Happy Fourth!

Happy Fourth of July, everybody!

MWF Seeking BFF review

MWF Seeking BFF: My Yearlong Search for a New Best Friend
by Rachel Bertsche
Ballantine Books
December 2011

MWF Seeking BFF is solidly in the genre of "do something unusual for a year and then report back on it." After moving to Chicago for her husband, Bertsche decides what she really needs is a new best friend. She was an active sorority girl in college and thrives on being a social butterfly.

The author has a good sense of humor and comes across as loveably neurotic, at least when she's not being Judgey McJudgerson and ruling out potential acquaintances for being a year or two too old or too young, having children, living too far away, or having some other undesirable characteristic. Fortunately she lightens up as the year goes on. She does, however, randomly interject statistics here and there in her narrative which I thought made her sound a bit stilted.

Still, a lot of her advice on friend-making is totally sound. She reminds me a lot of myself when I first moved to Los Angeles, and was determined to "get out there" and meet people. The book is divided into 4 sections: Set-ups and long-lost acquaintances/Taking out a want ad/Clubs, classes and online friending/The Art of the Pickup. Basically, say yes to every invite and force yourself to socialize. Practice doesn't always make perfect, but it does make it way easier when you're widening your friend network.

I guess what I found really stunning is that she not only commits to meeting a new person every week, but she also continues to follow up with all her priors that went well. Her final social schedule sounds positively exhausting! A tight-knit group of work friends, two bookclubs, a cooking club, an improv class, family, plus some other randoms picked up along the way. She probably gets out of the house every night of the week.

Pair this with The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pick-Up Artists by Neil Strauss for an interesting perspective on how socializing and group dynamics work for 20-something minglers. Bertsche does lean rather heavily on the language of dating for her project. She sets up "girl dates" and "flirts" and bemoans, "Oh. My. God. I just got dumped!" when things don't work out. By the end of the year, she concludes that she hasn't gained a new BFF, rather a "bouquet of friends."


I borrowed this book from the library.

Alex Ko review

Alex Ko: From Iowa to Broadway, My Billy Elliot Story
by Alex Ko
HarperCollins
April 2013

In this straightforward autobiography, Ko covers the two main events in his young life: the loss of his dad from cancer when he was eleven, and his subsequent foray into ballet leading to a starring role on Broadway at age thirteen. 

After being sidelined from gymnastics due to working through an injury, Ko finally receives his father’s blessing to pursue dance. Ko’s passion for dance, both as an athlete and as an artist, is evident. Despite his family’s financial hardships and many setbacks, Ko never loses his upbeat disposition. Ko’s father remains on his mind, as he connects to him in nightly prayers and a dance piece choreographed in his father’s memory eventually becomes the audition piece that scores him the role in Billy Elliot. 

Readers will be fascinated by the backstage details of working on Broadway and impressed by Ko’s humble nature. Ko experiences equal parts camaraderie and competition with the two other boys who share the role. Even after appearing on Broadway, Ko remains starstruck by some of the celebrities he meets including Rosie O’Donnell and President Obama. An appealing memoir for tweens and their contemporaries.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
This review was originally published in School Library Journal.

So You Wanna Be a Superstar? review

So You Want to Be a Superstar?: The Ultimate Audition Guide
by Ted Michael, Nic Cory and Mara Jill Herman
Running Press Kids
August 2012

Upbeat, positive encouragement is provided for teens who want to dabble in the arts and for those with dreams of stardom. The authors seem to have their fingers on the pulse of everything that is cool in pop culture, and the casual writing style ensures maximum teen appeal. Extensive musical theater history, dance terms, and audition tips are all presented in a clear, readable way. 

The book is chock-full of personality quizzes that will help teens discover their ideal roles and vocal range, as well as their own talents and interests so they can tailor an acting, singing, or dance career perfectly suited to their personal strengths. This engaging and fun-spirited guide is sure to be a boon for hopeful performers.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
This review originally appeared in School Library Journal.

