Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Short Books’ Category

Jason Shiga–Bookhunter (2007)

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Funny (ha ha), Gangsters, Graphic Novel, Jason Shiga, Kanye West, Library Related, Pharrell Williams, Short Books, Threats, Violence on July 15, 2014| Leave a Comment »

bookhuntSOUNDTRACK: “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC-“Tacky” (2014).

altacky“Weird Al’s” newest album comes out tomorrow.  In preparation he has created 8 videos, which will be released one a day for 8 days.   The fact that the release day is the same day as the second video bothers my sensibilities, but what does that matter, honestly.

I have pre-ordered the CD, but because of a shipping issue, I likely won’t get it until all of the videos have been released, so I’m going to keep media silence except for the videos.

This is a parody of Pharrell William’s “Happy,” the most ubiquitous and catchy song in recent memory (my son recognized the parody from the opening drum beats).

The video is a star-studded extravaganza all done in (I believe) one take.  The guests include: Aisha Tyler, Margaret Cho, Eric Stonestreet, Kristen Schaal and Jack Black.  All of the stars are dressed crazily as they sing some very funny lines about being “tacky.”  We wondered of course who dressed the stars (was it Al, or did they bring their own–we like to think they brought their own).  There are some very funny lines in the song (the pregnant line, the Kanye West line, the resume in comic sans), and of course, the melody is spot on.

Now that my kids are in school and they are exposed to pop music, I had to wonder if they will know more of the original songs than I do.  We’ll see.

[READ: July 2, 2014] Bookhunter

I enjoyed Shiga’s other books, but I loved this one.

Bookhunter is about a member of the library police.  He doesn’t go after fines, he goes after serious book criminals.

Set in the 1970s (and drawn in a wonderful brown and tan style, Special Agent Bay seeks out those who would censor or steal books.  In the opening scene, Bay and his agents have tracked down a man who has stolen all eight copies of the Oakland Public Library’s “The China Lobby in America.”  After a detailed plan (involving radioactive ink), the agents storm the culprit’s building,  When the suspect threatens to immolate himself and everyone else, Bay hatches a crazy plan straight out of an action movie.  It’s very exciting

The main part of the book though, concerns a book that has been stolen.  Copyrighted 1838, it has been on special display at the Oakland Public Library.  But something’s not right about the book and the library is sure it is a forgery. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Jason Shiga–Double Happiness (1999)

Posted in Gangsters, Giacomo Puccini, Graphic Novel, Jason Shiga, Joseph Calleja, Paolo Tosti, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Short Books, Threats, Tiny Desk Concert, Violence on June 30, 2014| Leave a Comment »

doubelSOUNDTRACK: JOSEPH CALLEJA-Tiny Desk Concert #344 (March 24, 2014).

Jcallejaoseph Calleja is an opera singer.  This puts me at a huge disadvantage in that I have nothing really to say about him.  I like some operas and have even been to one, but I have no real experience with the tenor voice.  And his is quite amazing.

So I’ll just include what NPR does.  Calleja is from Malta (although his English is perfect).  He is 36 and is one of opera’s biggest stars.  Evidently you can hear that his voice has matured since his early recordings.

The one thing I can include is that he makes a very funny joke in which he says that instead of playing the third song, they are going to do two hours of Dutch and Flemish operas.

What he really sings is : Tchaikovsky: “None But The Lonely Heart” ; Tosti: Ideale ; Puccini: E lucevan le stelle (from Tosca).

[READ: June 25, 2014] Double Happiness

I read this book several hours after reading Fleep and didn’t realize it was the same artist (I hadn’t noticed the name on Fleep).

There are some similarities in style between the two (Fleep looks a  little more “professional.”).  But Double Happiness had a lot more characters and a much more complicated plot.  Nevertheless, the main character bears a passing resemblance to the guy from Fleep (his head is a circle and his hair is much the same).

The main character is Tom, a Chinese American living in Boston.  He takes the bus to San Francisco (ugh that sounds awful) where he meets his “cousin” Jackson.  Jackson lives in San Francisco (they’re not really sure how they are related) in a rent-free establishment.  So Jackson tells Tom to absolutely stay with them while he’s in S.F. (it’s something to do with a business trip, but those details aren’t too important).

