EDITOR'S CORNER
During our December meeting, reviewers participated in a lively workshop based on each of our reviews of John Scieszka and Lane Smitm's The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales. Dividing into groups of four or five, we shared our anonymous essays and then reported back to the full group. An important point to come out of the spirited discussion that followed is one we wish to emphasize to all our hard working reviewers: be succinct and keep non-evaluative plot synopses and recapitulation of contents to a minimum! Be sure to ask us for a copy of our newly revised "Guide for Bayviews Reviewers," if you haven't already received one, or download it from our website.
JaneCourant, Erica Siskind, Nina Lindsay
Of Special Interest
Bordon, Louise. The Journey That Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H.A. Rey. Illus. by Allan Drummond. Houghton Mifflin, 2005. $17. ISBN 0-618-33924-8.
It is amazing that we have the "Curious George" story to enjoy, after what its authors had to endure to bring the story to America. With a text aimed at children (although adults will enjoy this too), Borden recounts the adventure of how the Reys left Nazi-controlled France with their manuscripts. With the new "Curious George" movie due in theatres in February, this book will have a built-in audience. Librarians and teachers will find special appeal in the story, but kids will enjoy it as it is clearly directed toward them. Background information about Hitler and World War II allow even children with no knowledge of history to follow the story.
With a book design that resembles a scrapbook/photo album, lots of b&w photos of the Reys appear in the book, including photos of them as children. There is also artwork taken from their books, maps, letters, historical photos, and scattered new pen and ink and watercolor illustrations by Allan Drummond, which stylistically fit well with the Reys' work.
Part I is a mini-biography on the Reys, and Part II is told more like a picture book, recounting their escape from Paris and the Nazis. They came to the USA by way of South America. Riding bicycles, the couple pedaled from Paris to Orleans, then taking trains and bicycles to Lisbon and a boat to Rio. The book concludes with a short summary concerning what happened after they arrived in the USA. A joyous celebration of these two children's book creators.
Othello, J.
The Soul of Rock 'N Roll: A History of African Americans in Rock Music. Regent Press, 2004. $19.95. ISBN 1-58790-105-6.
www.regentpress.net.
Oakland resident J. Othello has a new book out that will be especially appealing to teens interested in music. He covers African-Americans in rock music since 1950, chronicling how rock 'n roll is founded in Black music. Using short biographies on many of the influential African-American rock musicians, from Chuck Berry to Otis Redding, from Tina Turner to Tracy Chapman, and Jimi Hendrix to Lenny Kravitz, he explains how their influences revolutionized the music industry. He profiles at least ten individuals per decade, including rap and hip hop artists that are popular today. This book will fly off the young adult nonfiction shelves of any library.
Besides the big names known to everyone, Othello also includes influential but lesser known African-American rockers: Fishbone, Ben Harper, groups like Cameo, and many more. At the end of each profile, he lists the websites used for research, so teen readers can further explore the topic.
Othello is a teacher as well as an author, with a Masters degree in Education. He is also a songwriter, an MTV reporter, and a musician performing at Lollapalooza and other festival tours. Othello is available to speak to teens at libraries about his book and his work with MTV and as a musician. Contact him at
www.jeffreyothello.com.
Dan Zanes and Friends. All Around the Kitchen! Crazy Videos & Concert Songs! DVD. Festival Five Records, 2005, $14.97.
Originally with the band Del Fuegos, Dan Zanes is now performing folk rock for kids. This DVD includes a half-hour concert videotaped at the Knitting Factory in New York City. Zanes plays mandolin and electric guitar, and his ethnically diverse band plays drums, stand-up bass, accordian, and other instruments. Two women sing along with Zanes (and are not really "back up" singers since the often take the lead), and a "Father Goose" hip hop character also sings lead at times. It is truly a friendly family on stage, singing to the preschoolers and parents in the audience. They encourage the audience to clap and sing along; they even dance and do special hand movements. Most of the songs are traditional folk numbers, done to folk rock arrangements, and there are a couple of original songs. Many families will request Dan Zanes' DVDs and music CDs because of his appearances on TV's "Sesame Street" and other shows.
The second half of the DVD contains six videos, seen on the "Today" show and the Noggin cable network. Some are filmed in a studio, some in the street or other outdoor areas, and a couple are animated with cut paper cartoon figures. Zanes signature wild spikey hair and his equally hip bandmates will allow older kids to enjoy this without feeling like it is too young for them, and parents will appreciate the outstanding musicianship of the musical accompaniment and the arrangements. Probably the best kids' music DVD I have seen in a year!
Penny Peck, San Leandro Public Library
Revisiting Old Favorites
If you have kids coming into the library asking for the stories of Nanny McPhee, you may have the books on your shelves and not know it! "Nanny McPhee" is a new live action comedy feature film starring Emma Thompson and Colin Firth, and the film is based on Christianna Brand's three books about Nurse Matilda.
As she did with "Sense and Sensibility," Thompson wrote the film's script as well as taking the starring role. Angela Lansbury is also in the film. Firth plays the widowed father of seven very naughty children in England (in the books they also have a mother), who after a number of nannies quit in despair, hires magical Nanny McPhee. Unlike Mary Poppins, this magical nanny is frighteningly ugly, but able to tame the seven little brats.
My library had two of Christianna Brand's books: Nurse Matilda (1964), and Nurse Matilda Goes to Town (1967), both published by Dutton and illustrated by Brand's cousin Edward Ardizzone. The small, handheld chapter books feature pen and ink drawings sprinkled throughout, and have a very wry English humor. There is one other sequel, Nurse Matilda Goes to Hospital.
If your library does not have these old copies, you can order a new version that collects the three Nurse Matilda books into one volume: Nurse Matilda: The Collected Tales, Bloomsbury USA, 2005, 300p. $16.95, ISBN 1582346704.
