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Archive for the ‘Children’s Books’ Category

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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Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm–Babymouse: Cupcake Tycoon [#13] (2010)

Posted in Bubboon's Tunes, Cats, Children's Books, Cupcakes, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Greed, Humiliation, Jennifer L. Holm, Kids Corner, Matthew Holm, Mice, Set at School, Short Books, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA on December 8, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: BUBBOON’S TUNES-“The Cheese Song” (2002).

chheseThis song was picked as the number one song on Kids’ Corner for 6 years in a row.

It’s a strange song to have won the hearts of so many listeners.  It’s simple and pleasant enough with a humorous content (gouda, gouda gouda, the cheese that’s never rude-a).

And yes, it is very easy to sing along to (cheese, cheese, cheese, wonderful cheese).  And heck, I love a song about SPAM, so who am I to question this delicious foodstuff.  I’m just kind of baffled as to why this song is so very popular.

Having said that, I don’t want to make it seem that I don’t like the song (the gorgonzola bit is rather amusing).  It’s silly and catchy and fun and I can imagine 7-year-old boys around the world singing it together.   There’s just no accounting for #1 songs.  But it’s better than “I Will Always Love You.”

Hear for yourself at the cool Bubboon’s Tunes website.

[READ: December 1, 2011] Babymouse: Cupcake Tycoon

This may have been my favorite Babymouse yet.  Mostly because it’s all about the library.  But also because it seemed to be simply packed with ideas and jokes.

 It opens with dreams of Babymouse’s fancy estate where she is just about to be served….tater tots from the lunch line?  But soon, Babymouse is off to the library, where we get to meet Mrs Bee the librarian.  Babymouse loves books and she’s excited that she gets to search for a lost book, Indiana Jones style.
Most daydreams just embarrass Babymouse, but this one proves to be a disaster when Babymouse falls off a high shelf and grabs onto a pipe for safety.  The pipe breaks and sends water spilling through the library and into the school (and there’s very little a library hates more than water).
So to raise money to replace the books and fix the damage, the school is going to have a fund-raiser.  And not a lame fund-raiser like everybody does (no popcorn or wrapping paper here), they are going to sell cupcakes!  And even better, the kid who sells the most gets a grand prize! (more…)

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Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm–Babymouse: Beach Babe [#3] (2006)

Posted in Cats, Children's Books, Cupcakes, Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew Holm, Mice, Muppets, My Morning Jacket, Set at School, Set in New Jersey!, Short Books, Summer, Surfing, Travel, Yuck! on December 4, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: MY MORNING JACKET-“Our World” (2011).

This song comes from the The Green Album, the grown- up-bands-cover-the-Muppets album.  I can’t remember if I knew this song to begin with or if I have just listened to this record enough that it sounds so familiar.

Although MMJ have been getting into some crazy electronic and heavy music as of late, this is a very mellow song.  It opens with a banjo!  And while more instruments come in, it stays pretty true to what you’d think the Muppets would sing.

(Aha, thanks internet.  It appeared in Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas).   It’s a really pretty song (Paul Williams knew his way around a ballad, huh?) and this is a very nice cover.

[READ: April 16, 2011] Babymouse: Beach Babe

This the third Babymouse book opens with Babymouse dreaming (of course).  But this time she’s dreaming of surfing!  And she can hang ten (and other surfing lingo) with the best of them.  Until a card says “Too Terrible to See.”  But when she wakes up she has wonderful news…it’s the last day of school!

We also see, to my understanding, the first real encounter with Squeak, Babymouse’s little brother.  When Babymouse runs for the bus, Squeak follows her calling out her name.  She tells him to go home and we see poor Squeak by the side of the road, looking dejected.

But we’re soon back at school, and during the film strip, Babymouse imagines she is the Little Mermaid.  But when she wakes up, the bell rings and school’s out for the summer!

When her parents tell them they’re going on vacation, she has an instant flashback to their terrible vacation last year (and the lack of “facilities” at the camp ground).  But this vacation is going to be different–they’re going to the beach!  And she is super excited…until the drive takes for-

ev-

er.

There’s even a surprising dream sequence about all the trees that she sees on the way down.

When they finally arrive, there’s all the usual beach fun and danger (sunburn!) and Babymouse gets to try her hand at surfing like in her dreams.