More Short and Sweet Skits review

More Short and Sweet Skits for Student Actors
by Maggie Scriven
Meriwether Publishers
March 2012

This follow-up to Short and Sweet Skits for Student Actors features fifty more in the same vein as the first volume. Simple, fun skits, all of them very easy to produce, feature positive and upbeat messages. Most of the selections feature present-day school scenes with two or three friends in conversation. Kids will relate to issues such as homework, restrictions on cell phone use, having to clean one's room, etc. A few sillier pieces where students play animals such as disgruntled deer, lazy lions or confused houseflies are sure to get laughs. While the collection would benefit from a bit more organization, (arranging scenes by number of players, for example) educators looking for additional classroom scripts for scene study will find this hodge-podge of humorous and squeaky-clean original material handy. The book is prefaced with useful resume and headshot advice for budding actors.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Audition Monologues for Young Women review

Audition Monologues for Young Women: Contemporary Audition Pieces for Aspiring Actresses
by Gerald Ratcliff
Meriwether Publisher
September 2011

Ratcliff's latest collection of audition monologues are arranged by "mood" or tone, resulting in chapters such as "Songs of Regret and Romance," "Songs of Faith and Folly," and "Songs of Rage and Retribution." Young actors would do well to study the introduction which thoroughly details audition etiquette and encourages actors to approach auditions with confidence, dignity and professionalism. Most of the audition pieces are original works featuring passionate, high-stakes drama. Extensive background notes which set the scene for each monologue could enable busy actors to jump right in without reading the entire play. While the subject matter of some of the monologues, such as divorce or the death of a child, skew a little too old for most teens to believably play, budding actresses should find plenty of fresh material here.


I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

On Stage Review

On Stage: Theatre Games and Activities for Kids

by Lisa Bany-Winters

Chicago Review Press

September 2012

This updated edition of the drama club classic offers a good blend of practical and fun information and includes 30 new games and scripts. The encouraging tone is perfect for novice thespians. Theater vocabulary and other basics are thoroughly covered. 

Popular improv games such as “Yes And...,” “Mirrors,” and “Party Quirks” make up the bulk of the book. Attractive sidebars in the shape of movie slates feature informational text. “Play It Again, Sam” sidebars feature multiple variations for further inspiration. Black-and-white cartoon illustrations show cheerful children participating in the exercises. The final two chapters give a cursory treatment to puppetry, mask-making, and backstage skills. This book is a boon for educators, theater directors, camp counselors, and students looking for theater warm-ups, circle games, improv prompts, short scripted skits, and other activities.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Pregnancy Project review

The Pregnancy Project
by Gaby Rodriguez and Jenna Glatzer
Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
January 2012

The Pregnancy Project was co-written by Gaby Rodriguez and a professional author who moved to print quickly to capture the excitement of a newsworthy story. Short chapters and slightly wide margins make this a blazing fast read. High school senior Gaby Rodriguez pretended to be pregnant for 6 months so that she could present a senior project on "how it felt" to be marginalized as a pregnant teen.

I read it recently, and was disturbed by it on a couple of levels:

1) The first half of the book is about Gaby's mother and her early childhood as the youngest child in a big family. The teen author seems to have a real chip on her shoulder re: teen pregnancy, both her mother's and her older sister's. She'd be a great candidate for some family counseling, rather than acting out in this bizarre way. She comes across as mildly sociopathic. When she breaks down in tears over the stress of lying to one of her favorite teachers about the "pregnancy" her first thought is that crying is something that a pregnant woman would actually do - making her story all the more plausible.

2) Rodriguez comes across as a neo-con - despite her pro-contraception stance, she quickly dismisses Planned Parenthood as an abortion factory.

3) Rodriguez is deeply starstruck by the media attention she receives after the "big reveal" at the end of her project. There is at least a chapter or two devoted to what it was like to go on "Good Morning America" and how surprising and thrilling it was to receive so many phone calls from media outlets. She also goes into great detail about the press conference she held and how the media were fighting for her attention - one reporter supposedly even tried to steal the "pregnancy bump" that Rodriguez had worn for several months while fooling the fellow students at her school.

4) I am amazed and astounded that there was a school principal who actually approved of something on this size and scale - AND that Rodriguez and her boyfriend let her boyfriend's parents believe that the pregnancy was real, right up until the end. (They reportedly were NOT excited about being grandparents and were relieved that it was all a hoax, but still, that is an astonishing level of deception to carry out.)

What Rodriguez does very well is take the nuanced view that experiencing a pregnancy in one's teens is not the end of the world. It will make life hard, much harder, to be certain, but it doesn't mean that a teen girl's life is over. She was greatly surprised that none of her friends suggested abortion or adoption as options - everyone assumed right from the start that she would keep the "baby" and while there was some mean-spirited gossip, many were fairly supportive. She was also surprised that all of the early hints she'd been dropping were mostly ignored. Rodriguez pretended to complain of nausea, made sure to schedule more trips to the bathroom, and enlisted her best friend as a confederate to publicly give her knowing looks, caution her to eat her vegetables and chide her for lifting anything heavy. It wasn't until she donned her pregnancy bump that everyone really took notice, however.

