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Show Wednesday, December 18, 1971 P age 13 by Alan Crooks So here you are, a week before Christmas, and you are still bewildered about what to get that who has become an insatiable reader. Shes gone through the Nancy Drew stage, and the situation seems hopeless. Well, its really not; in fact. Die young adult market is bigger and better than ever. But, you ask, what are the kids reading? I will admit at the outset that its a tough question, but there is an answer, even though the experts don't really agree among themselves. One look at the section will young adult tell you a great deal. Youll be confused by such intriguing titles as I'll Get There, It Better Be Worth The Trip and My Darling, My Hamburger, but dont dismay, it all makes sense if you think about it for a moment. You wont have to, though, because I am going to attempt to explain what's happened in the young adult market. First of all, there has been a movement toward more realistic adolescent fiction. It began about ten years or so ago, when teachers were crying out that there werent any relevant books for young teen readers. Most of these teachers were in the Eastern urban centers, and since the publishers are centered there, too, the result has been a surge of publications dealing with the realistic of big city problems teenagers. But before you say that city kids don't have the same problems as rural kids, you'd better look around. No one need tell you that all 12- -, and are cope with trying to tremendous physical and psychological changes, and it doesn't matter one bit whether they are living in Westchester County or Park 13- -, City. Therefore, it shouldn't be too surprising to find that a great many new publications in the young adult market deal with coping. They are concerned with everything from coping with drugs (Go Ask Alice, Anonymous) to alienation (The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton). Some center on sex and abortion Darling, My Hamburger, Paul Zindel), others (My on poverty (Where the Lilies Bloom, Vera and Bill Cleaver), and still others on such social problems as mental retardation (Hey Dummy, Kin Platt) and senility (The Pigman, Paul Zindel). Some parents have been shocked by the appearance of such issues in adolescent books, and it has usually been due to the fact that the treatment of the issues has been so powerful, so real, and so accurate. They present, like in Go Ask Alice, real life situations in highly realistic fashion. But I can assure you that the kids are reading these books (Go Ask Alice, for instance, was one of our biggest sellers last year). Now, if a book like Go Ask Alice was written as a moral lesson, the kids wouldn't touch it with the proverbial ten-fopole. They can spot a phoney within ten pages. But when the book is honest, and speaking to and for the people its about, it is an intensely moving experience, and we come to care about the characters involved. And anyone who has read John Neufields Liza, Bright and Dark, an intense narrative about a teenagers desperate but futile attempts to get help from her parents as she slowly spins into insanity, will verify my comments. Such books don't pretend to offer ready-mad- e answers; like life they are is. And, in my opinion, at least, thats the way it should be. If authors offered pat open-ende- d, answers to questions the adult world has not been able to solve, they would be doing us all a disfavor. Dont get me wrong; there are many other kinds of adolescent literature which do not treat contemporary adolescent problems. There are the superbly hinny books of E.L. Konigsburg, the mystery-adventustories of Joan Aiken, and the fantasies of Lloyd Alexander. All of them are good. There are poetry anthologies, ranging Have you seen one too many cop films lately? Did Serpico, Super Cops, and Magnum Force start to wear thin? Is it time for a change? How about a nice parody of the cops and robbers theme? Freebie and the Bean is a comedy that cranes just in time to relieve the boredom of the invincible detective theme. Ihe film should prove to be a great relief to those people suffering from a Super Cop hangover. The unlikely team of James Caan and Alan Arkin is combined in Freebie and the Bean. The combination, however unlikely, is fortunate, since the two actors feed off each other to create the high energy level and fast pace necessary to pull off the film. Caan plays Freebie, the honest cop who likes to use the respect for law and order to his own gain. He has a bad habit of getting into car chases and gun battles in public places. Bean, his partner, is played by Arkin, who is perfect as a bland, unassuming detective who gets excited quite easily. He wears white shirts and socks, has a home in the suburbs, and a wife who comes home bran PTA meetings at 2:30 in the morning. Theyre after the biggest gambler in town, and as a sideline, a promotion. Freebie and the Bean satirizes all the myths created about detective teams. Instead of being silent and businesslike, they babble like a brook and are always messing around. Instead of being above reproach. Freebie lapses into a myopic state whenever someone shows gratitude for his public service, while Bean always seems to forget to report these incidents to his superiors. Instead of getting information through hard detective work, they use extortion. They are not even crack shots, missing at a distance of five feet or less. Cant seem to hit a thing today," Freebie mutters as his man disappears from view. The film is by no means perfect At times, the director seems unable to decide whether he wants to make a comedy or a serious statement. The chase scenes also wear tthin, not being as exciting as Bullit, or as funny as the Keystone cops. Yet the films high points will keep you chuckling through the low moments, and if you're perceptive