites all year round. It's one of the "Mouse's First" series, which follow a curious young mouse on his brave adventures. In this one, he creeps around the house and hears all sorts of strange noises. "Eek!" he squeaks each time. "What could it be?" Children are given little clues in the pictures to help them guess what's coming. Then Mouse finds out what's making the noise - kittens, falling leaves, Trick or Treaters - and declares each time, "That's all. Not so scary after all."

The illustrations are richly painted, though sometimes just a bit hard to decipher because of the dark palettes. And the only part of the story that surprised me was the very first discovery: "Swooping bats! That's all. Not so scary after all." I don't know about you, but I find a bunch of swooping bats pretty scary.

My daughter had this book memorized after just a few readings, and she would giggle with delight every "Eek!" and smile for every sound effect. I'd recommend it for younger kids than the book suggests; it was perfect for my two-year-old.

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything

By Linda Williams, illustrated by Meghan Lloyd (HarperCollins, 1988)

In this long-loved story, a spunky little old lady is on her way home through the woods when a pair of shoes comes to life and begins following her. "Get out of my way!" she tells the shoes. "I'm not afraid of you." The shoes follow her anyway, and then comes a pair of pants - and a shirt, gloves, shirt, and so on. Each new item has its own sound ("wiggle wiggle," "nod nod," "shake shake"), and each time something new arises, the little old lady again proclaims she is not afraid of it.

The final object is a floating pumpkin head... which causes her to run into her house (even though she is NOT AFRAID… liar, liar, pants on fire). They're all pretty bummed that she refuses to be afraid, until she comes up with a solution: they can form themselves into a scarecrow and scare the birds away from her garden.

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything is a great book for toddlers and young kids, who will enjoy echoing and acting out the sounds, and will appreciate that the illustrations really aren't scary. You can even get it in a book-and-CD combo format.

Do you have a favorite Halloween read for kids? Share it in the comments!

Jenna Glatzer (www.jennaglatzer.com) is the author of 19 books. Her most recent collaboration is Unthinkable with Scott Rigsby, the first double-amputee to finish the world-famous Hawaiian Ironman triathlon. Jenna lives with her two-year-old daughter in New York. - Jeremiah

Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox”

2009-10-20T16:36:16-06:00

The American director's adaptation of Roald Dahl's excellent Fantastic Mr. Fox, opened over the weekend at the London Film Festival. The film opens in the U.S. on November 25. It's rated PG for "action, smoking, and slang humor," so I'll be voting to take Z straight to the theater. We'll read the book either before or after.

Nice to see new, playful work in stop-motion by a major director that has a different perspective than Henry Selick's trademark style. Stop-motion can look many different ways, and it's easy to forget that if there aren't enough active practitioners. - Jeremiah

They Might Be Giants: “Nonagon”

2009-10-19T22:30:45-06:00

Do you know what a nonagon is? It's time to find out!

You can pick up They Might Be Giants' Here Come the 123s or their latest, Here Comes Science, on Amazon.

[Via Daddytypes] - Jeremiah

Cardboard animation

2009-10-19T13:59:22-06:00

A film by Dutch animator Sjors Vervoort.

[Via BoingBoing] - Jeremiah

Mini Media Mogul: Reviews of CDs by Eric Herman, Recess Monkey, Putamayo Kids, and The Terrible Twos

2009-10-14T16:26:17-06:00

Behold! This week we bring you four reviews of CDs. As we did in our previous installment of book reviews, I'll rank these in descending order of awesomeness. Watch out, Terrible Twos!

What a Ride! by Eric Herman and the Invisible Band

To our minds, children’s music doesn’t get any better than this. Other CDs have come and gone in our household, but Eric Herman’s stay in heavy rotation - and his latest, What a Ride!, is among his best.

We were introduced to Eric Herman’s music when we won a contest listed on Prizey. His YouTube video for "The Elephant Song" is ridiculously popular, with more than 8 million views so far, and it’s very cute:

But we soon learned that Mr. Herman is no one-hit wonder. All of his songs are good. Not one that I want to skip. And so Sarina and I both became huge fans when she was just 18 months old. She picked up on the lyrics easily, and before she turned two, we filmed a “tribute concert” where she sang her favorites. Take a look and a listen to this:

This music is fun, funny, catchy, and optimistic. You just can’t pout and listen to What a Ride! at the same time. Most of the topics are silly, like the snacks a baby leaves behind in a car seat, a stinkbug who bathes ten times a day, and a monster who sits on a school. But there’s also a serious side here: Two songs reminding kids and parents to enjoy themselves in the busyness of life (“Take a while to laugh and smile and say, ‘Hey, what a ride!’”) and to notice that their world is bigger than they can see (“So whether you're an itty bitty bug or a kid in a galaxy/Your life is always as big as you dream”).

Field Trip by Recess Monkey

Very closely pulling in to the second spot is Seattle band Recess Monkey with their latest album, Field Trip. Three elementary school teachers got together and decided to rock. For kids. And the thing about it is that they are all kinds of great. I listen to this CD in my car when my daughter isn’t even with me, ON PURPOSE. It’s that much fun.

It amazes me that these three people just happened to be teaching at the same school. They sound perfect together, with layered arrangements and a Beatles-esque vibe (though decidedly goofier).

Upbeat, very memorable, very danceable. And generous with their samples, too - check their website for free full-length videos. If you can get through “Haven’t Got a Pet Yet” without bopping around in your chair… well, I’ll be horrified. What kind of person are you, anyway? Just listen:

Picnic Playground by Putumayo Kids

I’ve seen so many positive reviews of Putumayo Kids around the web, and honestly, I couldn't help but wonder if there might be a “cultural correctness” at play - reviewers afraid to criticize a multicultural project for kids. I would not have picked up a multilingual CD on my own for my 2-year-old daughter because we like to be able to sing along to music.

I received Picnic Playground for review and was pleasantly surprised, for the most part. With the exception of "Mes Parents Sont Bio" (My Parents Are Organic) - which, if paired on repeat with eye surgery in a humid room, might qualify for legal torture - I thought it was a good album, with solid production values and bubbly melodies. But I swear if I hear "bio, bio, bio, bio, bio” one more time, I will not hold myself responsible for the safety of that CD.

Bad album spotlight: Jerzy the Giant by The Terrible Twos

What happened to my Terrible Twos? This album was a colossal disappointment for me. I loved their debut, If You Ever See An Owl. It’s our main breakfast CD - perfect for starting the day because it’s energetic, yet gentle and sweet. (Recess Monkey makes great car music; the Terrible Twos used to make great morning music.)

Their second album, Jerzy the Giant, came out last year, and somehow it lacked least 83 percent of the charm of the first one. It’s nowhere near as innocent-sounding, nowhere near as loving, despite that the song titles sounded just as cute. This selection of songs is more uneven, with some that seem to have been written because someone, somewhere told them they should be more "edgy.” How they made a song named “Olly Olly Oxen Free” sound angry is beyond me:

What’s funny to me is that my 2-year-old often requests The Terrible Twos, but now she always specifies for me: “I want the old Terrible Twos.” Me too, kiddo.

Jenna Glatzer is the author of 19 books. Her latest is the inspirational Christian memoir Unthinkable with Scott Rigsby, a double-amputee who completed the Hawaiian Ironman. Visit her at www.jennaglatzer.com. - Jenna G.

Why “Where the Wild Things Are” is not a film for young kids

2009-10-12T17:30:16-06:00

I cannot help but excerpt the same brilliant passage everyone else undoubtedly will in referencing this interview.

What do you say to parents who think the Wild Things film may be too scary?

Sendak: I would tell them to go to hell. That's a question I will not tolerate.

Because kids can handle it?

Sendak: If they can't handle it, go home. Or wet your pants. Do whatever you like. But it's not a question that can be answered.

Jonze also quite elegantly describes why this is not necessarily a relevant question, which also explains why young children really should probably not see this movie. "[The studio] thought I was making a children's film and I thought I was making a film about childhood," he said. "I mean, I think it's a film - I want children to see it, and it's not like I made it not for children, and it'll be on the video shelf under CHILDREN'S, but I didn't come at it that way. I came at it from the inside out as opposed to the outside in. In the end, though, the studio let us make the movie we wanted to make."

Read the full interview on the Newsweek website. [Via Daddytypes] - Jeremiah

Four new ways to get Caillou in print

2009-10-09T10:30:03-06:00

Chouette Publishing released a new series of Caillou books based on the Caillou television show earlier this year, offering the same simple drawings, uncluttered conversations, and practical lessons as the show in four different formats - lift-the-flap books (My First Vacation), a single-volume collection of stories (My Book of Great Adventures), a boxed set of five small hardcover stories, and a puzzle/board book (ABC Train).

Although these books are intended primarily for preschoolers, ABC Train would be fun for younger toddlers learning their ABCs and how to to assemble simple puzzles. The book is an extra thick board book with pop-out puzzle pieces that fit in alphabetical order, with an animal associated with each letter (jaguar for J, koala for K). The pieces fit together easily and store securely in the book. It's labeled as not intended for kids under three (maybe the choking hazard would come from puzzle pieces falling apart when chewed?) so use your discretion and parenting judgment here.

