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Spaghetti Eddie and Other Children's Songs

NOT- -AVAIL-ABL-E.
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PreS-Gr 2—Oklahoma-based Brendan Parker's family-friendly debut started out on a whim—two songs written for a friend's child developed into an album of ten. Interesting lyrics, catchy tunes, tight harmonies, and pleasing arrangements will hold the attention of youngsters and adults alike. Opening with the rocking "Together Like You and Me" (a song about pairs of things, like peanut butter and jelly, socks and shoes, you and me), Parker fills the album with other musical games on topics such as identifying parts of the body ("Body Parts"), colors ("How Many Colors Do You Know?"), names of days ("Days of the Week"), and cleaning up after play ("Pick It Up!"). Two other standouts are "Kitty Cat Town" and "Spaghetti Eddie," story-songs written in minor keys that are sure to have the kids up dancing and singing along. A very promising debut.—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 , Jun 01, 2011

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