Plymouth Staff Choices

Stomp Live Directed by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas

Adult Nonfiction

Stomp is an eight member percussion ensemble (each member a dancer/musician/athlete) using primarily uncustomary instruments performed with energy, style, humor and complex rhythm. (Keep in mind that from the comfort of your own home it is socially acceptable to join in the fun using your own household items… perhaps the remotes, a toothbrush, maybe the toolbox.) The professionals on stage use brooms, matchboxes, hands & feet, a pedal bin (foot pedal to open lid of garbage can), pipes, sinks (yes, the performers are supporting sinks filled with water and various dishes, pots & utensils… the mess leaves enough water on stage to enable use of the next instrument of percussion)… plungers. The program continues with water jugs, lighters, chairs, the wall of the set, newspapers, basketballs, tea chests & walkers, bags (both paper & plastic), and bins (makeshift drums & cymbals). Note… there is just a bit more performance following the roll of the credits. Enjoy interviews, biography and behind-the-scenes footage in the DVD extras.

Body, Breath and Being: A New Guide to the Alexander Technique by Carolyn Nichols
Adult Nonfiction – Upper Level – 613.78 N

I’ve studied the Alexander Technique for over a decade now, and credit it for pulling me out of chronic tendinitis in my wrists and keeping me free of back pain during my pregnancy. But what the technique is and does and how to explain it to the vast majority of people who’ve never heard of it has always been a challenge. While common in Australia and Britain, it’s relatively unknown here, and that, too, makes it difficult as it’s really best to work with a teacher and those are hard to come by here. This book does an excellent job of explaining both the theory and the practice of it. It talks about how to recognize and inhibit unhelpful habits and gently encourage your body towards better use. Nichols profiles several of her students from their own points of view, explaining their difficulties before starting the Technique and how it helped after they started. I’ve seen other similar books use fictional, overly-easily resolved examples instead of real people; hearing the real stories, including where there are still difficulties, as well as pictures of the people doing their work, was very helpful. While I could feel my body improving just by reading the book, it also includes an audio CD with guided workshops for each chapter. While there’s obviously no substitute for a trained teacher working with you personally, as your own bad habits feel right to you, this is the first book I’ve seen that looks like it could help you improve on your own. The Alexander Technique is traditionally used by those in the performing arts, but anyone whose life or work causes physical tension or pain will benefit from this book.

The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock.
Teen Zone Cd Books - Main Level - MURDOCK

D.J. Schwenk is a junior in high school in rural Red Bend, Wisconsin. Her family has two passions: dairy farming (which is out of necessity) and football (their true delight). D.J.’s older brothers and father were all football stars, and now D.J. herself is playing linebacker for the high school football team. Her life seems to be going well especially when she becomes close with the quarterback of the rival football team, Brian Nelson. However, situations change and D.J. worries when her parents struggle with making ends meet, Brian ignores her around his friends, and her best friend moves away. Still none of that compares to the heartbreak of seeing her older brother, Win, become paralyzed because of a football injury. Soon D.J. becomes the main caretaker of her brother while he goes through rehabilitation, and she learns how to become a stronger person with deeper perspective.

The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock is a sequel to Dairy Queen. Dairy Queen introduces readers to the appealing Schwenk family and D.J. and Brian’s relationship. While it would be helpful to read Dairy Queen first, it is not necessary to enjoy The Off Season. Furthermore, although The Off Season deals with heavy subject matter, there is humor and joy sprinkled throughout the novel. One final note, Natalie Moore, the actress who reads both novels, does a splendid job right down to giving the characters a charming Wisconsin accent.

Extreme Birds: The World’s Most Extraordinary and Bizarre Birds Dominic Couzens
598 C

If you are generally familiar with the feeder behavior of your seasonal backyard bird population or enjoy nature walks with bird identification guide in hand; this book will surely pique your interest. Full page photographs in an oversize book are each accompanied by a page of descriptive text describing extremes in the world of birds (covering over 120 species). Extremes are organized by form, ability, behavior and families. From extreme form, learn about the wandering albatross with the widest wingspan (facilitating dynamic soaring) to the comb-crested jacana with the longest toes (for walking over floating vegetation). From extreme ability there is the sooty tern holding the record for longest time aloft (four years), to the flock coordination of European starlings. From behavior learn about the black heron creating a shade canopy with its wings to facilitate hunting at the water’s surface, the purple sandpiper mimicking rodent sounds to lure predators away from the bird’s nest, and the palm cockatoo using a stick as a percussive tool to impress the ladies. From families learn about which bird has the coziest nest to most eggs in a season to the most precarious nest site. Extreme Birds is an interesting and colorful book sure to add to your knowledge of our feathered friends.

Blindspot by Jane Kamensky and Jill Lepore
Adult New Book Display – Main Level - Kamensky

Our story here is told by two separate narrators. The first is a disgraced and indebted Scottish painter by the name of Stewart Jameson. He is fleeing Edinburgh, both the debt collectors and in search of his friend, Ignatius Alexander. Jameson tells us, the Dear Reader, that Alexander is an African-born, British educated doctor, but not how or why they were separated. Jameson hopes both to find his friend and earn the money to repay his debt in Boston. Meanwhile, Fanny Easton writes letters to a former schoolmate telling her plans to escape the Manufactory. She is the daughter of one of a judge, but she was disowned and thrown out of the house after her art tutor impregnated her. Now she has seen Jameson’s advertisement in the paper looking for an apprentice and decides to disguise herself as a boy, Francis Weston, to take the job. Then, Samuel Bradstreet, prominent citizen, revolutionary and early abolitionist is murdered, found dead just after sitting for his portrait. Jameson and Weston are key witnesses. Suspected are Bradstreet’s slaves, whose verbal promise to free them on his death is all the evidence the court really seems to want. But one of the slaves recognizes Fanny and asks for help, and she, as a guilty former owner, feels obliged to help. Early revolutionary and racial politics, intrigue and a whole lot of gender-bending sexual tension make this a fascinating and page-turning historical. The authors are both historians; some notes on the accuracy of the piece are included in book, and more on their website. Be sure to read the blurbs on the back cover, as well.

Blue Moo by Sandra Boynton
Picture Book Shelves – Lower Level - BOY

Sandra Boynton and Michael Ford do it again with this collection of songs with quirky humor and clever lyrics performed by first-class musicians. Where their first hit, Philadelphia Chickens, was an imaginary revue with lots of Broadway-style music, Blue Moo is an imaginary juke box of (mostly) 50s and 60s style music. Sha Na Na sings “The Gorilla Song” in which a group of gorillas sing about their favorite ice cream flavor, banananananana. John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting delivers a syncopated poem, mostly accompanied only by drumbeats, about his love for big band swing in “Big Band Sound”. “I sing ironic retro rock with just three other guys / But I’m thinking of a band of significant size/ I want a big (beat beat) band sound.” “Speed Turtle”, reminiscent of “Greased Lightning” and sung in classic Beach Boys style by Brian Wilson himself, would appear from the illustrations to be sung by a band of snails amazed at a turtle’s speed. “The One Shoe Blues” is sung in inimitable style by B.B. King. Though the kids won’t recognize the big names, the music is nuanced enough to be great fun for kids and adults alike. There are a few less well-known performers, including the composer Michael Ford, and a trio including Sandra Boynton’s daughter. Their attempt at classic Motown, while no less likely to get stuck in my head than any of the other songs, suffered slightly from the singers obviously never having smoked, and, my husband says, a too-modern recording studio. Every so often throughout the whole album, there is a short marching-band style piece by The Uninvited Loud Intruding Band, hilarious in and of itself and a great prank idea for actual marching students. You can get this fabulous collection as a cd by itself, or for a few dollars more, a picture book with CD, with Sandra Boyton’s full-color concepts behind the songs facing the lyrics in large print. In the back, there are full lyrics with music and chords, for those who’d like to sing along or perform on their own. You, too, could fall under the spell of the legendary Blue Moo.