It was right around this time that I guessed that the beach that Matthew Holm was drawing was at the Jersey Shore.  And indeed, it is.  The end credits say that the Holms used to vacation at the Jersey Shore.

The book ends with that other classic childhood trauma–having a younger sibling and getting tired of playing with him or her on vacation.  When Babymouse complains about Squeak once too often, he takes it very personally.  And suddenly the story becomes a little frightening and quite touching.

For a snarky series, this one is surprisingly moving.  I wonder if having this book third helped establish that sensitive side of Babymouse (which seems to be missing in later books).  Good for you Babymouse!

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Jeff Kinney–Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever [#6] (2011)

Posted in Boredom, Buffalo Springfield, Canadian Music, Children's Books, Consumerism, Funny (ha ha), Holidays, Jeff Kinney, Neil Young, Pac Man, Short Books, Technology on November 28, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: NEIL YOUNG AND THE INTERNATIONAL HARVESTERS-A Treasure [NY Archives 09] (2011).

Continuing with the randomly numbered Archive releases, Neil Young has released A Treasure, the sixth release (which is labelled #09) in the Performance Series.  This is with the Neil Young band called the International Harvesters.

I had never even heard of this iteration of a Neil Young band–they toured during 1984/5 for the Old Ways album.  This is an album that I barely knew but is one that Sarah loved, so this one is more for her than me.  The band is a very country band–fiddles and slide guitars and all that.  Neil’s even got a twang in his voice.  But even with that, (it’s not my music of choice), this album has a lot of great stuff on it (including five previously unreleased songs).

There are a number of real country songs on this disc–“Amber Jean” and “It Might Have Been” are straight-up country.  Although “Are You Ready for the Country” (which has some major country trappings like that fiddle solo) is actually a bit more of a countrified Neil Young song than a country song per se.  “Nothing is Perfect” is a kind of group sing along.  The kind of song that you might hear at the end of the night at a pub.

Despite this being the Old Ways tour, there are only two songs from that album here.  “Bound for Glory” is the song I knew best from this era.  And it is indeed a very country song (that steel pedal guitar!). “Back to the Country” is the other one, and it, too is a true country song.

“Let Your Fingers Do the Walking” and “Flying on the Ground is Wrong” are different takes on country songs.  The funny thing is that “Flying” (which was originally a Buffalo Springfield song) has a very Neil Young guitar progression built in, during the “I miss you” parts.  He does this very simple chord progression which he uses quite a lot in his songs.

“Motor City” is (another) song about cars.  He may have more songs about cars than Springsteen.  This one is all about his old cars and how “there’s too many Toyotas on the road.”  It’s super catchy, even as I listen to it in my Prius.  “Southern Pacific” is another song that gets a good honky tonk treatment.  It’s seven minutes long with lots of solo.  This is the kind of country-style music I prefer and this one is great with wonderful runs from the fiddles.  Both of these songs appeared on Neil’s Re*Ac*Tor album.

“Soul of a Woman” is more of a blues song, with some country inflections.  And the final song “Grey Riders” is a wonderful stomping track.   It has a great riff and the strings really complement the song.  After all of that country, this song has some awesome screaming guitars on it.  And if you like your Neil rocking, it is absolutely worth it for this song.

The newspaper article that’s included with the set refers to a show during this tour and, not to grouse about a record, but the show it describes sounds awesome–a few old Neil classics at the end of the set which really whetted my appetite for some of those other songs with this band.   But this seems to be a truncated version of that set list.  Nevertheless, as I said, this isn’t my favorite era of Neil’s music, but the band sounds really great.  And these songs shine very nicely.  It’s an enjoyable and unexpected addition to his archives.

[READ: October 20, 2011] Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever

I managed to get on the promotional mailing list for this book and so in addition to the free pencils (awesome!) and posters (3 in my son’s room), I also received an email update about the release almost daily.

I was a little less than 100% happy with the previous Wimpy book.  I liked it, but I didn’t love it as much as the first couple.  But man, this one came roaring back on all cylinders and it is one of the best in the series.

Three things really work to make this one so great:

One:  the return to school and a host of new school-related problems.  Although it’s funnier for me since my son is in school now, the issues are general enough that anyone can really laugh about them.

Two: the return of Rowley.  I feel like he was sorely missed when he and Greg were fighting.  He’s not a great character on his own, but he rubs Greg the wrong way enough to bring out some great humor.

