HarperCollins

Neil Gaiman’s “Chu’s Day” — another quirky little tale from the master

Got a Neil Gaiman fan on your holiday gift list? Here’s a $17.99 solution to your problem, thanks to Gaiman and illustrator Adam Rex. This slight picture book, written in a Chinese tea shop whilst Gaiman was visiting the native habitat of giant panda bears, tells about a little bear with an explosive sneeze.

In one of Gaiman’s “Sandman” books, this might be part of a quirky character’s backstory. Here, the little panda stands front and center, with hovering parents worriedly watching for the sign of a sniffle until they’re distracted by a circus.

Publicity materials from HarperCollins describe “Chu’s Day” as illustrating the idea that “even the smallest child’s actions can be very powerful,” which parents of newborns with explosive diarrhea know to be all too true. I do not mean to imply that “Chu’s Day” is anything but a charming little tale, only to note again that marketers should all be required to wear a specific kind of hat that bears the “Cap’n Obvious” insignia.

Atria Books

Ellen Hopkins’ “Collateral” follows the ups and downs of a progressive girl who finds herself in love with a handsome, dynamic Marine

Ellen Hopkins, whose unflinching novels include the “Crank” trilogy, “Tilt,” and “Triangles,” examines the powerful lure of a military romance. Graduate student Ashley, a liberal arts progressive, never envisioned herself falling for a military career man. But then she meets Cole.

Their relationship begins on a firm foundation, with mutual interests but a frisson of discord foreshadowed by Ashley’s liberal background and Cole’s conservative roots. Both Ashley and her BFF fall for military guys.

In poetic prose, Hopkins examines the highs and lows of the mercurial nature of a relationship with someone whose first loyalty is to his (or her) country, and the effects that can be wrought by distance and hormones. Will Ashley stay loyal to Cole as they grow, apart and together, over the years?

Scholastic

Jim Murphy’s “The Giant and How He Humbugged America” retells the tale of the Cardiff Giant, a profitable scam that fooled many Americans in 1869.

Paging all National History Day competitors! Here’s a topic that would be loads of fun: Explaining why so many gullible Americans fell for a sensational scam.

Author Jim Murphy chronologically traces the giant’s story from the day that it was discovered by a farmer in rural New York state. The massive figure was 10’4″ long with identifiable human details, including fingernails, toenails, muscles, ribs and an Adam’s apple. Was it a Stone Giant, one of the legendary beings from Onodaga Indian folklore?

It was christened the Cardiff Giant by local media, and the news went viral, in the context of 1869: the Syracuse Daily Standard estimated that within the first 24 hours after the figure was unearthed, over 10,000 people had heard about it. John Boynton, a local scientist and eccentric, publicly disputed the farmer’s claim of uncovering a petrified super-human, noting that the figure was a man-made statue, perhaps of limestone.

Not many people took Boynton seriously. The farmer did a brisk business in selling eager customers a peek at the Cardiff Giant, first on the farm, and later as a traveling exhibit. Before long, other giants were discovered, including one in Beulah, Colorado in 1876.

Don’t be fooled by picture book size and format of “The Giant”; this is a book that aims at late elementary school to middle school readers. Author Murphy tells a lively story infected with the same enthusiasm that hooked so many credulous Americans so long ago.

Random House Children's Books

“One Year In Coal Harbor” follows Polly Horvath’s2002 Newbery Honor book, “Everything On a Waffle”

“One Year In Coal Harbor by Polly Horvath (Schwartz & Wade Books; $16.99) Ages 9 to 13
Revisit the Canadian town animated by “Everything On A Waffle,” a Newbery Honor book (2002) that introduced readers to a charmingly eccentric cast of characters.

The Girl On The Red Swing cafe is still in business, and still serving everything on the menu atop a waffle. Cafe proprietor Miss Bowzer’s budding romance with the uncle of narrator Primrose Squarp, however, is hitting some rough patches. Primrose’s slightly twitterpated former foster parents, Bert and Evie, have a new foster child named Ked, who is befuddled by the household preoccupation with mini-marshmallows. As Primrose notes of Evie’s ice cream with mini-marshmallows, “They didn’t improve the ice cream, but they didn’t hurt it either and I thought that was what you could say about most things.”

Everyone is caught up when a logging company moves in to harvest all the trees on Mendolay Mountain, a local landmark. A crew of latter-day hippies move in to occupy the trees; a suspiciously smooth stranger appears to usurp Miss Bowzer’s affections; and then Ked’s life unexpectedly is turned upside down. (And Evie figures out a way to incorporate mini-marshmallows into baked potatoes.)

St. Martin’s Choir: A shot from last year’s holiday concert. Photo from the choir.

First composed for the Colorado Children’s Chorale in 2006 but never performed by the group, John White’s “Maria Laudate” finally received its premiere by the St. Martin’s Chamber Choir as part of its holiday program.

At Broomfield Auditorium on Sunday, the warm, resonant work by the local composer showcased the choir’s clear collective tone under the dependably deft direction and insightful interpretation of its leader, Timothy Krueger.

The program title – “Lo, how a rose” – bespeaks the overall theme of selected works, including Michael Praetorius’ well-known “Lo, how a rose e’er blooming” presented as a sing-along with the audience. The floral allusion is further explored in more current works – from Terry Schlenker’s “Sicut rosa,” and David Cutforth’s “There is no rose” to Herbert Howells’ “A spotless rose” and Morten Lauridsen’s “La rose complète.”

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A new Park Avenue home for Ballet Nouveau Colorado’s performing company, which is changing its name to Wonderbound and spinning off from its Broomfield-based school.

Broomfield’s celebrated Ballet Nouveau Colorado is splitting off into the new Wonderbound dance company and renaming its school the Colorado Conservatory of Dance, the company announced today.

Artistic director Garrett Ammon and partner Dawn Fay also announced an Indiegogo effort to raise $140,000 through Feb. 27 for his company’s proposed home at 1075 Park Ave. in Denver, currently occupied by Weisco Motorcars (see above).

So what exactly do they need to get there?

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Su Teatro got ten grand from the NEA to support its Neruda Poetry Festival and Barrio Slam. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post

Among the more interesting arts grants given out by the government are the National Endowment for the Arts’ Challenge America Fast-Track grants.

There is not a lot of money involved – the latest round amounts to $1.53 million total across the country – but the awards aim to use the arts as a community builder, a way of helping cities and towns understand their own identities and join together through culture.

In grant speak, they support “two major outcomes: public engagement with diverse and excellent art and livability, or the strengthening of communities through the arts.” But what that really means is direct support for festivals, exhibits, murals and other public projects that give less-visible segments of the population a piece of the cultural pie.

The program has a small focus and is geared toward organizations with annual budgets of less than $50,000. All the grants are an even $10,000.

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Cleo Parker Robinson Dance used an NEA grant to revive “Southland” this season. Next year, the NEA helps fund “Tara.” Photo from CPR Dance.

The National Endowment for the Arts announced grants this week for 11 Colorado organizations totaling $250,000.

The money will go to support a variety of endeavors, including Opera Colorado’s production of “The Scarlet Letter” and Cleo Parker Robinson Dance’s new work, based on the story of the Buddhist goddess “Tara.”

Here’s the list of recipients.

Anderson Ranch Arts Foundation, Snowmass Village
Amount: $20,000
For: Support for artist residency programs.

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet
Amount: $20,000
For: Support for a national tour of dance performances.

Boulder Community Media, Boulder
Amount: $40,000
For: To support a documentary and website presenting the traditional music and dance of the Volga German communities of western Nebraska, southeastern Wyoming, and northeastern Colorado.

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Simon & Schuster

“Things I Shouldn’t Think” addresses an aspect of obsessive compulsive behavior about persistent, frightening thoughts.

Janet Ruth Young’s new novel is about Dani, a girl who, at age 17, suddenly finds unwelcome, violent thoughts interrupting her consciousness.

The thoughts are terrifying: What would the little boy she babysits look like if she stabbed him to death? What if she suddenly and profanely outed her closeted best friend? What if Dani upset the ladder her mother is using to paint the ceiling, and caused a fatal accident?

The thoughts are so real that she finds herself touching her lips to make sure she hasn’t voiced them, and holding her hands to prevent herself from acting upon the thoughts. In despair, Dani confesses her thoughts to the child’s mother, who promptly calls the police, setting off a chain reaction that destroys Dani’s life, and the lives of those around her.

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Vincent van Gogh’s “Canal with Women Washing”

The Denver Art Museum is expanding the hours of its popular “Becoming van Gogh” exhibit during select periods beginning Thanksgiving weekend. DAM is also offering bonus opportunities for members to see the show.

The exhibit features 70 paintings, drawings and prints from the Dutch artist along with works from other artists who inspired his development. It was curated in-house by DAM and will only be exhibited in Denver.

The new hours are a little complicated but here goes: Thanksgiving weekend, the exhibit will be open from 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 23 and Saturday, Nov. 24. and from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 25.

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