enough to catch the throwaway lines that are sprinkled throughout the film, you will find it difficult to stop laughing. The film is not a giant or a classic, but anyone with a sense of humor will enjoy this timely parody. Freebie and the Besn will open at the Regency Theater on Christmas Day, and should prove very entertaining to the holiday crowds. Park City filmgoers will also have a chance to see Alan Arkin in Mike Nichols' Catch-2The film is Nichols most ambitious ran ject to date and Jn effect, a failure. Not that Nichols did not make agood mm, its just that Nichols was unable to make the brilliant film that should have been 2. Catch-2- 2. The novel Catch-2- 2 is perhaps one of the finest anti-w- ar ever written. The reader laughs at the absurd images which Joseph Heller has conjured up, until suddenly the images are no longer funny, but pathetic. In the end, the reader cheers a misfit and a deserter, a type of novels person who is usually ridiculed. The long and difficult novel has affected many peoples thoughts about war, and was often a means of ridiculing the United States policy in Vietnam. A policy that all too often seemed like it was stolen from the pages of Heller's book. When Nichols chose to make Catch-2he must have known how difficult the novel would be to translate to film. His casting, location, and direction show the care that was put into the production. (Alan Arkin gives an excellent performance as Yossarian) Why did the film seem hollow? Hellers Catch-2- 2 is an extremely personal collection of the fantasies, nightmares, insights, and experiences of a man who is desperately in love with life. Nichols failed to include these in his screenplay. The events of the novel have been translated onto the screen, but none of the gut level feeling is present. Yossarian was too selfish, too sensitive, too sane to fight a war. Nichols tried, but couldnt capture Yossarian's torment on the screen. Hence, Catch-2- 2 is a good film, which should have been a great film. Nichols failure is best emphasized by MASH, a film which was closer in spirit to Yossarian than Nichols extravaganza that was supposed to be Yossarian personified. Catch-2- 2 deserved better treatment than it got. Filmgoerf everywhere should feel the loss. 2, re from nineteenth them. More likely than not, all of them are partially right. I suppose, however, that the more important question is Should these books be read? And if so, by whom? The only advice I can offer is that the parent ought to watch the child's reaction to what is offered. And trust in to make the holidays complete. I offer here a small collection of edible heirlooms from family and friends. The first three recipes are of English or Dutch origin and were annual fare in my home. The Brown Bread is a Christmas treat at the Pennsylvania Claytons, and the Mondel Bread is a Hanukkah favorite of the Stein family. Lastly is Chrusciki, a traditional Polish pastry enjoyed at the Zaba gg c. sugar 1 c. bourbon Mi c. light rum 2 c. milk 1 Up. vanilla 2 c. heavy cream Nutmeg traditional, BROWN BREAD 2 c. white 2 c. whole MAD MAN, from GENTLEMAN JOHN, CITTA 2000 and BON HOMME and from DENIMS LAPD, LEE and A SMILE you should stop in and check it out. 586 Main St., Park City flour wheat flour i Up. salt c. sugar 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 c. raHns c. chopped walnuts c. milk c. molasses tbsp. baking soda tbsp. boiling water 1 ' Sift 4 cups flour and salt together in a large bowl. Add sugar, raisins, and walnuts. Mix in milk and molasses. Dissolve baking soda in boiling water. Add to flour mixture and mix. Pour into two 9x5 loaf pans that have been greased and lined with wax paper. Bake qt 350 degrees for 5000 minutes. Makes 2 loaves. MONDEL BREAD I 1 Beat eggs in large bowl until foamy. Beat in sugar gradually, continuing until soft peaks form. Beat in spirits. Stir in milk and vanilla. Chill thoroughly. Whip cream. Fold into egg mixture. Pour into punch bowl and sprinkle with nutmeg. Makes 12 servings. has arrived with SHIRTS but wreathes stars, etc., may be formed. Bake at 375 degrees fra 10 minutes or until golden. 3 slick Ci lb.) sweet butter I c. sugar .W 2.3 c. flour 2 Up. baking powder Pinch of salt 1 4 vanilU c. pecans 1 Up.j 1 butter. Sift flour baking powder, and salt Melt together in a large bowl. Add eggs, melted butter, sugar and vanilla. Mix well Mix id t pecans. Form dough into smal FONDANT 4 c. butter I lb. confectioners sugar loaves (about 2 inches id V c. whipping cream diameter) of desired length: Sitting in front of the fire, satisfied by and pleasantly tired 1 peppermint'"' place side by side on a lightly Up. vanilla from a good, full day of skiing, its time to take pen in hand and turn to the world of art. It's an easy transition if one considers extract greased baking pan or cookie ! exsheet.. us so allows since the beauty-ar- t many skiing theory, Beat butter until soft. 45 minutes at 354 Bake lift of in first ride I remember natural my beauty. periences the East, Stowe, Vermont. It had just snowed the night before, Slowly sift confectioners degrees. Separate loaves and and the trees on either side of the narrow lift line were com- sugar into butter and cream slice each loaf. Lower overt until light. Add cream and temperature to 250 degrees; pletely covered. Hie chairs rode below the tree top level ; Iwas return bread, and bake a few surrounded by white. The tree branches were almost dose flavoring(food coloring may if be also desired). added, minutes longer, until sliced I to Heaven. like to was touch. It beautiful, riding up enough Knead until are crisp. could almost hear the Heavenly Char. balls or Shape into one-inc- h But natural beauty isn't art; one's perspective on natural ? Balls can have raisin, CHRUSCIKI beauty makes art, our personal framework into which we patties. fruit candied or centers; nut, I 19 egg yolks