The Magic Curtain: The Mexican-American Border in Fiction, Film, and Song by Thomas Torrans, ISBN 0875652573
Borderlands -- especially the United States-Mexico borderland -- have long served as backgrounds for depicting social instability, according to Thomas Torrans. And borders -- or magic curtains -- have readily been fashioned into exotic backdrops for films, novels, ballads, and tales in which characters shift easily from one culture to another. The protagonists are equally at home in both societies, or, at worst, at home in neither.
True border novels form a literature that deserves a category all its own. There is an uneven quality -- a coarseness sometimes mixed with polish, running the gamut of emotion from the tragic to the comic.
One recent fictional attempt to exploit the border's historical aspects is Fandango by Ron McCoy (1984), while one of the older efforts is that of the early twentieth-century novelist Will Levington Comfort in Somewhere South in Sonora (1925). Border fiction is often just part of a larger whole and a number of books, whether fiction or nonfiction, seldom if ever cross the magical line between the two cultures. They remain, for the most part, fully centered in either Mexico or the United States, such as J. Frank Dobie's very Texan A Vaquero of the Brush Country or his personalized account of his equestrian travels in northern Mexico, first published as Tongues of the Monte and later as The Mexico I Like.
Film epitomizes the escape across the magic curtain. The Getaway (based on the novel by Jim Thompson) is exemplary. Carol and Doc (Ali McGraw and Steve McQueen) not only manage the great escape with a satchel full of stolen money, they do it by fleeing to the border after a long brush with death. Filmmakers have carved movies out of other novels. B.Traven's The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and Glendon Swarthout's They Came to Cordura are compelling looks at the vast and hard country that the border stitches together.
Fortunately, corridos -- the voice of the people -- are not dead.
Cosmo's Moon by Devin Scillian, ISBN 1585361232
Illustrated by Mark Braught
Cosmo loves the moon, and the moon loves Cosmo. They both come to realize though that lots of things depend on the moon - the ocean tides, morning glories, and the dogs, who can't stop howling. A magical book about the power of friendship and the nature of responsibility, Cosmo's moon will charm everyone who's ever been bewitched by the beauty of the moon.
"Cosmo loved the moon. He had moon pajamas and a moon nightlight and stars and moons all over his bedroom. Every night, Cosmo's mother and father gave him a hug and a kiss and tucked him into his bed. But just as soon as they closed his bedroom door, he threw aside the covers, ran to the open window, and watched as the golden moon came into the night sky just above the sycamore tree. And as a gentle night breeze blew across the curtains, Cosmo would talk and the moon would listen.
Cosmo's Moon by Devin Scillian, ISBN 1585361232
Curtains and draperies > Cosmo's Moon by Devin Scillian, ISBN 1585361232
West Coast Murders: True Stories of Crime and Intrigue in British Columbia by Susan McNicoll, ISBN 1551539632
Lock your doors and draw your curtains...Six of British Columbia's most notorious murders are recounted in these gripping stories of betrayal and intrigue. From the tragic murder of Molly Justice to the unsolved mystery of Janet Smith's untimely death, these stories will keep you on the edge of your seat.
West Coast Murders: True Stories of Crime and Intrigue in British Columbia by Susan McNicoll, ISBN 1551539632
Curtains and draperies > West Coast Murders: True Stories of Crime and Intrigue in British Columbia by Susan McNicoll, ISBN 1551539632
My Ballet Bag with Sticker and Other by Elissa Held, ISBN 0689849664
Shaped like a ballet bag with its own handle, this interactive book includes more than 25 elements to touch and feel: mini ballet and tap shoes, a sparkly costume, a tutu, and glittery "makeup." Also features paper pull-outs of a brush, lipstick, water bottle, and mylar hand mirror. Pull-tabs open the curtains on the stage, and a scented bouquet of roses pops up for the grand finale. Full-color illustrations. Consumable.
My Ballet Bag with Sticker and Other by Elissa Held, ISBN 0689849664
Curtains and draperies > My Ballet Bag with Sticker and Other by Elissa Held, ISBN 0689849664
The School Play Surprise
A mysterious message sends Scooby and Shaggy to the school auditorium, but it looks like something spooky is going on. First Fred vanishes into thin air, and then they see witches lurking back stage. Can Scooby and the gang solve this mystery before it's curtains for them? Full color.
The School Play Surprise
Curtains and draperies > The School Play Surprise