My First Vacation is a great book for helping kids grapple with the concept of taking a plane ride. As long as your child doesn't expect to get to meet the pilot and sit in the cockpit, they'll get something worthwhile from this book in advance of, or in the act of, taking a trip.

The Caillou Boxed Set, My Book of Great Adventures, and My First Vacation are clearly aimed towards the preschool set. These books teach a small life lesson in each story. Children who enjoy the quiet, gentle Caillou show will enjoy these books!

- Jeremiah

Banned Book Week: What was banned, where, and why it sucks

2009-10-02T11:00:46-06:00

It's Banned Book Week this week, when the American Library Association and readers everywhere point out that we live in a free society yet randomly restrict children's access to books they want to read. Reading is dangerous, you know. So close your eyes, because we're about to share four items on book banning that you probably shouldn't see.

1. The Most Banned Books of 2008

And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell.  Reasons: anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality, religious viewpoint, and unsuited to age group. I can say from experience this is a very good book! We got it for Z when she was three.

His Dark Materials trilogy, by Philip Pullman. Reasons: political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, and violence

TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Lauren Myracle. Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group

Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz.  Reasons: occult/satanism, religious viewpoint, and violence

Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya.  Reasons: occult/satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, and violence

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky. Reasons: drugs, homosexuality, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, suicide, and unsuited to age group

Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar.  Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group

Uncle Bobby's Wedding, by Sarah S. Brannen. Reasons: homosexuality and unsuited to age group

The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group

Flashcards of My Life, by Charise Mericle Harper.  Reasons: sexually explicit and unsuited to age group

2. The Geography of Book Bans and Challenges, 2007-2009

The ALA has put together a handy map showing reported incidents of book banning at schools and public libraries. They estimate this is just a fraction of the actual bans that occur, but it's pretty interesting to look at your state or even city and see that something had been banned and you didn't even know it.

3. Excerpt from the ALA's "Free Access to Libraries for Minors"

Libraries should not limit the selection and development of library resources simply because minors will have access to them. Institutional self-censorship diminishes the credibility of the library in the community, and restricts access for all library users.

Children and young adults unquestionably possess First Amendment rights, including the right to receive information through the library in print, nonprint, or digital format. Constitutionally protected speech cannot be suppressed solely to protect children or young adults from ideas or images a legislative body believes to be unsuitable for them. Librarians and library governing bodies should not resort to age restrictions in an effort to avoid actual or anticipated objections, because only a court of law can determine whether material is not constitutionally protected.

The mission, goals, and objectives of libraries cannot authorize librarians or library governing bodies to assume, abrogate, or overrule the rights and responsibilities of parents and guardians. As Libraries: An American Value states, “We affirm the responsibility and the right of all parents and guardians to guide their own children's use of the library and its resources and services.” Librarians and library governing bodies cannot assume the role of parents or the functions of parental authority in the private relationship between parent and child. Librarians and governing bodies should maintain that only parents and guardians have the right and the responsibility to determine their children's - and only their children’s - access to library resources. Parents and guardians who do not want their children to have access to specific library services, materials, or facilities should so advise their children.

If that doesn't get you going, here's a video of some puppets banning books. Even puppets are getting into it now!

4. Puppet Book Banning

Happy Banned Book Week. Why not read a banned book today? - Jennifer

Mini Media Mogul: Jenna and Sarina review books about bugs, animal babies, and spoons

2009-09-23T16:35:02-06:00

Hello, ZRecs readers! I’m a long-time fan of the ZRecs Network, and recently asked if I could come on board as a reviewer. Some crazy person (Jeremiah) said okay. So here I am!

I live with one opinionated two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Sarina. She and I both love books and music, so that’s mostly what we’ll be reviewing around here. Sarina is a fan of volcanoes, songs about the rain, hiding from Wiffy the Skunk Ghost, and broccoli (I know, she’s weird). I am the author of a whole bunch of books on topics ranging from Marilyn Monroe to bullying, which you can read about on my website if you are so inclined.

I'll be rotating my review roundups among various types of kids' media every two weeks. This time, books. Next time, music!

[And no, that tattoo does not belong to Jenna, despite her extreme love of books. It belongs to her. - Ed.]

Thanks for caring about what we think. Here are our four picks this week, ranked from our very favorite downward.

The Delicious Bug

By Janet Perlman

This is the book we grabbed out of our review box first, and it turns out that there was a good reason we were so attracted to it: It’s full of awesome.