Three: The increasing power of Manny.  I don’t understand Manny at all, I don’t even know how old he is.  He’s like a really really tiny kid, which makes me think that he’s a baby.  And yet he is so smart and totally has the run of the family.  That has been obvious in the past with the tantrums he threw to get what he wanted, but now he is combining his evil genius with a sophisticated mind to really wreak havoc on the Heffley household (he changes passwords all over the house, for instance).

So this book is all about Christmas break and snow (hence the title).  I love that it starts with the Heffley version of Elf on a Shelf (but this one is even more creepy because it’s a homemade doll from Greg’s mom’s childhood). (more…)

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Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm–Babymouse: Monster Mash [#9] (2005)

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Cats, Children's Books, Cupcakes, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Halloween, Holidays, Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew Holm, Mice, Set at School, Short Books, Vampires, Zombies on November 27, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC–Alpocalypse Bonus DVD (2011).

Included with the new “Weird Al” disc is a DVD of videos from the disc.  Only one of them is a video proper in that Al himself is in it.  The rest are animated.  Although of the animated ones, the one for “CNR” is, I believe, an “offical” video release (they were all official, but “CNR” was sort of a pre-album video).

All of the videos are of good quality and are well crafted with varying degrees of fidelity to the song.  The one bad thing about these animations is that Al’s own videos are usually so spot on, they are often funnier than the song itself.  So, having these, what I think of as tossed off animations–even though clearly a lot of work went into them–is a bit of a bummer.

Having said that, the video for “CNR” is great–cut-out animations of Charles Nelson Reilly doing outrageous things, like the song says.  “TMZ” was directed by Bill Plympton.  I like Plympton’s animations quite a lot and have for a long time.  And this one is pretty funny, although I find that his videos are often repetitive and don’t really hold up for a whole song.  “Skipper Dan” is a good Flash-type animation and it very effectively conveys emotions with such simple animations.  And the fidgety to adventureland is also really good.

The “Craigslist” video is the only one in which Al appears–dressed like Jim Morrison, of course.  The video has a great mid-70s feel with nonsensical cuts to Native Americans and westerns as well as swirly splotches and lights.  It’s not a “funny” video per se, except fo how accurately it apes the original style.   “Party in the CIA” is surprisingly violent (Al’s videos are often cartoonishly violent, but this one is pretty specific, of course with the animations it’s not so bad but it’s a lot more real than Al usually is).   “Ringtone” follows a few character storylines and looks good.

“Another Tattoo” is enjoyable because it cycles through a series of really funny (cartoon) tattoos.  Perhaps a series of regrettable tattoos would have been even funnier.  “If That Isn’t Love” to me undermines the song somewhat as it shows a less sincere declaration of love.  I think of the narrator of the song as clueless, but the video portrays him as devious.

“Whatever You Like” is creepy–there are a lot of real photos that are animated (the main woman’s mouth is utterly grotesque!).  Finally “Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me” is majorly disappointing because all it is is the lyrics animated.  True the animation is clever, but really, it’s just the lyrics.  A lot could have been done with this video.  Opportunity wasted.

So, all in all, these videos aren’t amazing.  Certainly they pale in comparison to Al’s greatest videos. But there is certainly some amusement value.

[READ: November 15, 2011] Babymouse: Monster Mash

I missed this Halloween-themed book in time for the holiday, so I’ve saved it for the end of Thanksgiving.

The first thing you’ll note when you look at the book is that it is not black and pink!  For Halloween, the whole book is black and orange.  It’s a cute idea.

For Halloween, Babymouse wants to be a big scary monster (and she even has a cool, scary mask).  But Felicia Furrypaws point out that it’s a rule that girls must be pretty for Halloween.  Babymouse is appalled at this idea and decides to go ahead with her (very cool) scary costume ideas anyhow.

But when she lets it slip that her parents are letting her have a Halloween party and everybody wants to come, Babymouse is torn.  She’s excited that people want to come, but when Felicia insists on coming, and insists she dress like a princess…. (more…)

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Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm–Camp Babymouse [#6] (2007)

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Cats, Children's Books, Cupcakes, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew Holm, Mice, Queen, Short Books, Summer, Summer Camp, The Doors, The White Stripes on November 18, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC-Alpocalypse (2011).

Weird Al’s new album seems, believe it or not, a bit more mature (within reason, obviously).  When I first started listening to Al, he appealed to the 8th grader in me.  And while his jokes are often still childish and silly, he brings a certain older perspective now (he’s like 52 right?).  So this album, again, is silly and funny, but actually deals more realistically with issues like love (again, within the confines of a parody song).

I was also thinking that Al has always been pretty PG, a bit violent, but always cartoonish.   But as pop songs get more PG-13 and even R, Al has had to adapt, whether on purpose or not.  I mean, in his medley he sings “Womanizer” and “Blame it on the Alcohol,” certainly not appropriate for 8th graders, and yet those original songs are, indeed, popular hits.

But enough seriousness.   On to the music.  “Perform this Way” a parody of Lady Gaga’s “Born this Way” is a weird parody in that it seems like a direct comment on the artist herself.  I guess “Smells Like Nirvana” was as well, but it’s one of the rare Weird Al songs that’s not really self-contained–or actually it is self-contained but the joke works better if you know the singer.  And if you don’t know Lady Gaga, this one is kind of flat (catchy as heck and quite funny though).  “CNR” is a great White Stripes style parody.  It gets funnier with each listen and the music is great.  And the idea of Charles Nelson Reilly doing any of these things is chuckle inducing.

“TMZ”  is the first of two internet based songs.  Which is funny in and of itself.  He makes fun of celebrities and the culture of celebrity.    “Skipper Dan” proved to be very funny for us as we had recently gone to Disneyworld and wondered if the boat tour guides got to improv any jokes (I gather they don’t).  “Polka Face” is one of Al’s great polka mash ups.  This one was really enjoyable even though I knew virtually none of the songs (which may be a first).  “Party in the CIA” is a parody of “Party in the USA” a song I don’t know at all.  Based on Al’s version I think the original seems really dull .

“Ringtone” is a Queen style parody which I like quite a bit although I particularly do not like the way they sing the word “ringtone.” The rest is spot on though–especially the solo.  “Another Tattoo” is great–Al is so good at doing R&B and rap songs–the voice, phrasings and echoic recordings are spot on.   And this song is really funny.  “If That Isn’t Love” is the song I was talking about in the beginning, about being more mature.  It’s kind of a follow up to “You Dont Love Me Anymore” in which he shows how much he loves this new girl, but it’s less over the top and yet still funny.  This example shows the joke but how it’s aimed at a more sophisticated 8th grader:

And when you’re telling me about your feelings I try not to yawn
And when we’re at parties I don’t talk about your spastic bladder

or

And I almost never pretend you’re someone else when I’m making out with you

Quite different from “Another One Rides the Bus.”

“Whatever You Like” is a parody of a song called “Whatever You Like” which I don’t know.  It has to be the first parody of a song with the same title.  That bothers me a little, although I have no idea what the original is about.  I do like this one quite a bit.  “Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me” is very funny and over the top.  It’s another email/spam joke but my favorite line is vaguely sophisticated and makes me laugh every time

And your two million loser friends all have my address now because you never figured out the way to bcc:

The fact that it works perfectly with the rhythm of the song, rhymes right on and is a surprisingly clever joke is just stellar.

I’ve saved “Craigslist” for last because I think it’s just great and I can’t imagine how the idea for this was generated.  How do you go from talking about Craigslist to thinking Jim Morrison?  I’m imagining a session in which someone was making a joke about a letter to Craigslist that they read in various voices and then did it ala Morrison and the whole thing just blossomed from there.  But heavens if the music isn’t spot on and the song is funny without being novelty-funny.  You could easily play it on classic rock radio (if you can find such a station) and Doors fans would like it.

This is one of the first Weird Al albums where I knew very few of the songs parodied.  I don’t follow pop music, so that makes sense, but it really shows how out of touch I am with culture.  I also read a review talking about how the jokes are kind of old (making fun of Craigslist is so 2005).  But Al puts out a record every three years and if the songs aren’t timely, the subjects can have more lasting appeal.  Al seems to know what has staying power, so even if it’s not current it’s still funny.

And the band, as always, sounds fantastic.  As does the recording quality–the Doors sounds like the Doors, The White Stripes sounds like The White Stripes.  It’s very well done.