The book ends with Gaby Rodriguez describing her college plans. She seems to have some compassion for teen mothers, exhorting readers to show a little kindness for young women in a tough situation, and she stumps heavily for early sex-education and highly encourages the use of birth control. Still, for the most part, there's a thin-veneer of preachiness and holier-than-thou-ness slathered over nearly everything that Rodriguez says and does. She comes across as a more than a little crazy, and judgmental, "I won't mess up my life the way everyone else in my family did. I'm better than that," is the overall theme. I would be so interested to get an update on this whole story - will this project end up being a blip on her high school resume, or will it continue to affect her life, especially the relationships with her mother and siblings down the line? The book was adapted to a Lifetime TV movie - it's an interesting read, and will definitely make you think.


I borrowed this book.

It's Snowing review

It's Snowing
by Gail Gibbons
Holiday House
August 2011

It's Snowing is another triumph from reknowned non-fiction picture book author Gail Gibbons, certain to be an instant classic. This volume covers everything one could ever want to know about snow in a very basic and accessible way. With clear, colorful watercolor illustrations, Gibbons takes us through the condensation cycle. Maps of where snow falls around the globe are followed by close-up pictures of snow on each continent. I especially enjoyed the several pages that talk about the difference between flurries, sleet, snowstorms and blizzards. How communities deal with snowstorms, as well as various kinds of snow-related sports including skiing, snowboarding, tobogganing and snowshoeing are shared. The book is appended with advice on how to stay warm in the snow, as well as snow-related trivia. The genius of the book is that it is so simple and yet so comprehensive, on a subject that many adults might find self-explanatory, but young children will find fascinating. Highly recommended for all elementary science collections, this is a fine addition to Gibbons' amazing body of work.


I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Puppet Play review

Puppet Play: 20 Puppet Projects Made with Recycled Mittens, Socks, Towels and More

by Diana Schoenbrun
Andrews McKeel Publishing
April 2011

This delightful offering is an inspiration for crafters everywhere. Written in the most basic terms, the book begins with a simple intro to kinds of materials to look out for, easy-to-read diagrams showing different kinds of hand-stitching, and a few pattern suggestions. While a few of these creations looked a little "unfinished" to me, there were plenty of puppets that struck my fancy. I was especially impressed with the floppy, wrinkly, beautifully long-trunked elephant puppet, fashioned out of a mismatching pair of grey striped socks. I also liked the looks of the sock monkey super-hero puppet (not your typical sock monkey!) and the inspired choice of an old argyle sock as the body for a wacky looking wizard. The green bandanna frog was cleverly made, although not quite my style, and the two-sided fish, made out of mismatching washclothes begs to have a song or rhyme written about him for storytime. The kangaroo puppet, fashioned from a re-purposed glove and the giraffe puppet made of tea-towels and clothespins both looked a bit daunting, but there were plenty of projects here eminently suitable for a beginner.

Many of these puppets were so clearly inspired by the found materials they were made from - for instance, where on earth would you find a lumpy, striped grey sock that is nearly as good as the one used in the book for this elephant? It seemed to me the best sock puppets came from unusual socks - large, old, colorful, fantastically-patterned knee socks seem to be a safe bet for really terrific puppet characters. Use this book as a jumping off point for your own puppetry creations. Dedicated crafters with a hearty supply of buttons, fabric scraps and notions will doubtless find these projects easy, but even a novice puppeteer could get started with a trip to their mismatched socks basket, a few sheets of cheap felt, and maybe a trip to a secondhand clothing store for a few extras.

The book is appended with some puppeteering tips, character creation ideas, and a list of websites of prominent puppetry arts organizations.


I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Manners Mash-up review

Manners Mash-up: A Goofy Guide to Good Behavior

by Ted Arnold, et al.

Dial Books for Young Readers

February 2011

This collection by renowned children's illustrators covers proper etiquette for a wide range of situations: on the bus, at dinner, on the playing field, at the theatre, at the supermarket. Most of the tips are dispensed with humor. As an adult, I found the transition from one illustrator to the next quite jarring, but I know that when I was younger, I would have loved the variety.

