PreS-Gr 4—Billy Kelly and his band, The Blahblahblahs, offer up 13 quirky, humorous songs in musical styles ranging from rock to country to ragtime. Outstanding performances on vocals, keyboards, tin cans, trombone, bass, drums, bells, and harmonica as well as a variety of silly sound effects enhance the songs. Among the songs are "The Family Garden," "I'm Thinking of an Animal" (a guessing game), "Why Is the Moon Following Me," "Coney Island Washboard," "We Could Be Pen Pals" (a duet with Molly Ledford of Lunch Money), "Scootdootdoodlydoo," "The Happy Happy Whistling Song," and "It's a Wonderful Life" (a tribute to the movie). "It's Close Enough" tells of famous things that are not quite perfect, such as the leaning tower of Pisa and the Sphinx's nose. "The Invention of the Straw" gives a lot of silly misinformation. Kelly dedicates the patriotic song, "That Old American Flag," to his dad in memory of their erecting a 25-foot flagpole outside his childhood home. Kelly performs a wonderful cover of the B-52s' classic "Rock Lobster." This upbeat, hoot of an album with its outstanding performances and unique lyrics and concepts will be welcome in children's music collections.—Beverly Wrigglesworth, San Antonio Public Library, TX
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
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