This story is about two chameleon friends who catch the same bug at the same moment. They first argue politely about which one should let go, but soon politeness turns to anger and name-calling. (“Shlobberface!” “Shkunk cabbage!” They do still have a bug stuck on their tongues, hence the speech impediment). They irritate all the animals around them, and almost wind up as two crocodiles’ lunch before they see the error of their ways and realize that their friendship is more important than a bug - no matter how delicious.

The Delicious Bug is satisfying on so many levels. There are worthwhile lessons here about sharing, friendship, helping those less fortunate, and selflessness, and the book takes the message one step further when the chameleons make amends to the animals they annoyed. All this in just 32 pages! But what makes it even better is that it’s really funny, both in text and illustrations. Turns out it’s an adaptation of the author’s award-winning short animated film "Dinner For Two." (I watched a preview. The book is better.)

If you’re the kind of parent who likes to act out books, complete with funny voices and sound effects, this one will be a treat. Sarina now frequently asks for “my bug book.” You can get a Delicious Bug of your own on Amazon at a nice discount.

Flip, Flap, Fly! A Book for Babies Everywhere

By Phyllis Root, illustrated by David Walker

We love the sing-song rhymes in Flip, Flap, Fly! Each four-page layout is a peek into a mama and baby pair learning a new skill. A baby otter is learning to slide, a baby fish is learning to swim, a baby bird is learning to fly. And the added bonus is that the red-headed baby boy is learning to kiss - leading to the line “So the mama and the baby child kiss like this...” Seriously, thank you, author Phyllis. You wrote that just so I’d have an excuse to get Sarina to kiss me, didn’t you?

The colors are warm, and the illustrations are simple and friendly. A sweet pick for any mom and baby or young toddler. You can pick it up on Amazon for 25% off the cover price.

Spoon

Written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Scott Magoon

Spoon is a book about Spoon, who is… well, a little boy spoon. He lives with his extended family, which includes ladles, measuring spoons, wooden spoons, and so on. (Poor Spork looks awfully uncomfortable in the family photo.) His great-grandmother was the famous one who ran away with the dish in the Mother Goose tale.

In this story, Spoon feels a bit jealous about his friends’ ability to do cool stuff - like how Knife can cut, and Fork can go just about anywhere. And people always think the Chopsticks are so exotic. But, his mother reminds him, his friends are probably thinking about how cool it would be to do the things he can do - like dive headfirst into a bowl of ice cream or relax in a hot cup of tea.

It’s a fun twist on the “there’s something special about each of us” theme, and there are funny details in the illustrations that will make you want to read it again to make sure you’ve caught them all.

Seymour and Henry

By Kim Lewis

I’m not sure I get the moral of Seymour and Henry. It’s a book about two ducklings who don’t want to stop playing when their mother tells them it’s time to come home. Instead, they run away from her. They hop on a log, scamper around a rock, tumble down a hill, and hide in a flowerpot and under some leaves, and they wait for their mom to find them. They wait and wait, and it starts raining.

This frightens them enough to run back to find their mother... who is still just sitting in the same spot, unfazed. She never bothered to go looking for them. When they find her, she doesn’t admonish them for running away, she doesn’t give them any warnings, she doesn’t express that she’s so glad they’re okay.

In short, she should be arrested for child neglect. Well, aside from the fact that they’re DUCKS and they live in water and rain should not be a problem.

So, she just tells them to “hop on for a ride,” and she flies them into a... building? A treehouse? I don’t know, but they’re in some kind of structure with a blanket at the end.

The illustrations are sweet and gentle - the ducks are drawn as stuffed animals with clothes on, which is a little strange in a pond... but nice drawings nonetheless.

It’s a cute enough book for very young ones, but I think it would require some good explanations for those 2 and up. You can find Seymour and Henry on Amazon, too. - Jenna G.

Google Japan makes ads so cute you’d drag your child to the TV

2009-09-09T17:30:05-06:00

Google's Japanese arm made a cute ad a while back for the Google Chrome browser. In case you missed it, it's done in real or fake stop-motion with blocks.

They have another ad now, this one for Google Street View. This one is hyper-cute, clearly done with virtual blocks, and is very concrete, although it showcases some of the map-making process. If you ever wanted to show your young child the power of Google's street by street mapping project, this is the intro to your explorations of Street View itself.

- Jeremiah

Maurice Sendak on Spike Jonze’s “Where the WIld Things Are”

2009-09-09T02:07:18-06:00

You can't get much more of a blessing from a book's author than this, can you, Spike?

