Two Words, One Answer.
GET READY
 Get Ready to Read Activity System $79.99 I purchased this item for my three year old daughter and she loves it. The price was great and the quality is great also. The mouse works in a manner that gives her familiarity with using a computer mouse. It comes with 3 books that allow for advancement.  Get Ready $11.98 In many ways, 'Get Ready' is the perfect New Order comeback. The old-school New Order sound is spread thickly, with Peter Hook's bass taking the lead role once again. Bernard Sumner's unashamedly belts out lyrics that border on ridiculous in that boyish voice of his. A couple of brilliant tracks, a few more pretty good songs, and one or two utterly cringeworthy moments. Just a typical New Order album, in other words! Instead of persuing the frenetic dance of 'Technique' or the more somber direction of 'Republic', New Order look to the pop-rock of 'Low Life' and 'Brotherhood' as their inspiration for this album. For the first time in fifteen years, songs are driven predominantly by guitars instead of keyboards, and contain drums that are recognisably played by a human. The departure of Gillian Gilbert might explain this more guitar-focussed direction, although she did apparently contribute to the album. 'Get Ready' gets off to a great start; 'Crystal' and '60 Miles an Hour' are classic, familiar New Order songs in the style of 'Regret'. 'Turn My Way' is a surprisingly effective pairing with Billy Corgan. 'Vicious Streak' is an earnest ballad, and 'Primitive Notion' a more intense track almost reminiscent of Joy Division. From here, though, things go off track: 'Slow Jam' matches a catchy riff to embarassing lyrics, and 'Rock The Shack' sounds like a B-grade Primal Scream. Apart from 'Someone Like You', the second half doesn't match the brilliance of the first. Still, it's a very good comeback, and the more familiar rock-driven sound will please those fans who were unhappy with 'Republic'. Not perfect, but much better (and less embarassing) than in might have been. Four stars.  Little Mouse Gets Ready (Toon Books) $12.95 Jeff Smith has always been in touch with his inner child, the one that loved comics from the get-go and got lost in their worlds of wonder and fantasy. That's been pretty evident throughout his career. You've seen it, of course, in his definitive epic Bone (if you haven't seen it, what are you waiting for? The time is now), and it shines through in his kidlike interpretation of Captain Marvel in Shazam! Even his new series, Rasl, which is for adults, contains that magic. So it's no surprise that Smith channels even more of that energy into his kid-friendly new book, Little Mouse Gets Ready, from Toon Books. Toon's philosophy is to create works that bridge the gap between picture books and graphic novels--big, bold images told sequentially with word balloons and text guiding young eyes through the story. As expected, the story is quite simple. As you may have guessed from the title, a little mouse gets ready (meaning he gets dressed), and he narrates all along the way. That's about it (well, he digresses in his talking, but still). And it's quite good, actually! Smith has always been talented with crafting fun dialogue that kids and adults can both appreciate, and his art is a continuation of the early greats (tinged with a style all his own). So Little Mouse Gets Ready is a classic-looking comic in the best possible sense. Kids will love the book, and adults will love reading it to them. It's funny, charming, and just really well done. -- John Hogan |
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