fashion beats

The Beginning by The Black Eyed Peas (Interscoped Records, 2010)

genre: Pop

age: 10 years +

honors: none

review: The Black Eyed Peas’ new CD is full of dance music… you can’t help yourself. The band’s familiar electric sound is back for this CD, so long-time fans shouldn’t be disappointed with what they hear. The Beginning is said to be a refelction of what’s happening in the world now, but with touching back to musical trends of the past.

opinion: The BEPs put their signature funky beat to work on the listener in this new album. The \ band has managed to stay relevant in the world of ever changing musical tastes, and can be heard here taking popular styles of music and adding their magic—in Fashion Beats is Fergie channeling her inner-Blondie Debbie Harris, and they liven up the Dirty Dancing theme with their The Time.

favorite: Fashion Beats and Light Up the Night

ideas: The band is everywhere—the Superbowl and Nickelodeon’s Kid’s Choice Awards—but may not be appropriate for all tweens. In the library, I’d be happy to help them find the disk, but I’d never recommend it… no matter how much I like it.

a box of macaroni-and-cheese, some white rice, and two tomatoes...

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo (Candlewick Press, 2000)

genre: Humor, animal stories

ages: 8-11years

honors: John Newbery Medal Library Service to Children (2001)

Josette Frank Award (2001

… and 32 Children’s Choice Awards from around the country

review: When moving to Naomi, Florida, Opal and her dad, the Preacher, are very alone. Opal’s alone because she has no friends, and they are both experiencing the loss of her mother who left them because she “hated being a preacher’s wife.” Opal recalls the summer when the dog, also known as Winn-Dixie, helps her get out to meet the townspeople with his genuine doggy-charm, and brings an end to her loneliness.

opinion: This book is charming and makes you want to get out to know the people in town, or at least your neighbors. I didn’t want it to end, because I wanted to continue to meet the characters of Naomi.

ideas: Kids who love animal stories will like this book. And this one doesn’t have a sad ending like Shilo or Old Yeller.

...the whole world has an aching heart...

Because of Winn Dixie directed by Wayne Wang (2005)

genre: Humor, realistic, animals

rating: PG

ages: 8+ years

review: Based upon the novel by Kate DiCamillo, the movie is about Opal and her dad, the Preacher, are new to Naomi, Florida, and are lacking friends. When Opal is sent to the Winn-Dixie for macaroni and cheese, white rice and two tomatoes, she also brings home a stray, stinky dog. But as Opal says, Winn-Dixie is better at making friends than anybody. And the dog helps her find friends in the unlikeliest of places.

opinion: The movie follows the book’s plot very well, but the thing that I noticed first was how different and distant the Preacher was to Opal for most of the movie. I never got that feeling from the book, although it was implied that he was like a turtle with his head in this shell most of the time. I’m not sure if it’s the difference in format, but I was more touched (teary-eyed) by the movie than the book.

ideas: This is a great movie for those kids who love movies about animals like My Dog Skip and Shilo.

tyranical Trujillo...

Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez (Laurel Leaf, 2002)

genre: Historical, enthic

honors: America’s Award for Children and Young Adult Literature (2002)

Pura Belpre Award (2004)

review: Anita’s life is on the cusp of change. In the year between her 12 and 13^th birthdays, upheaval comes to the Dominican Republic and her family. While most of her family is fleeing to New York to get away from the tyranny of El Jefe, her family stays behind in efforts to bring down the dictator.

opinion: Watching {reading} Anita slowing lose everything in her life to her home, friends, family, school and be reduced to living in a closet, was heartbreaking. This book, while sad, also had bits of humor mixed with information about the revolution.

ideas: This is one of those great books to give to girls around the same age to help them see that everything could be a lot worse.

the secret is hiding in the lines of this poem...

Belle Prater’s Boy by Ruth White (Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1996)

genre: Family problems, historical fiction

ages: 9-12 years

honors: Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards (1996)

Newbery Medal Library Service to Children (1997)

review: When Belle Prater goes missing one morning, life changes for her son Woodrow. He moves from the holler to town and lives with his grandparents in a nice house, with new clothes, and a best friend in his cousin, Gypsy. Their friendship grows and Woodrow finds his place in this world while realizing that maybe this is what his mom wanted for herself.

opinion: Reading Woodrow come to the realization that his mom left him and his dad was heart wrenching. However, he came to that conclusion after being out of the the dismal life in the holler, thus making her leaving more understandable.

ideas: I love this book because it has a tween girl and boy being friends, even though they are cousins. This book could open up discussions about family relationships, whether it be friendly cousins or sisters at odds with each other.

you & me...

Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King by Dave Matthews Band (Bama Rags Recordings, 2009)

genre: Rock

age: 10 years +

review: Dave Matthews Band has been around since the early 1990s incorporating rock and jazz with a unique acoustic sound. This album is said to be a tribute to the band’s saxophonist, LeRoi Moore, who died in 2008. But the songs on the album are the songs that encourage you to celebrate each day for the gift it is.

opinion: As a long time fan of DMB, this record is slowly becoming one of my favorites for the whole message of love, passion and embracing the day. It’s an easy listening CD that washes over you with good feelings.

favorite: You & Me

ideas: Because the sound of the DMB is so engaging and hard to define, I’d be more likely to suggest this to older twees/teens, or someone who already is a fan.

a new opportunity...

Bloomability by Sharon Creech (Harper Trophy, 1998)

genre: Realistic, friendship

ages: 10-14 years

honors: various awards master lists

review: Dinnie has been kidnapped and no one seems to care! Her aunt and uncle have taken her from her nomad existence with her constantly moving family to a settled life in a private American school in Switzerland… without asking what Dinnie thought!! Now she’s in a strange country with a bunch of other kids from other countries, and she’s expected to adapt and see this as an abundance of “bloomabiities.”

opinion: It’s a year of learning and growing for Dinnie; and as an older reader of the book, I could see this is how her aunt and uncle were trying to save Dinnie from the bleak future that sucked the life out of her brother (jail) and sister (quick marriage and early pregnancy). It was a chance for her to make her own choices, rather than be dragged along in her father’s nomadic whims.

ideas: Because Dinnie did move around so much, students could talk about the moves in their lives or draw maps. They could also talk about how hard it is to be the new kid in a classroom, and methods of welcoming a new kid to make for an easier transition.