[READ: November 11, 2011] Camp Babymouse

In this Babymouse book, she goes to summer camp.  And as the voice- over points out, what on earth would Babymouse be doing at camp?  She hates everything that you do at camp.

But she’s excited to go and has a fantasy of being a great scout!

Stories always make summer camp seem like hell.  And this one is no exception. It starts when Babymouse gets to her cabin and has to climb to the tippy-top bunk (a great fantasy sequence of King Kong comes in).

The “plot” of the story is that the campers are trying to win the most points for the week.  The winners get a prize and the losers have to wash dishes.  Typically, Babymouse causes some major catastrophes (a Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde sequence provides a good laugh as does a wonderful Moby Dick fantsy during the canoeing competition). (more…)

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Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm–Babymouse: Puppy Love [#8] (2007)

Posted in Cats, Children's Books, Cupcakes, Dogs, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Jennifer L. Holm, Matthew Holm, Mice, Nada Surf, Short Books on October 31, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: NADA SURF-“Meow Meow Lullaby” (2004).

On the For the Kids Too! compilation, Nada Surf have a wonderful song called “Meow Meow Lullaby.”  It’s got a beautiful melody and is a really adorable song.  Lyrically it is very simple: “I am just a kitten, hardly fit my mittens, much too small I figure, one day I’ll be bigger.”  And the chorus is predominantly the band singing the word “Meow.”

It’s a wonderful lullaby and we have put it on many of the mix CDs we play for the kids.

Not many bands can successfully transition to kids’ music (a trend that as a dad I am down with, even if it can be annoying).  It’s clear that Nada Surf aren’t doing that–this is a one-off for a good cause.  But this song is a winner.

[READ: October 27, 2011] Babymouse: Puppy Love

This is my sixth Babymouse adventure.  It was quite different from the other ones which I’ve read (which is good).  Rather than focusing on school or Babymouse’s friends, this one focuses exclusively on Babymouse’s pets.

Babymouse is a terrible pet owner.  As the story opens we see that she has lost yet another goldfish.  (We see the previous fish in order of their demise).  Babymouse wants a new pet but she thinks that fish are too boring.  She wants to move on to something bigger! (Despite her clear inability to care for pets).

Then we see the succession of pets that Babymouse acquires, as she builds up to a puppy–hamster, ferret, etc.  My favorite part of this story was that Babymouse loses all of these pets (the hamster instructions say: “Do not leave cage open” which she reads a little too late), but we see where all the lost pets wind up–which was very funny indeed.

And then Babymouse gets her wish–sort of.  A stray dog comes up to her and she adopts it. (more…)

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Maragret Peterson Haddix–Into the Gauntlet [The 39 Clues, Book Ten] (2010)

Posted in Adventure, All Songs Considered, Children's Books, Contests, Fears, History, Margaret Peterson Haddix, Pepper Rabbit, Short Books, Technology, Threats, Travel, Violence, William Shakespeare on September 28, 2011| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PEPPER RABBIT-“Alison” (2011).

Pepper Rabbit had NPR’s Song of the Day on September 19th.  “Alison” opens with a kind of circus organ pumping out a steady, thumping beat.  The beat continues until the quieter stated chorus: “You will know my name.”  The song is, as circuses are, light and bouncy with an air of the sinister floating all around it.  By the second chorus, we learn that “it’s all a game to get you to learn my name.”

The vocals are done in a kind of 70’s piano pop style–a bit high-pitched, a bit echoey– and they help to obscure exactly what’s going on.  But it’s the music that is so charming. 

Even if it’s unclear to me what the intention of the song is (stalker or just lost love) it’s a poppy ditty that will keep your toe tapping.  I’m looking forward to hearing more from them. 

[READ: September 14, 2011] Into the Gauntlet

And so the series ends. 

Or, actually, it doesn’t.  This isn’t really a spoiler because there are more books out in the series.  And I’m not going to say what happens at the end of this book, but for those of you wondering just what the heck is going on here with a Book Eleven coming out eight months after Book Ten, I’ll summarize (with no spoilers).  Book Ten ends the hunt for the clues–the goal is reached.  But at the end of the book, it is revealed that there’s another group, another family, who is also hunting for the Answer.  They hadn’t been hunting alongside the Cahill families, they were apparently watching alongside them waiting to see what would happen before setting their plan into action.  And thus….  Series Two.  

