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Smile Every Day

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PreS-Gr 3—Connecticut-based Ryan SanAngelo's new album features 14 songs from two previous releases and six new numbers. Covering topics of interest to kids, this collection includes songs from Play All Day and Awesome, Dude!, including "Granny Smith," "Jumping on My Bed," "Smile Every Day," "Being an Author," "Good Day, Good Night" "So Many Books," among others. Usually relying on a heavy beat to keep the songs moving forward, SanAngelo repeats words and phrases in his compositions to make the numbers easy to learn and sing. He maintains energy throughout and his vocal style is reminiscent of Bob Dylan—almost a monotone melody. When he tries to sing a melody, though, he is very often pitchy and off-key when singing lead. This is even more apparent when his wife Elizabeth sings lead or harmony. While his intentions are good, the execution leaves much to be desired. Strictly for fans.—Stephanie Bange, Wright State University, Dayton, OH
In this beautiful, heartrending, yet horrifying film, North Koreans tell their stories of imprisonment, sexual slavery, torture, murder, and escape to China or South Korea during the nearly 50-year regime of Kim Il Sung (1912—94). The interviews are illustrated through the interspersion of dance sequences, archival news footage, and drawings. Particularly interesting are the North Korean propaganda films celebrating Kim Il Sung as God and showing in the face of mass starvation happy workers, elaborate military displays, and the creation of a new flower in 1988 in honor of the 46th birthday of Kim's son and successor, Kim Jong Il. A valuable time line traces 20th-century events in Korea. Bonus features include previously unreleased footage of camp refugees. This mesmerizing film displays excellent production values and is highly recommended for Asia collections.—Kitty Chen Dean, formerly with Nassau Community Coll., Garden City, NY
Reviewed by Kitty Chen Dean , Dec 01, 2011

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