21st Century Breakdown by Green Day (Music CD)

21st Century Breakdown. Artist: Green Day. ASIN: B001SAQVDQ. Label: Reprise Records. Release Date: May 15, 2009.

Description:

21st Century Breakdown is Green Day’s latest album and the first they’ve released in five years. It’s written in the rock opera style much like their previous album, American Idiot. It’s divided into three acts: “Heroes and Cons,” “Charlatans and Saints,” and “Horseshoes and Handgrenades.” When played from start to finish, the album tells the story of a young couple named Christian and Gloria who are dealing with life in America post-Bush’s presidency. They encounter a repressive government and manipulative social culture. The story isn’t a set narrative, but rather loosely connected. The songs touch on themes such as religion, disconnect, nihilism, idealism, and hope. Many of the songs also include references to Billie Joe Armstrong’s own life; the band has claimed that this is the most personal of the albums he’s written. The album includes four singles: "Know Your Enemy," "21 Guns," "East Jesus Nowhere," and "21st Century Breakdown."

Critical Evaluation:

21st Century Breakdown is the perfect complement to American Idiot. It continues the story that Green Day presented in the previous album, focusing on the problems with trying to survive in modern American society. As Green Day’s sound changes, their ability to touch on social and political issues also improves. More liberal-leaning, politically savvy teenagers will appreciate the substance in the lyrics, while those who are less interested in the message can enjoy the band’s experimentation with combining genres. Traditionally, Green Day had a more mainstream punk sound. In the last few years they’ve added more pop elements, but 21st Century Breakdown is also heavily influenced by classic rock. It has a very grandiose sound appropriate for the rock opera format. They’re bold in their style, choosing an almost bigger is better approach to sound, which really works with the counter-culture attitude in many of their songs. Armstrong has always been a clever lyricist, but his writing has matured. He’s no longer the angry kid of the band’s early days, but he still maintains his fearless ability to call out society for all its perceived wrongdoings. This attitude, coupled with their pop punk rock sound, makes this a great album for any teenager looking to loudly express their dissatisfaction.

Annotation:

Green Day's latest album is a politically charge rock opera in the style of their previous album.

Artist Information:

Green day was formed in 1986 by lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist Mike Dirnt when both were 14. The band was originally known as Sweet Children, but the name was change to Green Day in 1989 with the addition of drummer John Kiffmeyer. Kiffmeyer left the band in 1990 to attend college and was replaced by current drummer Tré Cool.

In 1989 they signed with independent label Lookout! who, in 1990, released their first full length album, 39/Smooth. They released one more album with Lookout! before signing with Reprise Records. They’ve released six studio albums with Reprise Records, as well as five live albums and two compilation albums.

Genre:

Pop Punk Rock

Curriculum Ties:

Political Science: Forms of Protest
Music

Booktalking Ideas:

N/A

Interest Age:

14 and older

Challenge Issues:

Profanity
References to violence
Anti-religion
Anti-government
Drug references

Challenge Defense Ideas:

• Require the challenger to fill out a written challenge form with clear reasons stated and examples given.
• If not already familiar with the content, become familiar.
• Refer the challenger to the library's collection policy.
• Refer the challenger to reputable reviews of the books, as well as reviews by those in the book's target audience.

Reasons for Selection:

Green Day's career has spanned more than 20 years, making it a band that can appeal to teenagers as well as their older relatives.

Opposing Viewpoints in Context (Database)

Opposing Viewpoints in Context (Database), Gale. Accessed through the San Diego Public Library.

Description:

Opposing Viewpoints in Context contains articles, court cases, biographies, pro/con essays, and primary source documents all designed to show the many opinions associated with current political and social issues. It also includes podcasts, images, charts, graphs, and tables.

The basic search options include a keyword search of viewpoints, images, reference, news, magazines, academic journals, primary sources, statistics, audio, video, websites, or all of these. The advance search allows the user to select one of the typical database fields such as keyword, title, subject, author, ISSN, or publisher, as well as several others. The search can then be limited to full text, peer reviewed, publication date, document type, content type, content level, and lexile range. In addition to using the search fields, the user can also view a list of topics, with each issue including links to all the resources available for the topic, as well as a list of expert picks, a statistical map, and a brief explanation of the issue. The statistical map is also available as a separate option, where a topic can be chosen and narrowed according to the statistic. Finally, the database includes a list of curriculum standards for the United States and seven other countries.

Critical Evaluation:

Opposing Viewpoints in Context is an excellent resource for students and teachers. It includes the most up-to-date information about an extensive list of social and political issues, as well as historical information on each of the issues. The inclusion of so many viewpoints on a particular topic all in one place makes this database the place for users to learn almost everything need to know about the topic. Rather than having to search numerous databases with several keywords, the user can simply select a topic to find hundreds or often thousands of resources that can then be narrowed to fit the user's specific needs. This ease of use makes it the perfect resource for high school students who are just beginning to learn how to conduct research.

Annotation:

This database provides articles with opposing viewpoints on a wide range of topics from politics to science to culture.

Company Information:

Gale was first established in 1954 Frederick Gale Ruffner. In 1985 it was aquired by the Thomson Corporation and became part of their Learning Division. When the Thomson Corporation decided to sell its Learning Division in 2007, a private consortium purchased it and the name was changed to Cengage Learning. Gale is the primary reference section of Cengage Learning

Gale has more than 600 databases that are available online, as eBooks, in print, and in microform. Gale’s imprints include Macmillan Reference USA, the TAFT group, Greenhaven Press, and Thorndike Press, among others. In addition to providing servies to libraries and schools, Gale allows its products to be licensed to other online information services such as Dow Jones, and Looksmart.

Genre:

N/A

Curriculum Ties:

Can be used to find sources for classes on:

History
Current Events
Debate
Science
Health
Psychology

Booktalking Ideas:

N/A

Reading Level/Interest Age:

All ages

Challenge Issues:

None

Challenge Defense Ideas:

If there were challenges:

• Require the challenger to fill out a written challenge form with clear reasons stated and examples given.
• If not already familiar with the content, become familiar.
• Refer the challenger to the library's collection policy.
• Refer the challenger to reputable reviews of the books, as well as reviews by those in the book's target audience.

Reasons for Selection:

This is an great resource for projects that require the user to form an opinion on a topic or to present opposing opinions on the topic.

The Looking Glass Wars (The Looking Glass Wars Trilogy #1) by Frank Beddor

Beddor, Frank. The Looking Glass Wars. Speak, 2007. 400 pages. ISBN-10: 0142409413. ISBN-13: 978-0142409411.

Plot:

Alyss Heart is the beloved princess of Wonderland. Her mother, Queen Genevieve, is a benevolent ruler, but Genevieve’s sister, Redd, is evil and has sworn revenge on Genevieve for taking what she saw as her rightful place as ruler of Wonderland. On Alyss’s seventh birthday, Redd atacks Wonderland. She kills Alyss’s parents and the father of her best friend, Dodge, but Alyss escapes with Genevieve’s bodyguard, Hatter Madigan. The two of them jump through the Pool of Tears, a portal to earth. They are separated in the process and Alyss ends up as a street child in London, while Hatter spends the next 13 years getting into trouble as he searches the world for her. Soon, Alyss is taken in by the Liddell family, who change her name to Alice and raise her as their daughter. At first Alyss insists on telling everyone who she really is, even going so far as to tell her entire life story to the Charles Dodgeson who promises to write a book about her. He creates the story of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, but Alyss is outraged that he fictionalized her life story in such a way. Eventually, though, even Alyss begins to forget who she is as she grows up and even agrees to marry Prince Leopold. Hatter discovers her shortly before her wedding.

Meanwhile, in Wonderland, things are getting worse. The few rebels who are still loyal to Genevieve are planning to take back the queendom, but they can’t do it without Alyss. Dodge has grown up to be a good warrior, but he’s a bitter man set on revenge. When a wounded Hatter arrives back in Wonderland, Dodge decides to go after Alyss himself, kidnapping her from her wedding. Now that she is back in Wonderland, the rebels expect her to lead them, but Alyss isn’t sure that she can.

Critical Evaluation:

This is such a great premise for a book. Taking the story of Alice in Wonderland - one that already has controversy concerning the truth surrounding it - and turning it into a “true” science fiction novel is a clever move. Beddor includes all the well-known characters but gives them a twist. His use of their names and certain qualities are enough to make them recognizable to anyone familiar with the original story, but they’re still quite different from the original. The story celebrates the power of imagination and Beddor was certainly using his when he created his Wonderland.

This book contains features to satisfy all manner of readers. There are elements of fantasy, science fiction, romance, history, and plenty of action. Beddor created a fascinating world complete with its own politics, fashion, weapons, inventions, and various types of inhabitants. Though he’s created an impressive world, he didn’t fall back on his fantastical environment to support the story; the plot is also complicated and exciting. The supporting characters are entertaining and really round out the story. However, it’s the main characters, particularly Alyss, Hatter, and Dodge, who are impressively written. Beddor gives them each their own secrets, motivations, love and pain in a very convincing way. He writes both male and female characters well. Beddor is a imaginative writer who has created a captivating novel that leaves the reader hungry for more.

Reader's Annotation:

This is the true story of Alyss Heart, the rightful heir to the Wonderland throne.

Author Information:

Frank Beddor was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He graduated from the Catholic private school, Benilde-St. Margaret's School, in 1977. He was a competitive skier and was the World Freestyle Skiing Champion in 1981 and 1982. After he left competitive skiing, he turned to film work. He had a few small acting parts in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He then worked as a producer of films and video games, including the successful film There’s Something About Mary.

While in London for the U.K premiere of There’s Something About Mary, he visited The British Museum and was inspired to write his Looking Glass Wars series. The book was rejected by every major publisher in America before being published in the U.K. After becoming popular there, Penguin agreed to publish it in America. Beddor has also written graphic novels, created a card game, a video game, an apparel line, a musical CD, and a possible musical theater production all based on his Looking Glass Wars novels.

Genre:

Science Fiction

Curriculum Ties:

English: Comparison to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Booktalking Ideas:

• Introduce this as the "real" story of Alice in Wonderland.
• Discuss what it would be like to be thrust into a completely strange world.
• Talk about the power of imagination.

Reading Level/Interest Age:

14 and older

Challenge Issues:

Violence

Challenge Defense Ideas:

• Require the challenger to fill out a written challenge form with clear reasons stated and examples given.
• If not already familiar with the content, become familiar.
• Refer the challenger to the library's collection policy.
• Refer the challenger to reputable reviews of the books, as well as reviews by those in the book's target audience.

Reasons for Selection:

Everything related to Alice in Wonderland has experienced a resurgence in popularity recently. This is a great twist on the traditional story.