When they arrive at he flat, Tom meets Jenny, Jackson’s girlfriend, and her sister Ji Lian.  Everyone is super nice to him.  But soon they start laughing at his Chinese failings–he can’t use chopsticks very well and he doesn’t speak Cantonese or Mandarin or whatever they are speaking.  (It turns out to be Hokkien).  Tom has a minor breakdown as he explains that he has never fit in anywhere.  In Boston he was the only Chinese person in tiny suburb and now he can’t even fit in in a Chinese community. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Jason Shiga–Fleep (2002)

Posted in Bombs, Graphic Novel, Jason Shiga, Let's Go Sailing, Petra Haden, Rachel Haden, Russia, Short Books, Tanya Haden, That Dog., The Rentals, The Who, Tiny Desk Concert on June 29, 2014| Leave a Comment »

fleepSOUNDTRACK: THE HADEN TRIPLETS-Tiny Desk Concert #345 (March 31, 2014).

hadenThe Haden Triplets are the daughters of Charlie Haden.  Individually, they are Petra (from That Dog and a cool solo reproduction of The Who Sell Out), Rachel (from The Rentals and other projects) and Tanya Haden (from Let’s Go Sailing).

Here they eschew all of their alt leaning and focus on straightforward old-school country.  Their harmonies are gorgeous, and when accompanied by the upright bass and simple drums and Rachel’s (I think) violin, they create an impressively full sound.

I don’t have too much more to say about it.  It’s just very solid old school female harmonized country songs.  I didn’t know any of the songs, but they do four: “Single Girl, Married Girl,” “Voice From On High,” “Slowly,” and “Tiny Broken Heart.”  And they seem genuinely delighted to be playing there.  I imagine that Sarah would like this very much.

I only wish they had told us who was who.  And that this wasn’t edited so much.  I don’t know how long these performances are in total, but sometimes it feels like they edit too much out of these shows (do they have bandwidth problems?).

[READ: June 25, 2014] Fleep

A pile of interesting graphic novels came to my desk this week.  And the first one I felt compelled to read was Fleep.

As you can see by the cover, it promised to be a pretty stark book.  And indeed it was.

The story opens with a young man entering a phone book.  The drawing style very simple–some subtle shadings that belie the simplicity of the over all look (the main guy has a round head and round eyes, but doesn’t look “childish” and almost all of the book takes place in the same location from the same angle).

The next page is all dark but for his eyeballs as the guy (unnamed for much of the story), tries to figure out what happened to him. He soon realizes that he is in the phone booth and the phone booth is surrounded by concrete on all sides.  He picks up the phone and there is a dial tone, but he can’t seem to call anyone.  The phone book is in gibberish and the phone booth now says FLEEP where it once said PHONE.  He rifles through his pockets and finds some strange coins, a Russian phrasebook, a pen and a piece of paper with Russian writing (that he can’t read) on one side and numbers on the other.  (more…)

Read Full Post »

Flinch: a collection of stories to inspire wonder…and question the darkness within us all (2014)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Andrew Richardson, Anton McKay, Birds, Bobby.N, Boredom, Cancer as plot device, Chris Bolton, Chris Bones, Christian Read, Christian Scott, Colin Wilson, Culture Shock, Dave McKean, Death, Disease, End of the World, Fears, Ghosts, Graphic Novel, Greed, Hauschka, James Barclay, Justin Randall, Mark Welsh, Mel Tregonning, Michael Katchan, Pigeons, Ray Fawkes, Revenge, Shaun Tan, Short Books, Short Story, Skye Ogden, Terry Dowling, Tom Bonin, Tom Taylor, Volker Bertelmann, Weekend Edition on June 27, 2014| Leave a Comment »

flinchSOUNDTRACK: HAUSCHKA-“Improvisation,” “Random Gifts” and “Mt. Hood” in the NPR studios (2010).

hausckaHauschka is German composer Volker Bertelmann and he plays the prepared piano.  What that means is that he places things on and in the piano to alter the sound of it.  (Nothing he does creates any permanent damage).

