Sunday news and reviews

Before you cuddle up with that book of yours, check out these book reviews...

Books

Chinese way of mothering

A look at the intense and sometimes brutal parenting of a Chinese mother, whose children both rebel and blossom.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

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- Laurie Hertzel, Star Tribune

The decline of a legend

Once known as Black Mecca, Harlem has fallen on hard times and faces the problems of many other urban neighborhoods.

- Joseph P. Williams Jr., Special to the Star Tribune

Leavitt's 'Pictures of You' puts focus on damaged lives

When two cars collide on a foggy road, lives are changed forever.

- Andrea Hoag, Star Tribune

The not-so-positive power of the princess

A feminist critique in the guise of a chat with a friend, Orenstein's book inspires parents to rethink girlie-girl culture.

- Christy DeSmith, Star Tribune

Tales explore great divide of understanding

McElroy's stories are dense and deliberative and refuse to pander.

- Kevin Canield, Star Tribune

Beauty school to a coffee shop

Sunny Tedder trades in the bordeom of Nowheresville, America, to run a coffee shop in Afghanistan.

- Andrea Hoag, Star Tribune

Music

Ben there, done that

Piano man Ben Folds tinkers with his career on NBC's "The Sing-Off" and a new album with author Nick Hornby.

- CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER, Star Tribune

The Great White Way hits the replay button

From "Fela!" to "American Idiot," more Broadway musicals are marching to the beat of time-tested popular music.

- JON BREAM, Star Tribune

Stage

'Babe: The Sheep-Pig' gets loving treatment from Children's Theatre Company

Clad in a pink checked shirt with salmon-colored high-water pants held up by matching suspenders (and generous padding), Dean Holt can be described only as adorable as the eponymous porcine hero in the Children's Theatre Company's production of "Babe: The Sheep-Pig."

- Dominic P. Papatola, Pioneer Press

Actor taps his quiet side

Reed Sigmund, whose signature style is bold and manic, plays a stoic farmer in the Children's Theatre production of "Babe."

- Rohan Preston, Star Tribune