In his Bus Manners segment, Bob Shea (of Dinosaur vs. the Potty fame) pairs advice such as: "Don't practice your trombone" with a monkey heedlessly noodling away in the backseat much to his fellow passenger's dismay, "Don't soak your seatmate with sleep drool" shows a bear drooling on an unfortunate owl, while "Say 'excuse me' when you make a smell" shows a unapologetically grinning skunk.

Leuyen Pham, probably best known for Freckleface Strawberry, offers a sweet lesson in Playground Manners with advice as "No throwing sand in the sandbox" and "Always watch out for little ones" and "It's nice to share" with cute animals all playing happily at the park.

Contrast this with Adam Rex, the author/illustrator of Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich who gives us a macabre scene of a three-headed boy, greedily wolfing down disembodied feet, as a mad scientist cautions them to chew with their mouths closed, don't talk with your mouth full, and no elbows or feet on the table.

Tao Nyeu, creator of Wonder Bear and Bunny Days presents a beautifully hand-stitched cautionary on a disgusting topic: Please Dont Pick in Public showing the hazards of picking one's toenails, scabs, teeth, nose or wedgie in public.

The book is appended with a question, "What was your goofiest manners mishap?" with amusing anecdotes from each contributor. Recommended for ages 5-8


I borrowed this book from the library.

Rosa's Bus review

Rosa's Bus

by Jo S. Kittinger, illustrated by Steven Walker

Calkins Creen

October 2010

Rosa's Bus covers a worthy topic from an unusual point of view. The book tells the story of Rosa Park's 1955 protest that sparked a bus boycott and desegregation, beginning, and ending, with bus #2857 itself. Dark, muddy oil illustrations lend a sense of gravitas. Probably the least successful among them is the illustration of Rosa being asked to give up her seat. The bus was supposedly crowded and the text even mentions this, but in the painting most of the other seats appear empty. While the bus as a character is not the most riveting Rosa Parks story out there, it still gets to the heart of an important historic moment. The bus was later sold at auction in 2001 by Donnie Williams, who inherited it from his father-in-law Hubert Summerfield. Summerfield had come into possession of the bus when it was going to be junked for spare parts, and sensing the crucial place in history this particular bus had, purchased it, and stored it out of the way for many years. Storywise, I think it would have been more stirring if Williams had donated the bus instead of selling it, but the book sticks closely to historical fact. The bus has now been fully restored and is on display at the Henry Ford museum. An interesting addition to most civil rights collections, this book offers a unique perspective and plenty of educational backmatter including info about the bus and an author's note explaining that Rosa Parks was not actually the first person to protest segregation. The book is further appended with an extensive bibliography including websites. Recommended for ages 8-12.

I borrowed this book from the library.

Wanda Gag review

Wanda Gág: The Girl Who Lived to Draw
by Deborah Kogen Ray
Viking Juvenile
October 2008

This is a nice picture book biography portrait of the author/illustrator of the beloved Caldecott winner Millions of Cats. Wanda Hazel Gág had a very hard life, losing her father to tuberculosis at age 15. Despite the hardships, she managed to support her six younger sisters on an artist's salary, retaining her cheerful disposition. Her exposure to German fairy tales, and the cozy family times inspired a lot of the tone and feel of her picture books.


I think Ray may have exaggerated with the claim that Millions of Cats (first published in 1928) was "the first modern picture book." What about Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit (1902)? Randolph Caldecott's The Diverting History of John Gilpin (1878), although it is in a now-familiar picture book layout, is debatable as a "true" picture book since the storyline, about a drunken horse ride by the title character could arguably said to appeal to adults more than children. Nevertheless, it is the very book that inspired the Caldecott award which Gág was to later win. I also wondered about the claim that Gág invented double-page spread illustrations. Interestingly, the mixed media full-color soft charcoal illustrations in this biography were all single page, with accompanying wordy text opposite. These minor quibbles aside, this is a lovely book, and serves as a rallying call to anybody who has ever wanted to make a life for themselves in the arts.




I borrowed this book from the library.

Short and Sweet Skits review

Short and Sweet Skits for Student Actors

by Maggie Scriven
Meriwether Publishing
March 2010

Clean, straitlaced and with a sometimes corny sense of humor, these skits will be a welcome resource for teachers who want to incorporate a bit of drama into their classrooms. The majority of the selections feature present-day scenes of school, friends, and home, usually addressing conduct of life, but a few of them veer into the fantastical with actors playing cows, cats, and dogs. Actors are encouraged to play these scenes standing up and with light costuming to suggest the animal being portrayed.

