February 16, 2013

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Pick of the Day: Welcome to the Village! (CD)

By on November 30, 2012 Leave a Comment
Aaron Nigel Smith beating on a drum

Welcome to the Village! CD. approx. 37 min. Prod. by Aya World Prods. Dist. by NewSound Music. 2012. ISBN unavail. $13.98.
PreS-Gr 4–The voices of hundreds of children can be heard on Aaron Nigel Smith’s latest recording. Best known for his work on the PBS show Between the Lions, Smith will surprise listeners as he skillfully mixes original songs with traditional and classical tunes that he arranged in this well-programmed, charming album. Opening with the traditional Nigerian song, “Fanga Alafia” (the [...]

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Pick of the Day: Carter’s Unfocused, One-Track Mind

By on November 29, 2012 Leave a Comment
Teen on stage acting with girl

Carter’s Unfocused, One-Track Mind. By Brent Crawford. 7 CDs. 8:06 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-61106-285-4. $59.97.
Gr 9 Up–Will Carter returns as a sophomore to Merrian High after summer vacation, and his 15-year-old male hormone induced ADD is at a record high. He’s still in love with Abby, who has been accepted into the prestigious New York Drama School. She encourages Carter to apply, much to the initial dismay of his mother—he’s leaving “just when he is getting fit to [...]

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Pick of the Day: World of Wonder (CD)

By on November 27, 2012 1 Comment
Illustrated CD cover with brunette on orange background

World of Wonder. CD. 32 min. CDBaby.com. 2012. ISBN unavail. $12.97.
PreS-Gr 3–San Francisco-based singer/songwriter Alison Faith Levy, formerly the lead singer of the kindie band The Sippy Cups, returns to the kid music scene with her first solo album. Each song has Levy’s trademark big production sound, whether a sensitive ballad, an up-tempo rocking number, or a middle-of-the-road tune. Lyrics of the ten original songs are smart and have lots of kid appeal. Highlights include a large-sounding rendition of “Itsy [...]

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Pick of the Day: Otto Frank, Father of Anne (DVD)

By on November 20, 2012 Leave a Comment
B & w photo of Anne and Otto Frank

Otto Frank, Father of Anne. DVD. 75 min. MVD Entertainment Group. 2012. ISBN unavail. $119.97.
Gr 9 Up–Anne Frank’s diary has been translated into more than 67 languages and, as a result of her father’s persistence, it has become the world’s greatest single document about the Holocaust. In David DeJongh’s revealing documentary, we meet Otto, Anne’s father, who was an officer in Germany’s army during WW I.   The family fled to Holland during Hitler’s reign, and Anne’s diary was written while [...]

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Music and Game Reviews from Young Adults

By on November 17, 2012 1 Comment
Just Dance 4

Go ahead, have a second helping of stuffing and gravy—Just Dance 4 will keep it from going right to the hips! Feeling nostalgic, missing Ash and Pikachu? Fire up Skylanders Giants for a battle fix. And dear sweet Taylor Swift is not one to stay in that country box—she’s even experimenting with dub-step, and clearly it’s working. Her new album Red earned the highest sales of any album since 2002 (Eminem’s The Eminem Show), with 1.2 million copies sold in the record’s opening week.

Filed Under: Multimedia, Multimedia Reviews, Teens & YA, Video Games, YA reviews Tagged With:

Pick of the Day: Read and Sing with Hap Palmer: Musical Picture Books for Young Children (DVD)

By on November 16, 2012 Leave a Comment
Animated Characters dancing out of a open book

Read and Sing with Hap Palmer: Musical Picture Books for Young Children. DVD. 30 min. Prod. by Hap-Pal Music. Dist. by AV Café. 2012. ISBN unavail. $14.98.
PreS-Gr 2–You know when you see the name Hap Palmer that you’re in for a treat. This program contains 12 of his original songs, with the words on the screen so you can read, or even better sing along. Bright illustrations and colorful photographs accompany each song and show children from all around the [...]

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Pick of the Day: Flesh & Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy (CD)

By on November 15, 2012 Leave a Comment
Book cover girls working at factory

Flesh & Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy. By Albert Marrin. 4 CDs. 4:21 hrs. Prod. by Listening Library. Dist. by Listening Library/Books on Tape. 2012. ISBN 978-0-449-01476-9. $30.
Gr 5 Up–Albert Marrin takes the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911 and uses it as a jumping-off point to discuss immigration and working conditions in the early 20th century in his powerful National Book Award nominee (Knopf, 2011). The fire, which was the most devastating disaster in New [...]

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Pick of the Day: The Americans on D-Day (DVD)

By on November 13, 2012 Leave a Comment
DVD cover of WWII American solider

The Americans on D-Day. DVD. 56 min. with tchr’s. guide on CD. Prod. by Labyrinth Media & Pub. Dist. by Livingbattlefield.org. 2012. ISBN 978-0-615-67814-6. $25.
Gr 7 Up–The June 1944 assault on Hitler’s Fortress Europe by Allied military forces is remembered as a pivotal point in 20th-century history. This well-crafted documentary takes an unusual approach to explaining the planning and execution phases of the invasion. In addition to the usual assemblage of vintage still images and film footage, the producers attempt [...]

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Pick of the Day: R. L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour, Vol. 1 & 2 (DVD)

By on November 9, 2012 Leave a Comment
Two teen boys fighing ghosts

R. L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour, Vol. 1 & 2. 2 DVDs. approx. 2 hrs. ea. Shout!Factory. 2012. ISBN 978-1-60399-841-3/ ISBN 978-1-60399-842-0. $14.97 ea.
Gr 4-9–Each volume in “R. L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour” series, currently airing on The Hub TV Network, features five 20-minute episodes from the first season that combine creepy, spine-thrilling adventures with problems children face. In the two-part episode, “Really You,” in the first volume, a spoiled child learns a valuable lesson about love when her doll [...]

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Pick of the Day: Gum in My Hair: How to Cope with Bullying Version 2.0 (DVD)

By on November 8, 2012 Leave a Comment
Teen chewing gum in front of lockers

Gum in My Hair: How to Cope with Bullying Version 2.0. DVD. 21:22 min. with tchr’s. guide. Twisted Scholar. 2012. ISBN 978-0-9837899-2-5. $69.95.
Gr 4-9–The host of this entertaining and effective program uses lighthearted humor to help kids learn about bullying—what it looks like, who are the perpetrators, and how it can be prevented. Approximately half of all kids have been bullied and the same amount of kids has bullied others. The video host, along with students who have been bullied [...]

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Pick of the Day: The First Ladies (DVD)

By on November 6, 2012 Leave a Comment
DVD cover of First Ladies portraits

The First Ladies. 2 DVDs. 7 hrs. PBS Dist. 2012. ISBN 978-1-60883-724-3. $34.99.
Gr 7 Up–Five of the most influential and controversial First Ladies are profiled in this production. The segments on Dolley Madison and Eleanor Roosevelt feature narration accompanied by photographs and re-enactments of historic events. The biographies of Lady Bird Johnson, Betty Ford, and Nancy Reagan are principally first person narratives that also incorporate commentary by historians, relatives, and friends with video footage of the time. Dolley Madison is considered our nation’s [...]

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Music and Game Reviews from Young Adults

By on November 3, 2012 Leave a Comment
Borderlands 2

Whether your teens like blasting a soccer ball into the net or covering their enemies in corrosive goo, our reviewers think they’ll like the the new releases ​FIFA 13 and ​Borderlands 2​. For those that want to get their feet moving instead of their thumbs, ​Push and Shove​ from No Doubt delivers a pack of dance tunes guaranteed to delight old and new fans.

Filed Under: Multimedia, Multimedia Reviews, Teens & YA, Video Games, YA reviews Tagged With:

Book/Multimedia Review Stars List: November 2012

By on November 1, 2012 Leave a Comment
Colorful Dreamer (PARKER) ©2010 by Holly Berry

Colorful Dreamer (PARKER) ©2010 by Holly Berry

Preschool to Grade 4

BERK , Ari. Nightsong. illus. by Loren Long. S & S. p. 70.

COLE , Henry. Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad. illus. by author. Scholastic. Nov. 2012. p. 70.

DALY , Niki. The Herd Boy. illus. by author. Eerdmans. p. 71.

GORDON , Domenica More. Archie. illus. by author. Bloomsbury. Nov. 2012. p. 76. [...]

