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Jungle Gym

NOT- -AVAIL-ABL-E.
COPY ISBN
PreS-Gr 3—Chicago-based Justin Roberts serves up his seventh recording of family-friendly music. His backup band provides a wall of sound—with background vocals, horns, and solid rhythm section—which complements Roberts's youthful vocals. The 12 original tunes focus on children's issues: "Sleepoverland" (a soft-rock piece about the anxiety experienced before a child's first sleepover), "Trick or Treat" (an upbeat tune celebrating Halloween), "Sign My Cast" (a ballad lamenting activities not available while having a cast on your leg), "Cardboard Box" (a driving number describing the fun of playing with a cardboard box). Other standouts include songs about what to do if separated from parents while shopping ("Never Getting Lost"), getting a haircut ("New Haircut"), and what to do during a school fire drill ("Fire Drill"). This fun album features clever lyrics and singable tunes.—Stephanie Bange, Wright State University, Dayton, OH
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 , Sep 01, 2010

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