REVIEWS+

Dive into California

The Adventures of Ocean Annie, Makaio, and Fringy
NOT- -AVAIL-ABL-E.
COPY ISBN
PreS-Gr 3—This installment of the series produced by Annie Crawley (aka Ocean Annie) takes viewers on a scuba diving adventure through kelp forests, rocky reefs, and a sea lion rookery (with several shark sightings along the way). In addition to Annie's assistant tour guides—Makaio, a Hawaiian ukulele playing scuba diver, and Fringy, a sarcastic ichthyologist fish—cute cartoon characters with speech balloons ("I have fur!" exclaims a cartoon sea lion in the bottom corner of the screen as viewers watch live sea lions romping in the sea lion rookery footage) provide additional information to Ocean Annie's commentary and actual video material. Bubble-like sound effects accompany the cartoon pop-ups, and vocabulary terms appear at the bottom of the screen as they are introduced. These vocabulary words are often accompanied by fun cartoons. The upbeat background music is a perfect match for Ocean Annie's bubbly personality as she leads young viewers on an environmental lesson encompassing marine biology, scientific inquiry, geography, and conservation—all while promoting the benefits of teamwork. A nice introduction to both scuba diving and the underwater world.—Cathie Bashaw Morton, Millbrook Central School District, NY
In this beautiful, heartrending, yet horrifying film, North Koreans tell their stories of imprisonment, sexual slavery, torture, murder, and escape to China or South Korea during the nearly 50-year regime of Kim Il Sung (1912—94). The interviews are illustrated through the interspersion of dance sequences, archival news footage, and drawings. Particularly interesting are the North Korean propaganda films celebrating Kim Il Sung as God and showing in the face of mass starvation happy workers, elaborate military displays, and the creation of a new flower in 1988 in honor of the 46th birthday of Kim's son and successor, Kim Jong Il. A valuable time line traces 20th-century events in Korea. Bonus features include previously unreleased footage of camp refugees. This mesmerizing film displays excellent production values and is highly recommended for Asia collections.—Kitty Chen Dean, formerly with Nassau Community Coll., Garden City, NY
Reviewed by Kitty Chen Dean , Jun 01, 2011

Be the first reader to comment.

Comment Policy:
  • Be respectful, and do not attack the author, people mentioned in the article, or other commenters. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
  • Don't use obscene, profane, or vulgar language.
  • Stay on point. Comments that stray from the topic at hand may be deleted.
  • Comments may be republished in print, online, or other forms of media.
  • If you see something objectionable, please let us know. Once a comment has been flagged, a staff member will investigate.

RELATED 

More
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?