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Archive for the ‘Mice’ Category

Sara Varon–Sweaterweather & other short stories (2016)

Posted in #10yearsof01, Animals, Ásgeir, Boxing, Cats, Charlie Yoder, Danica Novgorodoff, Deer, Dogs, Eun-ha Paek, First Second :01, Food, Funny (ha ha), Giant Robot, Graphic Novel, Interviews, John Grant, Mice, Sara Varon, Short Books, Short Story, The Leonard Lopate Show, Tiny Desk Concert, Travel, Wayne Kronenfeld, WNYC--93.9 New York, Yunmee Kyong on August 27, 2016| Leave a Comment »

sweater SOUNDTRACK: ÁSGEIR-Tiny Desk Concert #397 (October 18, 2014).

asgeirÁsgeir Trausti Einarsson is an Icelandic singer songwriter.  He has a beautiful soft soaring voice.  He released his debut album Dýrð í dauðaþögn in Icelandic (it became the biggest-selling debit in Icelandic music history).  A year later he reissued it in English (with translation help from John Grant who was living in Iceland) as In the Silence and finally (the version I have, as a 3 disc set with the Icelandic and English discs as well as a selection of bonus songs.

“On That Day” is a pretty, guitar based song (Ásgeir plays the main melody line and has guitar accompaniment (and backing vocals) from his childhood friend Julius Róbertsson.

For the final two songs, Ásgeir switches to piano.  “Torrent” has gorgeous vocal harmonies. It’s interesting how much more deliberate this song feels–not quite staccato, but the piano chords don’t really ring out, letting each note stand on its own.

For this Tiny Desk, he stripped down the songs, getting to their core.  They’re not flashy, they’re just lovely.

The final song he plays, “Higher” is the first song on the record (interestingly “On that Day” is the final song on the record).  It has a very slow, delicate piano melody and is also soothing and beautiful.

And in a cool synchronicity at the end of the show Bob tells Ásgeir  that he’s playing at the same piano that John Grant played on a few months earlier.

[READ: July 2, 2016] Sweaterweather

Back in 2003, Sara Varon published her first book called Sweaterweather.  This collection includes all of the original 8 stories as well as a few more.  Each story gets a brief introduction from Varon which makes me like her even more (she’s quite funny).

Most of the stories are short(2-3 p[ages) and most don’t seem to have a title.  The contents page is actually thumbnails from each story.

When I first saw Varon’s style, I wasn’t sure what to make of it.  It is so innocent and childlike.  And I have really grown to love it–especially when these sweet animals characters (they’re pretty much all animals) tackle some intense feelings. (more…)

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Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm–Squish: Super Amoeba (#1) [prepub] (2011)

Posted in Children's Books, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, I'm from Barcelona, Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew Holm, Mice, Set at School, Short Books, Yo Gabba Gabba on May 25, 2014| Leave a Comment »

squish1SOUNDTRACK: I’M FROM BARCELONA-“Just Because It’s Different Doesn’t Mean It’s Scary” (2009).

miaI like I’m From Barcelona, although I don’t know too much about them.

This song opens with ukuleles (or small guitars anyhow) and a big farty bass line. It offers a sensible lyric about things being different and offers suggestions of new things you might enjoy, like fruit or a park.

The band has some fun backing vocals (“let’s taste it baby”), (“run run run run”) and have made a fairly complex song out of what is a very simple concept.

For these Yo Gabba Gabba songs I have to wonder if the bands have taken old songs and made them kid friendly or if they have written all new (fairly complex) songs just for the show.

This is a good one.

[READ: May 16, 2014] Squish: Super Amoeba

I thought I had written about all five of the Squish books so far (there’s a sixth one coming soon).  Except, I realized, that I never wrote about the first one.  So, here, three years after I first read it (I received it as a prepub for crying out loud, so I’ve had it for over three years), I’ve read it again for this post.

I hadn’t even read Babymouse when I read this book, although in retrospect it’s easy to see the similarities between the two (especially in the drawing style).  Of course, while Babymouse is colored primarily in pink, Squish is colored primarily in green.  And of course, Babymouse is a girl and Squish is a boy (well, a boy amoeba, but still a boy).  But there are kid friendly hardships and valuable (if not necessarily obvious) lessons to be learned.

All the characters who have been with us for the duration of the other books were introduced here: Pod another amoeba, who is Squish’ best friend and who is super smart, Peggy (a paramecium) who is happy all the time and Principal Planaria, who is a flatworm (and like all flatworms is really crosseyed).  This issue also introduces us to The Adventures of Super Amoeba, the comic book which Squish loves and the guy who acts as a role model for Squish. (more…)

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Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm–Happy Birthday, Babymouse [#18] (2014)

Posted in Cats, Children's Books, Cupcakes, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew Holm, Mice, Set at School, Short Books, The Shins, Yo Gabba Gabba on May 24, 2014| Leave a Comment »

18SOUNDTRACK: THE SHINS-“It’s Okay, Try Again” (2009).

mia“Sometime you win, sometimes you lose.  But it’s okay, you try it again.”

A simple idea that no kid will ever believe in no matter how many times he or she hears this song.  Nevertheless, the song is poppy and fun, it’s pure Shins and it is infectious.

The song also feels a lot longer than 2 minutes.  They have really packed a lot into their choruses and verses (and middle third).

Yo Gabba Gabba has been excellent at getting great bands to play simple quickie songs for their records (and shows).

[READ: May 16, 2014] Happy Birthday, Babymouse

It’s hard for me to believe that it took 18 books before Babymouse had a birthday!  I got a chuckle out of the fact that in the book it acknowledges that we don’t even know how old she is [and that they break the fourth wall, too].

As the book opens, Babymouse imagines a full-on Times Square countdown for her birthday.  But that only makes sense because every other birthday that she has had in recent years was a disaster (no idea what season it’s supposed to be in since the disasters span just about everything you can imagine).

But this year she is planning something epic–she sends out a mailbox-filling pile of invitations (including to people in the Squish series–nice cross platform mixing there).  Everyone gets invited except for the gnomes–“they’re too troublesome.”  Of course then comes the dreadful information–Felicia Furrypaws is having her party on the same exact day.  And it promises to be everything Babymouse dreamed her party would be. (more…)

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Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm–Extreme Babymouse [#17] (2013)

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Cats, Children's Books, Cupcakes, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew Holm, Mice, Set at School, Short Books, Snowboarding, They Might Be Giants on April 7, 2013| Leave a Comment »

exbabySOUNDTRACK: “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC-“Amish Paradise (single)1996).

amishAl took some time off between Alalpalooza and Bad Hair Day and he roared back on the scene with “Amish Paradise,” a wonderful parody of Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise.”  There’s a funny saga about how Coolio didn’t appreciate the joke and Al (who always asks permission even if he doesn’t need to) was really upset because he thought he had the green light.  For awhile there was an unpleasant scene between the two (not like they were in the same circle or anything) but when they finally patched things up Al admitted he could stop wearing a bulletproof vest.

The song is a spot-on recreation, (Al has totally upped his game in the studio bu this point) and while the Amish jokes are easy, they’re still funny   This single (yes, I was buying singles at the time) contains three other songs, “Everything You Know is Wrong” a great style parody of They Might be Giants and very funny song in it own right.

It also includes “The Night Santa Went Crazy (Extra Gory Version).”  I recall thinking it was very funny but now that I have kids I’d hate for them to hear it.  The extra gory part is actually the original final verse which the record company asked to tone down a bit.  So he released it here.  The last song is a very strange  an instrumental version of “Dare to Be Stupid.”  What a random song to strip words from.  Although granted, the music is pretty cool.  But still…weird.

[READ: April 7, 2013] Extreme Babymouse

I was excited to see that book 17 of the Babymouse series had come out.  This one is called Extreme Babymouse and, as you can tell from the cover, it is about extreme sports, specifically snowboarding.

What was fun about this one is that Babymouse’s fantasy dream sequence involved Sean White (for who else would you have in a snowboarding book?)  She even has crazy hair under a toque.  But what is all this extreme talk all about?  Well, everyone in her class is headed to the mountain to go snowboarding this weekend (including her locker!) and (naturally) Babymouse wants to, needs to, simply must go!  (Even if she has never been snowboarding before).

After dying inside because she can’t go, the fates align and Babymouse is able to go (her family is given a cabin for the weekend–which sounds great except that everyone else is staying at the beautiful chalet!). (more…)

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Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm–Babymouse For President [#16] (2012)

Posted in Barack Obama, Cats, Children's Books, Cupcakes, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Guided By Voices, Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew Holm, Mice, Political Humor, Set at School, Short Books on September 9, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: MATES OF STATE-“I am a Scientist” (2012).

This is a cover of Guided by Voices’ “I am a Scientist.”  It appears on an all female 18-song charity compilation called Science Fair which is themed around and benefiting science and engineering education for girls.

The original is a wonderful, catchy low-tunes and lo fi sounding guitar track (that builds over the course of 2 minutes).  The Mates of State version is brighter and louder.  It also builds but they add kids singing along with them (it is a benefit album for kids after all).

It’s a wonderful introduction to this worthy CD.  You can hear (and watch) it here.

[READ: December 4, 2011] Babymouse for President

So this is the first new Babymouse book that I’ve read that was actually new when it came out!   And I’m reading it just in time for the election season.  Amazingly, this book with its cartoon politics is far less cartoony than the real politics this election season–who’da thunk it.

Babymouse has a dream of being president–not because of what she could accomplish but because of the POWER!  (Later, she is disturbed to realize that Felicia Furrypaws has the same feeling).

This story has fewer pink fantasy sequences than normal.  Well, maybe that’s not true, there are plenty, but they are pretty short and self contained–sequences about George Washington playing dodgeball (ha) and Babymouse on Mount Rushmore. And there’s a pretty funny Declaration of Independence joke. (more…)

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Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm–A Very Babymouse Christmas (#15) (2011)

Posted in Cats, Children's Books, Christmas, Christmas Album, Consumerism, Cupcakes, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Holidays, Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew Holm, Mice, New Girl, Set at School, Short Books, The Bird and the Bee on December 25, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE BIRD AND THE BEE-“The 12 Days of Christmas” (2011?).

I’ve heard this version of the 12 Days of Christmas twice.  Once in Ulta and once on the show New Girl (in the Christmas episode, where Jess and her friend are (ew) sitting on the floor in the bathroom, you can hear it faintly behind them).

This is a very intriguing version of the song.  It sounds like the Cocteau Twins–a kind of lush, waves upon waves sound.  There’s a female singer (who sounds like Liz Frasier) and as the song progresses down through the numbers it almost seems to be done in a minor key or something.  Of course I’ve only heard snippets of the song so I don’t have any major moments to report about.  Nevertheless, I really enjoyed it.

The problem is I have no idea who sings it! (circa 2014: well now I do).

Obviously the people in Ulta were useless, and I’ve been trying to find out from TV song sources, but I still don’t know who it is.

And you know, the internet is a wonderful thing, but trying to find a song that has been covered at least 100 times and using a search term like “new girl” is not going to give you results that you want.

If anyone wants to give me a Christmas gift, tell me who sings this!

[READ: December 22, 2011] A Very Babymouse Christmas

I have caught up with the Babymouse books!  And look, I finished the Christmas one for Christmas Day!  Hosannah!

I set little goals for myself, most of which I never meet.  But one of my little goals was to read all the Babymouse books by the end of the year (not a difficult task, admittedly), and I did it!

I really enjoyed the series (the end of the book says there’s a new one due out in August 2012 (wow, serious withdrawal) so the series isn’t over or anything.  It’s funny to me that she never made a Christmas book before (the series has been around for years), but it wraps up my reading nicely.

My favorite part of the story has been the growing depth of the narrator.  We find out that the narrator has parents! (although I’m still not sure if it’s a man or a woman–I assume a woman).

But really Christmas is all about the presents and the big present this year is the Whiz Bang™.  I love this conceit–the Whiz Bang™ is a Kindle/iPod/techie product that does everything–it even has a calculator!  And when the moment of truth comes, there’s even a surprising surprise twist.  (more…)

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Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm–Babymouse Burns Rubber [#12] (2010)

Posted in Cars, Cats, Children's Books, Cupcakes, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew Holm, Mice, Short Books, Star Wars, Woody Guthrie on December 21, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: WOODY GUTHRIE-“The Car Song” (1944).

Several years ago when I was first buying music for our kids, I found a number of Woody Guthrie discs.  I always liked Woody Guthrie in theory (this guitar kills fascists and all that).  But I was unfamiliar with his children’s music.