Mostly he creates percussive sounds with things like bottle caps,Tic Tac boxes and skewers.  And while it sounds simple, it is really quite ingenious.

This Vimeo link shows him talking to Guy Raz at NPR about the random materials that Raz has given him and then demonstrating how they change the sound of things.  Then he plays the “Random Gifts.”

The Youtube Video below shows another improv piece from the same day using different items.

This Vimeo link to him playing “Mt. Hood” shows off his use of ping pong balls.

All of his songs are fairly simple and fairly slow, primarily because the preparations add resonances and percussion that would overwhelm if he played faster.  Thus his pieces are often moody and reflective

Hauschka has a new album out as of this month called Abandoned City.  Every track on the new CD is named after a city that has been abandoned, that is vacant.  And his spare oftentimes eerie music goes very well with that theme.

There’s lots more videos of him on YouTube which are worth checking out.

[READ: June 23, 2014] Flinch

I was grabbed by the cover of this graphic novel.  The book is so short that I was really surprised to see that it was actually a collection of short stories.  As you can tell from the subtitle, this work is going to be dark and more than a little creepy.  And it is.  And while there are some similar visual styles, it’s interesting to see just how different these 13 stories can be.  Most of the stories use very few words, relying instead on the power of the visuals.  And it works pretty well.

I didn’t think any of them were especially creepy or dark, although the first one is kinda gross.  I enjoyed them for what they were, short stories that revel in the darker side of life.  I hadn’t heard of most of the artists.  The only one I knew was Shaun Tan. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Nathan W. Pyle–NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette (2014)

Posted in Advice, Culture Shock, Etiquette, Food, Funny (ha ha), Nathan W. Pyle, Short Books, Small Books, Tiny Desk Concert, Tom Brousseau on June 26, 2014| Leave a Comment »

nycSOUNDTRACK: TOM BROUSSEAU-Tiny Desk Concert #347 (April 12, 2014)

brousseauI only know of Tom Brousseau from NPR–both All Songs Considered and WNYC’s Soundcheck have played him a lot.  Of course, I had no idea what he looked like (an didn’t expect what he does look like either).  His voice is a little high-pitched (the Tiny Desk site says people think he’s a woman, although I don’t really hear that), but it’s very compelling.  Mostly you listen to Brousseau for the storytelling lyrics.

“Cradle Your Device” is a very funny song about how technology can interfere with your romantic life.  The second song “Stuck on the Roof Again,” tells a true story about the octogenarian newspaper columnist Marilyn Hagerty, who got stuck on the roof of her home in Grand Forks, N.D., after a heavy snowstorm.  He introduces the song with a lengthy story about Hagerty and her food critic reviews (of The Olive Garden of all things) which have suddenly gained her fame.  There are some pretty harmonies by his accompanist Sean Watkins

Brousseau is a charming and earnest storyteller, and it’s fun to hear what he has to say as much as what he has to sing.  The third song is “Today is a Bright New Day.”  He says it’s early in the morning for him to hit the high notes, and he does struggle some.  But he gives a great performance nonetheless of this pretty, earnest song.

I’m not sure if I’d want to hear a lot more of him, but I enjoyed this set quite a lot–maybe a live record is the way to go.

[READ: June 18, 2014] NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette

I found this book at work and couldn’t pass up reading it.  The fact that it’s small and has few words meant I read it in about 20 minutes.  But don’t let the brevity fool you, there’s a lot of useful information for novice New Yorkers, tourists and maybe even some old school New Yorkers (although they won’t admit it).  The audience seems to be primarily those who have just moved to the City, although as I say, tourists will find it useful, too.

There are two components to this book: Tips and Etiquette. I have worked in NYC so I am certainly familiar with the City, but I found some of the tips (especially subway tips about unfamiliar areas) to be very helpful.  Even simple things like mnemonic devices for streets in the Village or recognizing buildings or bridges (Manhattan made of metal; Brooklyn built from bricks) were quick and easy devices.  And he lets us know that even if NYC is much safer than in days of old, we should still be aware of some common scams.

