TitleTales

Duck! Chicken!: by Lori Fennel

Children’s post—05/08/09
So I was looking over the 2009 books with starred reviews attached to them already, and something I noticed was… chickens. Little Chick, Tillie, a new Chicken Little, chicks at the grocery store–chickens are everywhere! So I gave it some thought, and while I was collecting other goofy chicken characters of the past few years (and still others yet–to–publish) I noticed so many great ducks… I went ahead and expanded my theme. But I had to draw the line somewhere – so no pigeons! (Sorry, Mo.) And no geese! (Unless you’re a goose in cahoots with a duck – Tad Hills and Jean Craighead George, you’re good).

The Play’s the Thing: by Kim Stack

Adult Fiction post—05/08/09
When I consider plays, I think I’m about to be enchanted for a few hours in a theater while stunning performances cause me to believe “I am there” as the tale unfolds. Like most fiction, the play is often more real than life, as the issues transcend one person’s condition for the more encompassing human one. I rarely think to head to the bookshelf to read a play, however, this year three events made me check it out: the Academy Award nomination of Doubt by John Shanley, when Chicago’s Mayor Richard M. Daley declared “Talk Like Shakespeare Day” to honor the great dramatist, and Lynne Nottage won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Ruined.

Video Game Favorites: by Erin Stachowiak

Audiovisual post—05/08/09
I can remember sitting in front of an old television, playing Atari Super PONG when I was young. I would sit there for hours, bouncing that little ball back and forth. This was my introduction to video games. It was the fifth video game console release, among the Magnavox Odyssey and Coleco Telestar in the 70s, and had crude graphics but was considered a stand out. Atari Super PONG was one of the pioneers that used “high tech custom integrated circuits” with eye-catching rainbow colors and that recognizable sound from the built in speakers. Compared to today’s systems, this may seem just a little archaic. The newest consoles feature superior graphics, online capabilities, huge hard drives, wireless and inventive controller configurations. The list of all the advances video game designers have made in the last 30-plus years could melt the memory of that old Atari Super PONG.

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