TitleTales

Lifting the Lorax: by Deanna Spears

Juvenile & YA Special Topics post—12/18/09
I can think of no better gift to keep on giving this holiday season than planet preservation. The Lorax (1971, Random House), a fable by my beloved sage Dr. Seuss, is still my favorite book on the topic. It’s a simple story: driven by greed, the Once-ler clears the Lorax of the truffala trees needed to sustain their ecosystem: The Lorax are forced to leave their homeland. Years later, to make amends to the displaced Lorax, the Once-ler gives a child the last remaining truffala tree seed and tells him, “UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, it’s not going to get better. It’s not.”

So I’ve asked Santa to dole out lumps of truffala tree seeds in lieu of coal to the Earth’s most naughty this year. For those who have been nice, 2009 was a great year for books and DVDs that celebrate the Earth, and 2010 promises even more. In fact, I can think of no better New Year’s resolution…

Bollywood Comes to Mainstreet: by Kathryn Lynip

Adult Special Topics post—12/18/09
Bollywood has been a major force in Indian cinema and throughout the Indian diaspora for decades and produces more films a year than come out of Hollywood. It has long been an influence in Western musicals and music but seems to be gathering momentum in the last couple of years in crossing over to Western non-Indian audiences. From the breakout success of Slumdog Millionaire to the dance style being seen on “So You Think You Can Dance” and “America’s Got Talent,” Bollywood is becoming more and more mainstream. I personally have seen a growing interest in Hindi movies at my local library where we can’t keep these movies on the shelf and request for further titles are frequent. I even drove by a beauty salon earlier this month in Skokie, Illinois that was called Bollywood Salon. Some Bollywood stars are even becoming widely recognized names such as Aishwarya Rai and Shahrukh Khan (aka King Khan). BWI offers a broad sampling of books, movies and CDs of Bollywood-style titles.

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