But the bulk of the book is about etiquette.  It is designed for people n New York, but at least 80% of the etiquette is useful anywhere.

The more specifically New York based items are things that remind you that New Yorkers are often in a hurry–oftentimes they are not being rude, they are simply commuting and need to get where they are going.  So, you should a) be decisive and b) be assertive.  People are probably waiting behind you and they will certainly try to go around you if you are too slow.  So order your food quickly and move up a line quickly.  The one etiquette thing I liked best was his comments about not looking at your phone while you are on the streets. Not only are you distracted and might bump into someone, but you might miss your soulmate. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Linda Sue Park–Trust No One [The 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers: Book Five] (2012)

Posted in Adventure, Death, Domenico Scarlatti, Eliot Fisk, Fears, Greed, History, Paco Peña, Roland Smith, Sabicas (Agustín Castellón Campos), Short Books, Threats, Tiny Desk Concert, Travel, Violence on June 22, 2014| Leave a Comment »

parkSOUNDTRACK: ELIOT FISK AND PACO PEÑA-Tiny Desk Concert #364 (June 14, 2014).

eliotIt may not be correct to say that these two guitarists rock, but man do they rock.  I have a  couple of Eliot Fisk CDs but nothing prepares you for watching his fingers fly on that big old classical guitar.  And Paco Peña plays an amazing flamenco guitar.  Watching them play together is really something magical.

It’s especially fun to see Fisk so clearly enjoying himself as his hands fly all over the neck of the guitar.  It’s also interesting to compare Fisk’s guitar with the flamenco guitar, just to see how differently the instruments sound.  There’s little more that I can say about this except that it is really amazing.

Together, they play four pieces:

Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata in D Major K.33; Bach: Prelude in F major, BWV 927; Sabicas: “Farruca” and
Peña: “El nuevo día (Colombiana)”

Watch below:

[READ: June 17, 2014] Trust No One

All along through this series I felt that perhaps it was too old for my nine-year old.  And this book really felt like it pushed this book clearly into the YA realm.  It opens with a talk about the Twin Towers’ destruction, which I realize is before a nine-year old was even born, but it still feels very sensitive.  But, most intense of all, a beloved character dies.  I won’t say which one, but suffice it to say I was really shocked.  In the first series, people got hurt, but this time people actually die.   It’s pretty rough.

As for plot, this book really brings a lot of plot threads out into the open.

First, we learn who the mole is.  Second we learn who Vesper One is.  And third we finally see what’s going to happen with the serum that Dan has been collecting ingredients for.

I haven’t mentioned the serum in the other reviews.  It has been going on throughout the books, but was never near the forefront until now.  Because the mole tries to sneak it away from Dan.  And by the end of the book, Dan has mixed all the ingredients together.

But first we go back to New York where the kids have hired a cab to take them to Yale (for $600).  On the way there they are stopped by a motorcade, which they assume is the Vespers.  But it proves to be a far more shocking piece of information.  After fleeing the scene (and Amy getting a chance to use some of her physical training, they make it to the Yale library where they see out the Voynich manuscript.  One thing I love about this series is that all of the locations and artifacts are real.  like this Voynich manuscript (which you can certainly read about on Wikipedia). (more…)

Read Full Post »

Ben Hatke–Return of Zita the Spacegirl (2014)

Posted in Ben Hatke, Children's Books, First Second :01, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, My Friend Totoro, Preston Reed, Short Books, Technology, Tiny Desk Concert, Usman Riaz on June 21, 2014| Leave a Comment »

zita3SOUNDTRACK: USMAN RIAZ-Tiny Desk Concert #349 (April 19, 2014).

usmanUsman Riaz is an amazing musical prodigy.  I almost don’t want to say anything about him, I just want you to watch the video and have your mind be shattered.

Riaz is a 23-year-old Pakistani man and is as humble (and soft-spoken) as he is talented.  He trained on the piano as a six-year-old child.  And then, at 16, he learned how to play the guitar (in a most unconventional way called “percussive guitar”) by…watching YouTube.  He transposed his piano style to the guitar and has developed his own style within the genre.  The first song,

His song “Boneshaker” starts with some intense drumming on the guitar and then… well just watch it below.

