Shelby Petersen Editor in Chief/News Editor Recently Over the Edge was sent a few children’s picture books. Not wanting them to go to waste, we decided to give them a read and review them for all you students who may want to hearken back to a simpler time when the pictures were more importanf than anything else and all the reading you had to do was done by someone else. é The book is called: My Vancouver Sketch Book and was written by Robert Perry who ‘is an English teacher from Victo- ria and illustrated by Greta Guzek who is originally from South Africa but now resides on the Sunshine Coast. The story follows‘an aspiring young artist:;named. Marina as she travels around Vancouver with her-brush and pallet in hand. She wants to discover all that Vancouver has to offer and transcribe it on to the page, filling her.sketchbook with the colourful spirit Vancouver is so famously.known for. This is the second collaboration for Perry and Guzek who wrote the bestselling Ferry Boat Ride together. The book is filled with colourful pictures that depict the dif- - ferent land marks in an around the Vancouver area. Guzek’s style is playful and colourful, made possible by her water colour brush strokes and childish wonderment. While the written word is limited in this book with less than fifty words per page, each one has been cleverly crafted to de- My. _ Vancouver oes ketchbook + Rebert Peery Grote Gusek scribe Vancouver’s most cherished destinations. Perry’s cute poetry style is sure to win the hearts of children and adults alike, invoking a sing-song quality to each page that makes -this short read all the more sweet. This book is a must for Canadian children because we sel- dom see great Canadian children’s books which feature Cana- dian places. Whether you are a resident or a tourist, this book is destined to evoke only pleasant memories. If you think that this book sounds like something you or your child would like to add to your personal library, you can enter to win a copy. Successful contestants should be able to guess a place highlighted in the based on one of the Perry’s poems. So here we go: St. Roach Braved The Arctic ice Of the Northwest Passage — Not once — but twice! We walk the deck, Explore the hold — Imagine the winds! Imagine the cold! : Can you guess the place? You know it is in Vancouver, so it shouldn't be that hard. Contestants can send their guesses to over-the-edge@unbc.ca with the subject line VANCOUVER. Good luck everyone! Another reason to adore Zooey Deschanel Darcy Smith Contributor 8/10 stars As if anyone really needed a-reason to not adore Zooey - Deschanel. If you are anything like me, you have been har- bouring an all-consuming girl-crush on the actress for years now. She & Him are an adorable indie folk duo from the States who released their first album, Volume One in 2008. Following the outstanding debut comes Volume Two. She & Him consists of M. Ward (Monsters of Folk) and Zooey De- schanel; the two met on the set one of Deschanel's films. Of course, probably just like the rest of us, Ward had already fallen in love with the doe-eyed actress’ voice when she was caught singing in the bathroom in the film Elf. _ Volume Two opens with a very Ronettes-esque number, “Thieves,” that employs the always appreciated 60's pop influ- ence that was so apparent on their first album. In fact, the en- . tire album drips with the infectious need to hum along with sugary-sweet doo-wap as we drive ourselves to school. De- spite the fact that the album is a collaboration with such a noted guitarist, many of the albums most stand-out tracks are those that are more piano driven. The jubilant piano on “In the Sun,” “Don't Look Back,” “Home” and “I'm Gonna Make it Better” makes it impossible to not take notice of the pop-craft that went into the production of the songs. Not to mention that “Home” certainly wouldn't sound out of place on a B.A. Johnston album, provided you replaced Deschanel's lilting vocals with B.A.'s phlegmy clarg. All songs, save one (“Gonna Get Along Without You Now”) were composed by Deschanel, but even then, her words or not, | could still listen to her sing “Uh-huh” and “Mm-hmm’ all day long. The confident yet careful sass in her voice is invig-- orating. While the album does seem to have a focus on heartbreak, it is no cause to retreat to the Lake District to write sad Ro- mantic poetry until you die alone. It emphasizes the inde- pendence and strength of finding yourself newly alone, and all the hidden rewards that accompany. No need to dwell on lost love or plot revenge on the lover who scorned you. On “Over It Over Again,” Deschanel sweetly asks “Why do | always want to sock it to you hard?” and let's face it, we have all been guilty of entertaining similar thoughts when we are suffering from a broken heart. Maybe the next time you are feeling tempted to punch your ex in the face you will think twice and put on Vol- ume Two instead. Take some advice from the girl who seems to know best and “Don't look back, all you'll ever get is the dust from the steps before.” Though | cannot help but wonder, who would dare to break Deschanel's heart? Before the release of this pleasing second album, Ward was quoted in Paste magazine as saying “All we know about Volume Two. is that it's going to be twice as good as Volume One.” And it is. Here's to hoping we are all privileged to a Vol- ume Three. , Please Help Stop The Hunt! _www’'bearsmatter.com