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The Baby Grands II

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PreS-Gr 5—Indie kid rockers The Baby Grands (Ben Rowell and Chuck Nash) follow up their 2009 National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA) album with another winner. Harmonizing vocals and a driving rhythm guitar star in each original song. A word of greeting translated into ten languages opens the album ("Hey!") and many ways of saying farewell close it ("Goodbye"). Sandwiched between are eight songs with huge appeal for kids and families. "Where Are You From?" asks what country your family comes from, listing many destinations for potential travel. The Baby Grands address whimsy in "Dinosaur" (about the imaginary dinosaur under the bed) and "Robot" (a song about a robot who wishes he was human), practicality in "Paper Airplane" (the joy of folding and making them soar) and "Pounding Heart" (what love feels like), and lessons learned in "Brain Freeze" (when eating something cold like ice cream) and "Upside Down" (describing the confusion of letters and numbers that look the same). Rounding out the collection is the Johnny Cash-channeled tune "Palindrome Express," a trucker's song that includes 14 palindromes in the lyrics. Brilliant!—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 , May 01, 2011

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