Next he plays his piano song,”The Waves” a song he wrote at 16.  And it is simply gorgeous.  There’s a bit of showoffiness in it, but it never sacrifices the song.

he returns to the guitar for his third song, “Shimmer” which uses more percussive guitar techniques.  It is also mesmerizing (and absolutely gives “eruption ” a run for its money).

Riaz is a shy, quiet man, but his love of technology and his belief that anyone can pick up any skill if they just watch it enough is really quite infectious.  He also shows off some “parlor tricks” like body percussion and harmonica (perhaps real harmonica players might be insulted by calling this a parlor trick) that he learned from videos.  He has also created a short film that was accepted at the New York Short Film Festival.

He’s all over the place, but give this guy 30 seconds and you’ll be hooked.

Riaz also did a Ted talk/performance with Preston Reed, which is pretty amazing too.  You can watch that here.

[READ: June 19, 2013] Return of Zita the Spacegirl

I was excited to see a new Zita–I really enjoyed the first two a lot.  But it took me a while to get up to speed with this one.  It has been two years after all–I think maybe a recap was in order.

We see that Zita is on trial in a strange land.  The judge calls her Zita the Crime Girl–so you know things aren’t looking too good for her.  And the judge’s exhibit A is Pizzicato the Plunderer (or, as we know him–Mouse), who is all shackled up.  She is found guilty and is thrown into a jail cell with a pile of rags and a skeleton.  Both of them can talk, of course.  And they encourage her to escape–even those the skeleton says that anyone who escapes is caught and sent right back to jail–or to the mines.

While this has been going on we’ve seen glimpses of a blue ghost-like creature who helps her in small ways.  He helps her to escape, but he her that she needs to help only herself–she can’t save everyone.  This just makes her mad.  But like skeleton said, she is caught and is sent to the mines.  In the mines there are coals with eyes (which reminds me of the Susuwatari in My Friend Totoro (those are the little black soots that carry things).  Everyone is told to smash the coals to look for the one with the crystal inside.  No one knows if the coals are alive, but one of the coal pieces hops into Zita’s pocket.

Meanwhile, when Zita’s uniform was thrown out, bits of her star floated into space and soon, all of her old friends knew she was in trouble,  So they reunite to rescue her.  It was great to see Strong Strong and One and even Piper and Madrigal, who are working together (temporarily). (more…)

Read Full Post »

Tor Ulven–Replacement (1993) [translated 2012]

Posted in Boredom, Death, Depression, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Karl Ove Knausgård, Kerri A. Pierce, Short Books, Stig Sæterbakken, Suicide, The Kids, Thin Lizzy, Tor Ulven on June 15, 2014| Leave a Comment »

torSOUNDTRACK: THE KIDS-“Forelska i lærer’n” & “Norske Jenter” (1980).

kids2 The Kids are a Norwegian band that was mentioned in Karl Ove Knausgaard’s story yesterday.  He is pretty disparaging of them as they were hugely popular when he was in school (and he liked other bands).  They sing in Norwegian and are quite poppy.

“Norske jenter” is the poppier of the two.  It’s pretty synthy, with a super catchy melody and chorus.  It seems just shy of being a sleek pop hit, but I can imagine that a band singing in your native tongue would fair well even without super slick packaging.

Of course, having said that, “Forelska i lærer’n” is nothing if not slick–check out these guys with their super blond hair.  Actually the video is pretty funny and with a name like “In love with the teacher,” it is quite a different subject than I expected).  I love the way they designed the teacher.  And that wink is fantastic.  If only the lead singer could act a little better.  kidsThe song is kind of a heavy classic rock sound–maybe a poppier version of Thin Lizzy (those guitar solos are very Thin Lizzy).  I’m of course very curious what the lyrics are.

I found two videos on YouTube (and apparently there are some more recent live songs)

Norske jenter: There’s no visuals in this video, just music:

But the video for “Forelska i lærer’n” is here in all of its glory–it looks much more modern than 1980.  The self pogoing at the end is fantastic.