I was surprised by his stuff for one major reason (Besides the fact that he looks like Sean Penn).  This was later confirmed by his son Arlo when Arlo tried to work with his father’s masters: Woody didn’t really believe in rhythm or conventional timing or anything like that.  And that’s fine, but when it’s combined with the primitive recording equipment that Guthrie had access to, these songs sound, shall we say, rough.

Of course, Woody is mostly known for his excellent lyrics (This Land is Your Land).  So it’s especially funny to hear “Car Song” in which the first verse (according to Woody’s official site) is:

Brrrm brm brm brm brm brm brm, brrrm b’ brrrm,
Brrrm brm brm brm brm brm brrrm b’ brrrm,
Brrrm brm brm brm brm brm brrrm b’ brrrm.
Brrrm brm brm brm brm brm brrrm.

Arlo has said that Woody wasn’t exactly a good dad, but it’s clear that Woody expressed his love for his kids in song.  And this song is a fun and silly one that any kid can enjoy (as long as they don’t mind the really raw recording quality).

[READ: December 4, 2011] Babymouse Burns Rubber

This is the last Babymouse book that I had to read before getting caught up with all of the books (except for 2011’s Christmas book, which is the most recent release!).  It’s number 12, and it continues the later book’s excellent streak.  I was a bit concerned about the book when it opened because it begins with a NASCAR fantasy and I don’t watch NASCAR.  But as with most of the opening fantasies, it doesn’t bear on the actual plot of the book.

This book features a lot of screen time for Babymouse’s friend Wilson (it’s always good to see him and nice to see him get so much attention).  We quickly learn that Wilson is the go-to man when something breaks.  More to the point, he’s the go-to man (or ferret, I guess) that Babymouse goes to whenever she needs something (homework help, fixing a bicycle, whatever).  And Wilson is happy to help (what are friends for?).

When Wilson fixes Babymouse’s bicycle (again–Babymouse is a terrible driver) Wilson shows off his new car!  This car is one for the downhill derby–he’s wanted to race for years and he’s finally old enough to participate.  When Babymouse hears that there’s a race which she could actually enter she gets very excited and wonders what she’ll wear.  Wilson points out that she actually has to build her car first.

Of course, Babymouse can’t build anything, so she asks Wilson for “help.”  And more help and more help.  But now Wilson’s car needs work of its own.  Oh, and let’s not forget that in this year’s race is three-time derby winner Chuck E. Cheetah (nice) who is likely going to win again this year.  (more…)

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Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm–Babymouse: Mad Scientist [#14] (2011)

Posted in Cats, Children's Books, Cupcakes, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Jennifer L. Holm, Mad Scientists, Matthew Holm, Mice, NASA, Sci-fi, Science, Set at School, Short Books, Star Trek, They Might Be Giants on December 18, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS-“Science is Real” (2009).

Indeed, I do love They Might Be Giants.  I love how their Here Comes series went from letters to numbers to science.  When you hear news of science being questioned from all sorts of places, it’s nice to have some super catchy songs to reinforce science fact.

“Science is real. From the Big Bang to DNA.”  It’s a great way to open an entire album full of interesting scientific knowledge (from the band who covered “The Sun is a Mass of Incandescent Gas,” which gets updated here into a more accurate lyrical song).  My kids love this album, and it makes me proud when they sing along to the great catchy, short songs contained within.  I especially love that the lyrics don’t eschew fun for truth:

I like the stories
About angels, unicorns and elves
Now I like those stories
As much as anybody else
But when I’m seeking knowledge
Either simple or abstract
The facts are with science.

This is a rocking guitar song, fun for the whole family.  Sing it with me…  “Science is real!”

[READ: December 4, 2011] Babymouse: Mad Scientist

I’m almost caught up to the Babymouse series!  This one even came out this year!!  There’s only the Christmas one left–wonder if I’ll be able to get it from the library in time.

This book also introduces a new character, Squish.  I actually found out about Squish before Babymouse, because I received a prepub of the first Squish book.  And now I get to see Squish’s origin story.

This was a really enjoyable book.  After reading the two music-themes ones, I was wondering if the Holms could keep up the interest for 14 books, but they really brought it back with this one.

After some funny jokes about science experiments (and the state of her room) we get a good fantasy sequence set aboard the USS Cupcake (with an unexpectedy funny Star Trek joke from the homeroom teacher).