Filed Under: Books & Media, Grades 5 & Up, Graphic Novel Reviews, Multimedia Reviews, Preschool to Grade 4, Reviews

Multimedia Reviews: November 2012

By on November 1, 2012 1 Comment

Gum in My Hair: How to Cope with Bullying Version 2.0. DVD. 21:22 min. with tchr’s. guide. Twisted Scholar. 2012. ISBN 978-0-9837899-2-5. $69.95.
Gr 4-9–The host of this entertaining and effective program uses lighthearted humor to help kids learn about bullying—what it looks like, who are the perpetrators, and how it can be prevented. Approximately half of all kids have been bullied and the same amount of kids has bullied others. The video host, along with students who [...]

Filed Under: Multimedia, Multimedia Reviews

Pick of the Day: Little Pig Joins the Band (CD)

By on October 26, 2012 Leave a Comment
Cartoon pig playing trombone

Little Pig Joins the Band. By David Hyde Costello. CD. 6:37 min. with hardcover book. Live Oak Media. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4301-1139-9. $29.95.
Pre-S-Gr 2–David Hyde Costello’s humorous story (Charlesbridge, 2011) about Little Pig who is too small to play any of the marching band instruments stored in a box at Grandpa’s house. Whenever Little Pig asks his siblings a question, it is comically misheard. For example, when he asks if there are any piccolos, the response is “There’s a jar in [...]

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Pick of the Day: Seraphina (CD)

By on October 25, 2012 Leave a Comment
Audiobook cover of dragon flying on red background

Seraphina. By Rachel Hartman. 11 CDs. 13:30 hrs. Prod. by Listening Library. Dist. by Listening Library/Books on Tape. 2012. ISBN 978-0-307-96894-4. $50
Gr 7 Up–In the decades since the peace treaty was signed, a fragile amity has existed between humans and dragons. Or so it is believed. As the treaty’s 40th anniversary nears, a rogue dragon masterminds a dangerous scheme to reignite the ancient war between the two species. Caught unwillingly in the crossfire is Seraphina Dombegh, assistant music mistress of [...]

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Pick of the Day: Make Believers (CD)

By on October 23, 2012 Leave a Comment
Purple elephant riding a bike

Make Believers. CD. 41 min. 2012. ISBN unavail. $15.
Pres-Gr 5–Secret Agent 23 Skidoo is a children’s performer unlike any you’ve heard before. Filled with great beats and fresh rhymes, his newest album brings to mind Will Smith in his musical prime. Skidoo infuses hip-hop into children’s music using fantastic guest vocalists to keep the songs light while addressing such kid familiar topics as nightmares, being a friend to oneself, swimming, and even putting a truly fresh spin on Jack and the Beanstalk

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Pick of the Day: Dreamland Lullabies (CD)

By on October 19, 2012 Leave a Comment
Illustrated album cover of girl and night sky

Dreamland Lullabies. CD. 47:23 min. lullaballads.com. 2011. ISBN unavail. $9.99.
PreS-Gr 2–Classically trained Dina Layzis and Theresa San Luis co-wrote these 11 pop ballad lullabies, accompanied by full strings, piano, chimes, and xylophone. Born in the Ukraine, raised in New York, and trained in opera, Layzis’s voice has a breathy and ethereal quality. Perfect for bedtime and with a sound somewhere between easy listening and classical, the compositions are tranquil, peaceful, and restful. Songs include “Magic Unfolding,” “Caretaker’s Song,” “You Were [...]

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Pick of the Day: About Average (CD)

By on October 18, 2012 Leave a Comment
Illustrated audiobook cover with little girl in pink shirt

About Average. By Andrew Clements. 2 cassettes or 2 CDs. 2 hrs. Recorded Books. 2012. cassette: ISBN 978-1-4703-0081-4, CD: ISBN 978-1-4703-0082-1. $25.75.
Gr 3-6–Jordan understands that it’s hard being average. Everyone around her seems to have a shining talent, or even two or three—but not Jordan. She realistically examines herself and recognizes her ordinariness. She is a C student and has average looks, but she hopes that her enthusiasm will make up for a lack of talent in sports and music. [...]

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Pick of the Day: Recovering: Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa (DVD)

By on October 16, 2012 Leave a Comment
DVD cover for Anorexia Nervosa

Recovering: Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. DVD. 27 min. with worksheets online. Learning ZoneXpress. 2012. ISBN unavail. $79.95.
Gr 7 Up–Two serious and potentially deadly eating disorders that affect a rising number of teens and young adults—anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa—are frankly explored. Stories of recovering young adults are interwoven with facts and statistics presented by psychiatrists and nutritionists. Five main topics are covered: risk factors for eating disorders, what triggers them, why eating disorders are dangerous, treatment, and things to [...]

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