Most of the selections are for two to three players, but educators will be hard-pressed to find another collection that features short scenes for groups of 10-16 specifically tailored for classroom use, as this one does. Flexible casting is possible for quite a few of the pieces.



I recieved a free copy of this book from the publisher.
This review originally appeared in School Library Journal.

Zombie Felties review

Zombie Felties: How to Raise 16 Gruesome Felt Creatures from the Undead

by Nicola Tedman and Sarah Skeate

Andrews McMeel Publishing

2010

Just in time for Halloween, Tedman and Skeate bring us this collection of creative crafts. Never in the history of ever have zombies looked quite so gosh-darn cute! Page after page of this attractive volume feature full-color photographs of mini-zombie felt creations, including a zombie bride, zombie vampire duck, a zombie pirate and many more.

Readers will find the clearly-labeled instructions and a preface including hints and tips on basic stitches extremely helpful for getting started. Each project is rated by difficulty level: one skull for the easiest projects, and up to four skulls for challenging zombies. Japanese-inspired design with tiny bodies and wobbly oblong heads gives each feltie a very kawaii look despite the pink beads representing brains spilling out, or the red embroidery floss for oozing guts... leaving one unsure if you'd rather run screaming or snuggle these little guys.

Tiny, simple to make, and easy to completely hand-sew, making the zombie dolls from this book will be much easier if you are already a crafter with lots of scraps and notions to choose from. Still, I see no reason why an enterprising YA librarian couldn't acquire a few sheets of felt, some embroidery floss and an assortment of beads and turn the book into inspiration for a Halloween craft library program. Teens with a twisted sense of humor will love these undead felt dolls.


I borrowed this book from the library.

I'm happy to be hosting Nonfiction Monday today.  Leave a comment, and I'll add you to the Round-Up!  I'll be checking in and updating through-out the day.

Thanks again, to Anastasia Suen for organizing Nonfiction Monday.  Be sure and check out her line-up for the next few months... there may still be a few upcoming hosting spots available.  And don't forget to check out Nonfiction Monday next week, hosted at Picture Book of the Day.

Comments seem to have gone all kerfluey.  If you want to be included in the list, and haven't been able to leave a comment, drop me a line at madiganreads (at) gmail.com.

And here's the line-up!  (So far.)

• Jeff Barger is reviewing Country Road ABC by Arthur Geisert.
• Travis Jonker is reviewing The Secret Cave: Discovering Lascaux by Emily Arnold McCully.
• Anastasia Suen is reviewing John Greenwood's Journey to Bunker Hill by Marty Rhodes Figley.
• Angela Craft is reviewing The Good, The Bad and the Barbie by Tanya Lee Stone.
• Lit Lass is reviewing Straight Hair, Curly Hair by Augusta Goldin and Ed Emberly.
• Kim Hutmacher is reviewing A Day on the Mountain by Kevin Kurtz.
• Doret is reviewing FDR's Alphabet Soup by Tanya Bolden.
• Abby is reviewing DragonArt Evolution: How to Draw Everything Dragon by J. "NeonDragon" Peffer.
• And it looks like Charlotte has reviewed the exact same book!
• The Fourth Musketeer is reviewing Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave by Laban Carrick Hill and illustrated by Bryan Collier.
• Roberta is reviewing A Kid’s Guide to Latino History: More than 50 Activities by Valerie Petrillo.
• Alex is reviewing Sweethearts of Rhythm by Marilyn Nelson.
• Jennifer is reviewing Case Closed? Nine Mysteries Unlocked by Modern Science by Susan Hughes, illustrated by Michael Wandelmaier.
• Becky is reviewing They Called Themselves the KKK by Susan Bartoletti.
• Tammy Flanders is reviewing a whole collection of books that use woven materials in their illustrations.
• Shelf-Employed is reviewing All Aboard! Elijah McCoy’s Steam Engine by Monica Kulling, illustrated by Bill Slavin.
• Wendie Old points our attention to two wonderful non-fiction review blogs, Nonfiction Matters and I.N.K.: Interesting Nonfiction for Kids.
• Janet Squires is reviewing Paper Crafts for Halloween by Randel McGee.
• Last, but definitely not least, Shirley Duke is reviewing WILD Alphabet by Mike Haines and Julia Frolich.

Orangutans are Ticklish review

Orangutans are Ticklish: Fun Facts From an Animal Photographer

by Steve Grubman and Jill Davis

Schwartz and Wade Books

2010

I was drawn to this book by the mischievous looking orangutan on the cover. Inside, there's a combination of wonderful close-up portraits of animals, a main text with interesting facts about each animal and tiny sidebars with comments from the photographer on how he managed to get the shot. The most dramatic of these side notes was about how the tiger got loose from it's handlers at one point, forcing Grubman to make a mad dash out of the room! Grubman's photos, which feature many animals' direct gaze to the camera, capture so much personality and expression and are truly what makes this book amazing for any animal lover. A wide variety of creatures including aardvarks, grizzly bears, giraffes, alligators, hippos and more, are mostly photographed framed against white or jewel-toned backgrounds, and in a few cases, shown with multiple photos side by side depicting their different moods. My favorite section was the jam-packed appendix which included tons of additional facts as well as few more photos. With an attractive layout featuring large, easy to read font, and relatively simple vocabulary, this book will be a pleasure for preschoolers and kindergarten age children.

I borrowed this book from my local library.




Check out more non-fiction titles featured on thebooknosher this week.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid multimedia review

The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary

by Jeff Kinney

Amulet Books

2010

I have to admit I was skeptical when I heard they were making a live-action movie version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The cartoons, so simple, so expressive, really are the heart of the book. How would it be possible to visualize Greg Heffley without them? My skepticism was only deepened by the fact that I had recently listened to the audiobook for Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which had failed to impress.

I had been planning on skipping listening to the audiobook altogether. How could you put such a visual presentation into audio? I was encouraged, however, by Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret. I'd scoffed (as many did) that it'd be an impossible task to translate that unique Caldecott-winning book into a different format, and was very pleasantly surprised to see that music had been used to skillfully create atmosphere in the story. So, I approached the audiobook of Diary of a Wimpy Kid with an open mind. Sadly, it failed to deliver. The narrator simply read the story. Naturally, without the cartoons, many of the sight gags simply fell flat.

I was understandably cautious when I went to see Diary of a Wimpy Kid but ended up delighted by the film. The movie used just enough of the cartoons to give the flavor of the books. It was true to the story, and honestly hilarious.

Any big fan of Diary of a Wimpy Kid (and these days, what middle-schooler isn't a fan of the enormously popular series?) will definitely want to take a look at the Movie Diary. It's chock-full of behind-the-scenes info and tidbits about the child actors who play Greg Heffley and his best friend Rowley, including baby pictures and some of the first sketches of Greg that Kinney produced. Many kids have a vague idea of how a movie gets made, but the book really breaks down the process step-by-step. For example, in the scene where Greg and Rowley are sledding, it's not real snow, of course. And it wasn't actually that cold on the day of shooting. The book talks about how make-up artists painted the boys' cheeks red to simulate the look of being out in cold weather. That's a little detail that might have escaped the average movie viewer.

Another interesting detail is how the location scouting was done. When the school was selected, an army of designers and set dressers came up with a school mascot, and created hundreds of items that might be found in the school, including flyers on the bulletin boards.

I enjoyed reading about the thought process behind the design of several of the main character's bedrooms. Rowley's room is supposed to reflect that his family is very well-off, that his rocket ship bed, and other stuff is really, really cool... but also a bit babyish for a typical middle-schooler. The designers had the idea that Greg is the kind of kid who pursues hobbies with a passion and then drops them. They figured that he had just finished a big "pirates" craze, which is why you see so many pirate-themed items in his room. But before that, he went through a "sports" craze, which is why his bedsheets and some items he's had longer are sports-themed. For Fregley, the designers decided that his parents must be older. They created a more old-fashioned looking room, with vintage floral wallpaper and clothes and bedding for him that look like they came from a thrift store. It's interesting to see how the designers take a few kernels of information from the book, and really run with it.

With plenty of photos from the set, original drawings by Kinney, and large hand-lettered type, this book will be a blazingly fast read for most, although I anticipate some readers will want to read and re-read this while they are waiting for the fifth book in the series, due out next fall.

Check out the Monday round-up of non-fiction reviews 
at Charlotte's Library.

I blogged this during the 48-Hour Book Challenge.

I borrowed this book.