And now they have a new science teacher (after the experiment went awry with their previous science teacher).  Mr Shelldon is obsessed, and I mean obsessed with molds.  He wants the class to enter the science fair (and encourages them to do research on molds!) (more…)

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Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm–Babymouse: Rock Star [#4] (2006)

Posted in Cats, Children's Books, Cupcakes, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew Holm, Mice, Muckaferguson, Set at School, Short Books, They Might Be Giants, Tori Amos on December 17, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS-“John Lee Supertaster” (2002).

I love They Might Be Giants.  And I love their kids’ records.  This was their first one, No!.  It’s got that awesome craziness of TMBG but lyrically, it’s more “educational.”  Unlike the Here Comes series, No! is not overtly educational (I mean, check out the nonsense that is “Violin”), but the themes are all smart.

“John Lee Supertaster” is about a supertaster.   Supertasters are people whose tastes buds are crazily sensitive and so everything tastes even more powerful than what most people taste (that can be good and bad).

The song opens with an introduction that tells about Supertasters and about a real life supertsatser who John Flansburg met.

The song is a cool, funky song, with funk bass and a great guitar solo.  It’s a short song (two minutes including all of the introductions) but it’s a very cool one.  It’s catchy (I dare you not to sing along) and informative.

I also just learned that it’s all true.  According to the TMBG wiki: “The real John Lee is a man from the band Muckafurgason, whose album was produced by John Flansburgh.”

(And it rocks, too).

[READ: December 10, 2011] Babymouse: Rock Star

This Babymouse book came before Babymouse: The Musical and it’s possible that the Holms used up all of their great music ideas in this plot.  I enjoyed it quite a bit (maybe it’s because I like rock more than musicals?).

The story opens with a fantasy of Babymouse as a rock star with everyone chanting her name…until it is revealed that the chanting is actually coming from her brother Squeak.  When Babymouse gets to school, we learn that she plays flute in the school band.

She is in the second to last seat (because the screech from her flute cracks the polar ice caps and causes elephants to stampede).

After a cool Pied Piper dream sequence, Babymouse learns that Penny, a poodle who was embarrassed earlier by Felicia Furrypaws on the bus, will happily teach Babymouse how to play better (especially if it embarrasses Felicia).  The next several pages show Babymouse in her full-on fantasy mode as a music video star (which includes a Tori Amouse cover version of her hit song–nice touch).

Penny teaches Babymouse to relax.  She has practices it enough so she knows the music, she just has to feel the music (good advice).  Suddenly the hills are alive with the sound of music.

Babymouse appears in the next school band performance and she has a small victory for herself (which is always nice to see in a Babymouse book).

This was an enjoyable continuation of the series.

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Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm–Babymouse: The Musical [#10] (2009)

Posted in Annie, Cats, Children's Books, Cupcakes, Duplex!, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Glee, Graphic Novel, Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew Holm, Mice, Musicals, Phantom of the Opera, Set at School, Short Books on December 14, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: DUPLEX!-“Freaky Rhesus” (2005).

This strange littles song comes from the Duplex! album called Ablum (no typo there).

I’ve been aware of the disc for a while, but never had a chance to listen to it.  Duplex! is a kind of Canadian indie supergroup for kids (although I actually don’t know music from the bands that the members are originally from).  I’m going to investigate this album a little more, but for now, I’ve got this song to enjoy.

This is a simple keyboard/drum melody (it sounds like a simple kid’s song), although there is a funny clarinet melody).  This might be like a weak They Might Be Giants song, except the lyrics are kind of fun.

Yes, it is about a monkey in the zoo.  The chorus is particularly funny:

here’s where the story gets a little boring
he only ever had one wish
he was dreaming of bananas all the time bananas
especially the Cavendish
which he ate and he ate and he ate until he finished.

This ablum came out before the huge spate of children’s music by indie folks, and perhaps it’s a little weak.  But it’s sure more interesting than Kidz Bop.

[READ: December 4, 2011] Babymouse: The Musical

I do admit to wondering what this book could have in terms of plot.  I mean, there’s going to be a musical and something will go wrong, right?  True.  Very true.

The plot seems a little thinner than most of the Babymouse books, but that’s more than made up for by the wonderful flashes to famous musicals.

Normally I try to mention the specific allusions in the dream sequences, but man, they are just all over the place here: from Phantom of the Opera to High School Musical (no Glee though, this book came out first).  (more…)

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