This Very Tree, The Survivor Tree & A Hundred Thousand Welcomes

On the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America, our acclaimed kids' lit blogger, JULES, finds fresh perspectives for young readers in three new books, two specifically addressing the World Trade Center attacks, another ...
by David McGee
 

 
 

The Passionate Style

Italian composer, gambist, and singer Claudio Giovanni Monteverdi is often regarded as revolutionary in that his work marked the transition from the Renaissance style of music to that of the Baroque period. He developed two ind...
by David McGee
 

 

 

Gospel at Christmastime

Bob Marovich's overview of gospel music at Yuletide, from the Elkins-Payne Jubilee Singers (1926) to the Edwin Hawkins Family (1985).
by David McGee
 

 
 

The Cat’s Pajamas of Social Media

If you’re contemplating raising your kids without any pets in the home, you should know that one could turn out to be a man who raps about cats.
by David McGee
 

 

 

For Sale: Wounded Knee; Johnny Depp, Grandstander; Chief Red Cloud, 93, Walks On

WOUNDED KNEE for sale? JOHNNY DEPP grandstands about buying it and returning it to the Tribe, but it's only noise; remembering CHIEF OLIVER RED CLOUD
by David McGee
 

 
 

Border Patrol

On AMERICANO Classical guitar giant PABLO VILLEGAS ranges from Venezuela to Mexico, from Paraguay to the Bayou, from Broadway to the rural South in celebrating the music of all the Americas.
by David McGee
 

 

 

Me and the Boss

MICHELLE EDWARDS's ME AND THE BOSS is subtitlted "A Story About Mending and Love." For young readers, it's so much more. Illustrations by APRIL HARRISON.
by David McGee
 

 
 

A Classic Animated Christmas

From the vaults, classics indeed: 1939's 'Peace on Earth,' the only cartoon ever nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize; from 1913, Ladislas Starevitch's pioneering and amazing stop-motion animated 'The Insects' Revenge' (plus a pr...
by David McGee
 

 

 

Our Christmas Best to You

An unassuming tape from the late '80s, sent as a holiday gift to media friends by what its now BONNEVILLE INTERNATIONAL, turns out to be the most heartwarming of Yuletide messages, an instant seasonal classic.
by David McGee
 

 
 

All That Heaven Allows (1955)

No one made movies quite like DOUGLAS SIRK, and ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS is one of his landmarks. Also featured: the first MIGHTY MOUSE cartoons.
by David McGee
 

 

 

‘Welcome Has No Boundaries’

Zimbabwe's beloved OLIVER 'TUKU' MTUKUDZI has released his 61st album, SARAWOGA, of songs of hope and respect. 'There's always something to talk about,' he tells us, and then proves it.
by David McGee
 

 
 

Gabriella Barouch’s Art of Digital Illustration

Up-and-coming Israeli artist-illustrtor GABRIELLA BAROUCH was last year's 'Artist of the Season' for the Jerusalem Season of Culture. It's one of many honors she's racked up for her all-digital (even sketches) artwork.
by David McGee