Book review: Willy Wonka’s creator
In “Storyteller,” biographer Donald Sturrock explores the dark, Grimm world of Roald Dahl. In “Storyteller,” biographer Donald Sturrock looks at the dark, Grimm world of Roald Dahl.
Doodlebops – Bird Is The Word

Anthology 2 $16.89 The most anticipated of the Anthology series, this disc covers what was arguably the Fab Four’s most intensely creative period (‘65-’67) when they single-handedly changed the course of popular music. Anthology 2 doesn’t disappoint. Outtakes and demos show the building of songs like “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite,” while the pure pop song writing of Rubber Soul a…

American Prayer $5.56 The Doors recorded six studio albums with Jim Morrison as their singer from 1967 to 1971, hitting the charts with a series of pop songs that were at least as good as Tommy James and the Shondells. On their albums, they indulged in Morrison’s pretentious obsessions that included extended pieces about Oedipal complexes and the end of the world. Those obsessions have been exaggerated by The Doors myt…

Charlie & The Chocolate Factory $2.00 It’s as if composer Danny Elfman’s fertile relationship with director Tim Burton had been building up to this, their 11th collaboration and perhaps the one that best encapsulates their shared aesthetics: It’s hard to think of a subject better suited to the two men than an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. For the occasion, Elfman has come up with five actual songs (and …

Sesame Street – Learning About Letters [VHS] $0.10 Big Bird and Telly Monster lead young viewers through the alphabet, letter by letter, in a magical and imaginative half-hour discovery of letters and their sounds. The perfect tape for young Sesame Street fans who are just beginning to get the hang of what letters are all about, it includes short skits, songs, and other bits of business–some original, some culled from the Sesame Street show–fea…

Bear in the Big Blue House – Storytelling with Bear $3.73 Hit the books with Bear, Tutter, Pip & Pop, and more, in three adventures that teach your child about storytelling, encourage vocabulary skills, and promote kindness and sharing.It’s prime time for rhymes when everyone settles into the Big Blue House for an afternoon of yarn spinning in “What’s The Story?” Then learn how the right word makes all the difference in “Words, Words, Words,” before join…