place a scene of natural beauty. be rolled in con1 whole egg So, what does this have to do with my subject matter this may week the history of art? Well, Ill tell you. Not a heck of a lot, fectioners sugar or dipped in 4 c. confectioners sugar ! chocolate. Patties may be the to down believe have that I ages, through 4 c. heavy cream people except 1 tap. vanilla or 2 topped with whole nut meats regardless of the historical period, responded positively to or stuffed into dates or figs. natural beauty, certainly as far back as Aristotle and his j ; 3 - 4 c. flour, sifted friends. SPRITZ I top. salt ; 2 Mi c. flour Oil The history of art the study of the history of art what does Confectioner's sugar it teach us? We can be analytical and break down periods of 4 Up. salt 1 art into time frame, technique, country, style, or subject c. c.butter Beat yolks, egg, and sugar sugar matter. This just gives us a part of the whole picture. What 1 together. Add cream and; attracts me most to art history is the fact that its an absolutely 1 egg (plus water) top. vanilla flavoring gradually. Sift in 3 delightful way, a visually pleasant way, of learning history. ! Periods cups flour and salt. Add more; of art reflect the times, and what could be Sift flour and salt together. flour if needed. Mix well.: fun more than learning pictures. through add Cover dough with a bowl and! Added gains are an education in the world of values and in- Cream butter. Gradually sugar and continue to cream let rest for one hour. creased appreciation of art. until fluffy. Break egg into Roll out dough, very thin as-fOne of the most stimulating professors Ive had the good measuring cup. Add enough a pie crust. Cut into strips. : Make a slit in the center of i fortune to study, under, Lester D. Longman, who recently water to measure Mi cup. retired from UCLA, wrote in his book, History and Beat egg and vanilla into each strip and cut ends on a Appreciation of Art, It is the function of interpretive history sugar. Stir in the flour diagonal. Pull one end': to explain the work id art in terms of the culture which mixture. Chill. through slit to make bow. ; Pack dough into cookie-pres- s in deep hot oil until Fry produced it, to see it in perspectives of which the artist himself light or pastry bag and press brown. Drain on brown may not be conscious, and which are not available to one paper : onto ungreased whose appreciation is exclusively either technical or esthetic. baking and sprinkle with con-fec- ti S He fiirther suggests that Art becomes universal by sheets. An shape is oners sugar. remaining close to experiences of which all men are capable. These experiences are then expressed in terms unique to the time and culture in which the work of art was produced. By study and examination, we can learn how our ancestors, back to ancient man, lived, worked, played, worshipped, and responded to similar situations which still confront us today. well-blende- d. tbsp-Bran- childs the judgment. Children, whether theyre teenagers or usually have pretty good notions of what they like, and what they do not, and more importantly, they can decide for themselves what they want to read. dy ! the all speculating above may not help you decide on what to buy, I would recommend any But necessary 4 excellent biographies and American the that educational system is a desert for most young people, and that the new literature may act as an oasis for childhood celebrations, seem EGGNOG And now that century out-selli- confections, pastries, and such, which were a part of household. poems to poems relating to rock music, some of which have been written by the young people themselves. And there are quite a few gothic romances. But if we stick to the kinds of books the kids are buying, I would have to say that the new realistic stories are all the others. Why? Perhaps, as a sociologist suggests, young people have a basically romantic nature and want to know what is going to happen to them, whether its good or whether its bad. A librarian friend of mine postulates that young people are todays more sophisticated than they were ten years ago. And several teachers have opined Often recipes become a tradition with a family. Those since or of the following: -- Anonymous, Go Ask Alice. Vera and Bill Cleaver, Grover. . Where the Lilies Bloom. John Donovan, Ill Get There, It Better Be Worth The Trip. S.E. Hinton, That Was Then, This Is Now. . The Outsiders. E.L. Konigsburg, From the Mixed-U- p Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. John Neufield, Lisa, Bright and Dark. Kin Platt, Dorp Dead. . Hey, Dummy. Theodore Taylor, The Cay. Barbara Wersba, Run Softly, Go Fast. Paul Zindel, My Darling, My Hamburger. . The Pigman. Com In and gal acquainted with Ron & Dab Horton, proprietors of the newly established Sheep Shack at 451 Main St., Park City. The Sheep Shack offers the public the finest quality sheepskin apparel made anywhere. Unique fashions that will satisfy the most discrete person. The Sheep Shack presents the largest selection of styles of apparel for men and woman In sheepskin coats. 649-837- 1 One of the best texts I've ever read on the subject is H.W. Jansons History of Art, which also happens to be on the college text best seller list. Rightfully so, in my opinion. The author is a renowned professor of fine arts at New York University. His analysis, descriptions, theories, and writing style are lucid and immensely readable. His general survey of the visual arts concentrates mostly on Western Art with less emphasis on the Ancient World, the Far Blast, and no mention of African Art Nevertheless, what he presents is of excellent quality and scholarship, and whets ones appetite for further knowledge and study. The book is profusely illustrated. It's a great start into a fascinating and rewarding subject. 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