Book 11 is a kind of transitional book that fills in some back story on each of the families and shows Grace’s life.  I’m intrigued to read it, especially since most of the writers from the series contribute to it.

So Book Ten was written by the excellent author Margaret Peterson Haddix.  And this book comes in at 326 pages (over 100 pages longer than any other book in the series).  But Haddix earns her extra pages.  She totally breaks with the set-up of the series so far by following not just Dan and Amy but all of the branches of the family.  We actually get into the heads of all of the competitors (including Eisenhower Holt–who has feelings after all, Natalie Kabra–who is not quite as dim as she appears, and Ian Kabra–who might just be as evil as his mom).  Haddix also introduces a huge surprise in the beginning of the book–a surprise that may not have been such a surprise if I’d been reading the books close together but with this much remove from the early books, I was shocked!  And later on, when she doubles up on the surprise, it’s even more shocking! (more…)

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Linda Sue Park–Storm Warning [The 39 Clues, Book Nine] (2010)

Posted in Adventure, Children's Books, Contests, Death, Fears, History, Jefferson Airplane, Joy Division, June Tabor, Linda Sue Park, Oysterband, Pirates, PJ Harvey, Richard Thompson, Short Books, The Decemberists, The Pogues, The Velvet Underground, Threats, Travel on September 26, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: JUNE TABOR & OYSTERBAND-“Bonnie Bunch of Roses” (2011).

Two artists that I have heard of for years but who I have never really listened to. This was described in the NPR music review as something The Decemberists might sing.  And indeed, it has a very Decemberists feel to it (which makes sense as this is a traditional song and, evidently, Tabor has been a master of this style for years.  ( I had no idea her voice was so deep–it adds a nice level of malice to this song about Napoleon.

The band is tight as they play this rollicking, dark shanty and Tabor’s voice is haunting (do I detect a similar style to Linda Thompson?) as she sings these lyrics of loss.  The music builds and builds as the song reaches its climax, but what’s neat is that Tabor never really changes her tone.  She is matter of fact, despite how sinister the music becomes.  It’s a very cool song.

I did some research and found out that tabor and the Oysterband got together in 1990 for the album Freedom and Rain, which was a collection of traditional songs as well as covers of Richard Thompson, The Velvet Underground, The Pogues, and Jefferson Airplane (I can’t believe that album is pretty well out of print–it sounds amazing).  This collaboration is more or less a follow-up, with more traditional songs and covers of PJ Harvey, Joy Division and others.

I’m really looking forward to listening to this disc and to what will certainly be the triumphant re-release of their first disc collaboration quite soon.

[READ: September 14, 2011] Storm Warning

Book Nine in the 39 Clues series made me feel like a kid again.  I started reading it when I got home from work and I stayed up till way late in the night to finish it.  Unlike when I was a kid, though, I am really suffering for staying up so late last night.

Storm Warning was written by Linda Sue Park, the first woman to write in the series.  And, appropriately, this is a very female-centered book.  We learn a lot about Nellie (finally, her story is explained!), the story focuses somewhat more on Amy than on Dan, there’s more evilness from Isabel Kabra, but most importantly, the clues lead them to two important women in history. 

They head down to the Caribbean–although they are undecided about whether to go to the Bahamas or Jamaica (Dan wants to go to the Bahamas to go to the greatest water park in the world: Oceanus–which is really the Atlantis Water Park) but Amy believes the answer is in Jamaica.  Dan convinces her and they decide to go to the Bahamas and the water park for a few hours of fun.  But the crazy thing is that before they even bought their tickets to the Bahamas, Nellie went into the bathroom and Dan received a message that the Holts were on their way to the Bahamas too.  Could Nellie be ratting them out?

On the flight down, they grill her about what’s going on.  But what happens is that for the first time in the series, we get into Nellie’s head.  Not completely, but we get to hear her thoughts.  So we know that she’s still hiding some truths, but she reveals that she has been working for Mr McIntyre and reporting to him about all of the family’s moves.  She was well paid for her services and she knew that there would be danger, but she had no idea exactly what the kids would be getting up to.  Dan and Amy are stunned.  They are betrayed and furious.  [I have to say I think they totally overreacted–Nellie saved their asses many many times along the way].  They agree to let Nellie come along with them but they’re not going to share any plans with her. (more…)

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