Honestly, whatever reservations I had about this film have been torn asunder. Can't wait. - Jeremiah

“Walk Don’t Run” Japanese ukelele softie duet

2009-09-05T11:00:49-06:00

Strange and mesmerizing for toddlers, just plain funny for us. A bizarre introduction to a wonderful song. [Via BoingBoing]

Who knows, maybe your child will learn to do this:

- Jeremiah

Japanese Human Tetris: The burning question

2009-09-03T22:30:30-06:00

Every time I see this show, I have to wonder... Isn't there a way this could be adapted for children's birthday parties?

At any rate, your child will love you for introducing it to them.

- Jeremiah

Jerry Spinelli’s “Smiles to Go”

2009-08-11T19:36:54-06:00

As a middle-school teacher, I use Jerry Spinelli's young-adult novels every year. They are engaging and accessible and make for entertaining read-alouds. My Jerry Spinelli collection is a go-to resource for class discussions of themes including (but not limited to) bullying, true friendship, loneliness, abandonment, hope, reconciliation, courage and even the Holocaust. He's a skillful storyteller who dreams up memorable characters. He writes YA fiction that is really, really good, but that - for me - generally lacks that intangible spark that infuses stories with greatness.

Smiles to Go feels like classic Spinelli, chock full of compassionate, quirky characters, nuggets of wisdom acquired as one passes through life's trials, friendship found in unexpected places, and a dose of teen angst for good measure. Will Tuppence is a ninth grader who begins to deal with the transience of his own existence when he learns that a proton has died. This event, for Will, carries so much significance that he creates a new calendar beginning with PD1 - the day he hears of the proton's death.

Will is a physics buff who dreams of becoming an astronomer. He craves predictability, regularity, and as a champion chess player, he tries to stay several steps ahead in the game of life, as well. Antagonized to no end by his younger sister, Will finds happiness in his routines: skateboarding, stargazing, and Saturday night Monopoly games with his best friends, Mi-Su and BT. When Will falls for Mi-Su, he analyzes her every move, word and gesture for clues about her feelings. Unable to live in the moment, he plans meticulously for a future that he believes he can direct. As he comes to recognize the futility of his attempts at control, his grip grows even tighter until an accident changes everything.

Once again, Jerry Spinelli has crafted a compelling story. It's sweet and relatable and, while it isn’t a must-read, it is a solid young-adult novel that may inspire readers to examine their relationships a bit more closely - and, in so doing, to find the unexpected waiting just beneath the surface.

Erica Fry is a middle-school teacher in Brooklyn, NY. - Erica

“Jeu” animated short: A surreal dance, painted on glass

2009-08-10T11:00:33-06:00

The National Film Board of Canada put it nicely:

Georges Schwizgebel has created a frantic race ending in inertia, a metaphor for modern life’s nonstop hustle and bustle. A series of shapes tricks the senses again and again as they swirl and twist in a playful dance. All the world is a stage and everyone a player, including the filmmaker himself, in this chaotic universe where men play ball and musicians play the scherzo from Prokofiev’s Second Piano Concerto. Jeu is an exercise in virtuality at breakneck speed. This circular and cyclical race dazzles with changes in scale orchestrated by a virtuoso of animation.

- Jeremiah

Jessica Spanyol’s “Minibugs” books: Channeling Richard Scarry, with a twist

2009-08-07T12:00:33-06:00

London-based children's author Jessica Spanyol has been on a tear with her Minibugs series, and it's nice to see a talented artist and author with such a light and quirky touch get so much support from a publisher - I've spotted seven in this series released in the last sixteen months. Each colorful, hardcover 7x6" Minibugs book features a bug and his or her eccentric vehicle in a community where bugs populate each others' books but take turns with starring roles.

Echoes of Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go are so strong here Spanyol often seems to revel in self-aware tribute, but she is never derivative; she has digested a book that launched a genre, spinning it back out as something all her own. Like Scarry's seminal work, each character in Spanyol's Minibugs series has exactly one personal trait that is crucially expressed in their highly customized vehicle and occupation. Spanyol's language is clumsy in that strange, self-aware manner possible only in children's books, where audiences take words literally and construct meaning from them like building blocks, freeing an author up to use all of the literal locutions and verbal mortar that a good edit could easily remove, along with some of the fun. The author also makes frequent use of excitement-generating phrases like "Go go go!" that draw parents and children alike into the action and give the books a sense of dynamic action that is at once totally alien to and perfectly suited to the reading of a book about someone driving a car.

If these books will get your child's engine revving, the covers alone will tell you. They sell for $6 apiece on Amazon. If not, try one of Spanyol's quieter, and subtler, Carlo the giraffe books for toddlers and young preschoolers. - Jeremiah