[READ: June 15, 2014] Replacement

I found out about this book from Karl Ove Knausgaard, who claims that it is the best Norwegian novel ever written (he also has a quote on the back of the book).  I had never heard of Tor Ulven before.  It turns out that he has written mostly poetry.  And then he wrote a few prose-like poems and then this novel called Avløsning in Norwegian.  And then he killed himself.

This book was translated by Kerri A. Pierce and it has an afterword by Stig Sæterbakken.  And literally that is all I can tell you about the book for certain.

Why?  Because the back of the book and the afterword actually differ about what they say is happening in the story.  To a pretty intense degree.  The back of the book says that “the perspectives of unrelated characters are united into what seems a single narrative voice: each personality directing the book in turn.”  Whereas Stig makes the case that the book is all one narrator at different points in his life.

And why can’t you tell?  Because there seems to be different perspectives (all by men), and yet no one is named.  And then there’s the fact that some of the book is written in second person, while the rest is in the third person–this suggest at least two narrators, and yet it could also be a flashback.  There are at least four different time settings and seemingly different people.  There’s an old man in a wheelchair, there’s a security guard, there’s a taxi driver (I think).  There’s a guy who likes to list things, there’s another guy who thinks parenthetical thoughts.  And there’s an intense obsession with “her,” a woman who doesn’t seem fictional but is certainly mythical.

And what happens?  Well, nothing. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Roland Smith–Shatterproof [The 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers: Book Four] (2012)

Posted in Adventure, Death, Fears, Greed, History, Iestyn Davies, John Dowland, Morrissey, Roland Smith, Short Books, Thomas Dunford, Threats, Tiny Desk Concert, Travel, Violence on June 1, 2014| Leave a Comment »

shatterSOUNDTRACK: IESTYN DAVIES-Tiny Desk Concert #357 (May 17, 2014).

falsettoIestyn Davies (pronounced YES-tin DAY-vis) is a countertenor, which means he sings in s striking falsetto (especially when you hear his deep speaking voice).  Davies sings three songs from  Elizabethan composer John Dowland. Joining Davies is Thomas Dunford, who has been affectionately dubbed “the Eric Clapton of the lute” by the BBC.  They play this early music and it sounds amazing (I am super impressed by his voice, but the lute blows me away).

The songs are very melancholy about lost love.  Like this wonderful line that would make Morrissey jealous: “I sit, I sigh, I weep, I faint, I die/In deadly pain and endless misery” (all done is in a staggering falsetto in a beautiful ascending melody).

He plays three songs (none of which had I heard before) “Come again, sweet love doth now invite,” “Now, O now I needs must part” and “Can she excuse my wrongs.”

I loved listening to these and to watching the lutist wail on that instrument.

[READ: May 25, 2014] Shatterproof

Much to my discomfort, this series is getting darker and darker.  I’m almost not sure if my 9 year old is ready for the intensity (and the death) in this book.

While there was real danger in the first series, people we know have actually died in this one.  And there is another (shocking) causality in this book as well.

As soon as the four kids (Amy and Dan Cahill and their friends Atticus and Jake Rosenbloom) land in Germany, they are set upon by police.  Since the four of them are wanted by Interpol, they assume that they are caught, done.  But it turns out that these are not real police, they are employed by Vesper One, to let them know that he knows exactly where they are.  And to give them their next clue.

Which is that they must steal a diamond from a heavily guarded museum that is about to close in two hours.

Meanwhile Hamilton and Phoenix are still tailing Luna Amato.  They are being assisted by Erasmus who is really calling the shots and using the boys as a kind of decoy.  Luna seems oblivious to the pursuit, which makes Erasmus even more suspicious.  So while the boys follow her, Erasmus sneaks in to what he believes is a Vesper stronghold.

The other real plot in the book coes from the prisoners.  The clever Cahill clan has devised a way to get out of their prison cell.  And it works–at a price.  Although their story evolves over the book, suffice it to say that they do escape, but at the risk of losing one of their number and at Nellie getting bitten by attack dogs.  By the end of the book, some of them have been brought to new facility where the consequences are all the more severe.

But back to the diamond heist. (more…)

Read Full Post »

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…)

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »