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I saw this at You, Me, and A Cup of Tea. I'm choosing ten favorite songs from musicals. Sometimes my favorite moments from musicals are songs, but, not always.

1) The Impossible Dream. Man of La Mancha. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this song.

2) I Could Have Danced All Night. My Fair Lady. Mom and I agree that this is the best song from a musical EVER. If one of us starts singing it, chances are we'll both be singing it until another song pops into our head!

3) Shall We Dance. King and I. Typically, the KING AND I makes me cry. When I saw the King and I live, I even started crying BEFORE the show started when they were playing the overture. That's how closely the music and memory are connected--at least with me! But this one song from King and I does not make me cry. It makes me GIDDY. I could easily watch this one scene twenty times in a row without even trying.

4) Some Enchanted Evening. South Pacific. This is one of the best love songs from a musical.

5) On My Own by Les Miserables. The music from this musical is hit or miss with me. This is my FAVORITE from the musical. I love it with the vocals or without.

6) The Lonely Goatherd vs. Edelweiss vs. Do Re Mi. Honestly, how could I ever choose one favorite song from the Sound of Music. My favorite scenes, however, are when Maria and the Captain are dancing the Laendler and when she's explaining why she came back and he's confessing he loves her!

7) The Black Hills of Dakata. Calamity Jane. Probably one of my first favorite songs from a musical. Mom and I also love to sing this one! She may have grown intolerant of the whole movie after me watching it 90 days in a row, but, there are two or three scenes she continued to love.

8) Wells Fargo Wagon vs. Marian the Librarian vs. Shipoopi. Music Man. I love practically every song in this musical perhaps with the exception of Sadder but Wiser Girl for Me. This is without a doubt my favorite, favorite musical over all. Shipoopi is a song that I love, love, love the tune but don't really regard the words at all. I make up new words to this tune all the time. It's one of my stand-by tunes.

9) June Bride and Spring, Spring, Spring from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I love this musical! I really love the Barn Dance and Barn Raising number too.

10) I love, love, love the Elephant Love Medley and Come What May numbers from Moulin Rouge. Give me a singing Ewan McGregor any day!!!


© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

So Kailana (The Written Word) and I really LOVED participating in Jenni Elyse's 30 Days of Books. We thought it would be fun to do a movie-theme list of questions!

Today's question: What are three movies that you consider must-see?

I have no one but myself to blame for this question. I'm going to go with three choices.

To Kill A Mockingbird

Much Ado About Nothing

Lilies of the Field

I actually thought of about ten more movies that I'd rate 'must-see.' But that would be pushing it!!!

I'd love to know how you'd answer this question!!!

© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Because of Thursday. Patricia Polacco. 2016. Simon & Schuster. 40 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Thursdays had always been lucky for Annie Fetlock. She was born on a Thursday. She won her first cooking contest at the age of eight on a Thursday. She met the love of her life, Mario, on a Thursday. They were married on a bright Thursday afternoon, and their two children were each born on a Thursday. One in June and the other in July. It was actually on a Thursday that Annie and Mario opened their diner together. And it was on a Thursday that Annie made her signature creation. A splendid pasta salad.

Premise/plot: I'm tempted to say there are two kinds of people in the world: those who love Patricia Polacco, and those who don't. If you've read Polacco, chances are, you'll know exactly what I mean. Her picture books tend to be for older readers, have a LOT of text, and tell wonderful, heartfelt, emotionally compelling STORIES. Not every Polacco is a tear-jerker. But. More often than not, she gives readers stories and characters worth thinking about. She doesn't go for the quick laugh or the word pun.

Annie Fetlock is the heroine of Because of Thursday. The first two or three pages fly readers through the first sixty or so years of her life. And then, the story begins...

My thoughts: If you love cats, I think you HAVE to read this one. While the title could be "Because of Thursday" for a couple of reasons, I'm going to go with the CAT. I really love how Thursday (the cat) really, truly brought joy into her life again and changed all her luck, if you will.

Who else should read this one? If you love COOKING or EATING or watching the Food Network.

Note to everyone: DON'T FORGET THIS ONE FOR THE 2017 CYBILS.

Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Total: 10 out of 10


© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

This may have happened... Her name is up for debate at the moment.

So Kailana (The Written Word) and I really LOVED participating in Jenni Elyse's 30 Days of Books.

Today's question: What is your favorite movie--outside your comfort zone--that you ended up loving?

I'm going to go with the Dark Knight Trilogy directed by Christopher Nolan! If you'd asked me if I liked action movies or super-hero movies or comic book movies or whatever...before watching...I'd have laughed. I had a zero-tolerance for all things action, really, perhaps with a Will Smith exception clause! But. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this trilogy! The third movie is my favorite and best. And the ending is one of my FAVORITES. 

I'd love to hear your answer to this question!

© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews