TitleTales

Great Picture Books of 2009: by Lori Fennel

Children’s post—07/24/09
With the year being more than half over already, it seemed safe — though never easy — to start making some picks for the best of 2009, beginning with picture books. We’ve got new talents like Julia Sarcone-Roach and Katie Cleminson here, as well as old reliables Kevin Henkes, Steve Jenkins, Mem Fox, and Mordicai Gerstein. We’ve got dinosaur poems, African animal poems, and Langston Hughes. Also elephants, cats, little girls, and puppies all using imagination to transform their worlds (occasionally with the help of a grandfather). Not to mention dinosaur/truck hybrids, babies trapped in bubbles, hysterical chickens, morphing rabbit ducks, and a yearning penguin.

Short List of Short Books: by Kim Stack

Adult’s post—07/24/09
You’re sitting on the desk and a student who’s put off his or her summer reading approaches and asks for a short book. Just as you think about rolling your eyes, you guiltily stop because you just remembered that last month you selected Last Night at the Lobster for one book group and Shopgirl for the other. Why? Because not only do both books have good discussion points and are great reads, but because both have fewer than 200 pages! Short books don’t mean that there are fewer ideas, and tight control of language often means better writing. Sample Rhyming Life & Death or Nobody Move to see if you agree. Most have less than 200 pages, but are less than 225.

Gary Busey: An Appreciation—Audiovisual: by Erin Stachowiak

Audiovisual post—07/24/09
I recently came across a clip from a movie named Bulletproof. No, I’m not talking about the 1996 action-comedy starring Adam Sandler and Damon Wayans. I’m talking about the full-on, action-packed, Gary Busey as Frank “Bulletproof’ McBain, Cold War terrorist flick from 1988. You might remember my love of bad movies from a previous blog entry I wrote. Bulletproof should have been on that list. It should have been a contender! Surprisingly, I can say this from seeing a 3 minute reel of clips. The amount of laughter I had in that short time is sure to be taken to an exponential level in the full 93 minutes of the actual film. Now, Gary Busey is an award-winning actor. The Buddy Holly Story is an amazing portrayal of a legendary rock and roll star. So, please, take a few moments log in to TitleTales and enjoy his full body of work including Bulletproof.

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