Great Monologues review

Great Monologues for Young Actors, Volume III

edited by Craig Slaight and Jack Sharrar

Smith and Kraus

2009

A fresh and challenging collection, ideal for classroom or practical use, this eclectic volume offers more than 50 speeches. A few of them contain language that ventures into mature territory, but most teens will find everything here very accessible. The brief but fantastic introduction includes intelligent advice on how to best make use of the material and to handle auditions professionally. A helpful appendix gives contact information for copyright permissions to those seeking to produce paid performances, but all of the speeches are royalty-free for auditions or study. With selections culled from playwrights such as Shakespeare and Shaw, Beth Henley and Christopher Durang, as well as from exceptional new talents, this is a volume that theater professionals and librarians will definitely want to have.


I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
This review originally appeared in School Library Journal.

Starred review

I'm very excited that a book I reviewed recently received a star from the School Library Journal. Whether or not a book gets a star is an editorial decision, but I was really rooting for this particular book to get that recognition and I'm so glad that it did!


ZIEFERT, Harriet, with Brian Stokes Mitchell. Lights on Broadway: A Theatrical Tour from A to Z. illus. by Elliot Kreloff. unpaged. w/CD. Blue Apple. 2009. Tr $19.99. ISBN 978-1-934706-68-8. LC number unavailable.

K-Gr 5—A love letter to Broadway written with genuine warmth and professional-theater knowledge, this alphabet book features crisp, retro-style cartoon characters confidently racing about onstage and behind the scenes. Pleasantly busy pages capture the excitement of live theater and offer multiple entries for each letter. For example, "A" is for "audition," "actor," "audience," and "applause." "S" stands for "stage," "scenery," "set," and "script." Multiple sidebars offer further kid-friendly definitions. Plenty of star power is lent with quotes from luminaries such as Whoopi Goldberg, Liza Minelli, Steven Sondheim, Bernadette Peters, Carol Channing, and Kevin Kline. A CD single written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty performed by Mitchell is also included. A must for all collections, this book will be treasured by theater aficionados for years to come.—Madigan McGillicuddy, Los Angeles Public Library

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.

Grown-up reading (sorta)

Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street

by Michael Davis

Viking

2008

Davis' background as a journalist really shines through in this exhaustively researched look into the team behind Sesame Street. Spanning five years of interviews with cast and crew, Davis paints a painstaking picture of all the ins-and-outs, all the personalities, all the behind-the-scenes office politics that shaped this television institution. Pioneering the "edu-tainment" niche, Sesame Street was really the first children's show to take educational research seriously, incorporating PhDs on their staff and applying for educational grants to meet budgetary needs.

There's a lot of background info here... quite a lot on the earlier show, Captain Kangaroo. Warm and genial on screen, Bob Keeshan was a sometimes moody prankster on the set. A number of the writers and crew made the jump to Sesame Street when it started, and they brought lessons they learned from the Captain with them, mainly, that an ensemble cast would provide less headaches than a single, temperamental actor.

Jim Henson was probably the most widely celebrated Sesame Street contributor, with his furry, funny, wonderful Muppets. Davis also spotlights Children's Television Workshop founding member and Sesame producer, Joan Ganz Cooney and her struggles to be taken seriously in the "man's world" of television production in the late 60's and onward. I didn't know that Bob McGrath, one of the longest-running original cast members got his start as a Japanese pop-singing sensation! I was also unaware that Northern James Calloway, who played David on the show, had such a troubled history. Towards the end of his run on the show, his behavior became increasingly erratic as he struggled with manic-depression.

As I suspected, Sesame Street, especially in it's first decade on television, was a very collaborative effort. In the 1990's post-Barney era, the show floundered for a bit under new management, as the suits tried to micromanage the creative process, until finally hitting on a huge hit with Elmo. Considering the meticulous detail afforded to the early years of Sesame Street, I was a little surprised that even more energy wasn't expended in explaining the Elmo phenomenon but one can't blame Davis for running out of steam towards the end of this epic history. It feels odd to say it, but as long as the book was (and it is long) I did wish for a bit more info about most of the performers. Also, no mention of the Snuffleupagus controversy!

The final 100 pages are perhaps the saddest, beginning with the death of Will Lee, the actor who played the venerable corner-store owner, Mr. Hooper. From there, many of the other founding members passing, especially that of Henson, is covered in detail.

The book is being released in paperback this October.