Independent Reading: Rabbit & Robot

Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover by Cece Bell
Buddies, Rabbit and Robot get together for a sleepover. The orderly Rabbit has made a list of the things they will do that night: 1. Make Pizza 2. Watch TV 3. Play Go Fish 4. Go to Bed. But Robot doesn't like some of the things Rabbit has prepared. Much to Rabbit's dismay, Robot starts improvising. How will the night turn out?

In this lighthearted story of friends having fun in spite of differences and unforeseen obstacles, Cece Bell has created a story with sweetness, humor and themes, reminiscent of Arnold Lobel's classic Frog and Toad books. Rabbit is organized and easily upset, while Robot takes initiative in his logical, resourceful way. Rabbit has very carefully prepared lettuce, carrots, and peas for their pizzas, but Robot doesn't like those toppings! Robot likes nuts and bolts. So what does he do? He dismantles the table and chairs to get his favorite ingredients. Similar situations follow, each as charming as the last. This is a stand out this year in the independent reader genre. I hope that the subtitle indicates that this is the first in a series. See a preview at Amazon.

Recent Recommendations: October 2012

This is news in Alaska.

“Look, it’s a book release, J.K. Rowling wrote the book, and I’ve got a Snape outfit. So I’m just going to go for it.”said the 33-year-old man who lined up for the Casual Vacancy in a Snape costume.

Call the Midwife is a BBC show that was hugely popular in the UK, and was picked up by PBS ( do you really need to know anything else?). It follows the life of Jenny Lee and her fellow midwives, living in a convent (though they themselves are not nuns), working in the lower class East London of the 1950's. It is so wonderful. I dare you not to love the characters. The Brits know how to write good series, don't they? Though I would counsel you to stay away if you have a phobia of childbirth stay away. There is a character named Camilla Fortescue-Cholmondeley-Browne, who goes by Chummy, for goodness sake and a nun who says things like, "I, you see, am attuned to feel vibrations." And you can watch it all online!!!!

Cat Bounce

Winners of the Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Nashville It's a new primetime soap centered around 2 female country stars, one is the young, peppy, cutthroat rising star Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere), and the other, Rayna James (Connie Britton), is the country legend who's now struggling to sell tickets for her upcoming tour. There's lots and lots of drama--many plots and subplots. And there's music. I have never ever liked country music. I find a lot of it...well, intolerable. And yet, this show is infused with original country songs--they're performed, composed, and recorded before out eyes as well as played in the background. And I'm liking some of what I hear. There's been one song so far even composed by the Civil Wars. (it was in the pilot, and I thought, I like this--I like the stuff that's more Civil Wars style, and it turns out they were the ones who composed it!) Connie Britton is great in the lead. If you're curious about the music, listen to these: "If I Didn't Know Better" (performed by Civil Wars), "Undermine" (as performed by composers, Trent Dabbs and Kacey Musgraves), "Fade Into You,""No One Will Ever Love You (if he looks familiar it's b/c he was on Whose Line)," and check out YouTube sensations Lennon and Maisy singing "Telescope" as Rayna's daughters. This and Elementary and The Mindy Project are probably my favorite new shows.

Speaking of music, Laura Marling is expected to release a new album early 2013 (Woo Hoo!) And I found some live YouTube videos of new songs: "I Was and Eagle" (with a couple of mistakes here and there),  "I Am a Master Hunter" (language), "Undine" Wonderful as ever. Do you know that she's come to LA twice in the past few months, but both performances have been on Sunday! Argh! Also there was this cool sideshow alley performance in Australia. Did you know her middle name is Beatrice? Somehow that is so fitting.

So Time recently released its list of the 25 best blogs of 2012. I'll specifically pick out two here, but read the whole list if you want because there are others of interest (like the book blog omnivoracious).

Awesome People Hanging Out Together It's a photo tumblr of just what it says: awesome people hanging out together, like a photo of Mick Jagger, Catherine Deneuve and Andy Warhol in Montauk in 1975. Or how 'bout Tim Burton and Vincent Price or William Shatner and Stan Lee? Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway and Paul Newman.? Can you find the one of Marlene Dietrich and Amelia Earhart? I especially like the one of Hugh Laurie, Idris Elba and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Bookshelf Porn Pretty pictures of books and stacks of books and shelves of books and facts about books and quotes about books.

LA Neighborhoods: S Serrano Ave, Koreatown

I love old LA architecture--especially the old 30s and earlier style buildings. We parked on San Marino St to go to a nearby Korean restaurant for lunch and stumbled upon this wonderful little neighborhood of nicely kept up old style apartment buildings. I had to take some photos.

Recent Read: Splendors and Glooms

For her birthday, young Clara has the puppeteer she saw in the park come perform at her birthday party, accompanied by his two young orphaned assistants. Afterwards, when Clara disappears, it becomes apparent that puppeteer is at fault, but he's nowhere to be found. The two orphans flee north to the home of a wealthy woman, unknowingly walking into a trap set by a powerful witch.

Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz is a story reminiscent of a Grimm fairy tale, with setting, telling, and characters so Victorian I could practically smell the fog. I've seen the word "Dickensian" used multiple times in descriptions. It was obvious that Schlitz was painstaking not only in her research, but also in her construction and development of the story and characters. This book is complex--surprisingly so for a children's book. The pacing is slower than most, but the story is intriguing and the rounded characters likable, despite their imperfections. I liked that Schlitz did not shy away from the sinister--this is one of the things that gives it that Grimm feel. (But beware--I think parts of this book would have given me nightmares as a child). I just don't know how much kid-appeal this book has. At nearly 400 pages, it's long (and not Harry Potter, can't-put-it-down long). That combined with the pacing and density of it makes it a hard sell. But I think if you found the right reader, it could be a hit.

Review based on advanced reader copy.