THE BRAVE MONKEY PIRATE
(reviewed on February 15, 2011)
Modi, who looks like a hairless puppy, wide-eyed, tiny and pink, is actually a monkey (if an appealingly goofy-looking one). And not just any monkey, but a pirate monkey whose bravery is tested when a doctor reveals he needs a shot, “to protect him from scurvy or something.” Modi goes on an epic pirate quest to find a magical object to help him through the ordeal: a magic rock he’ll grip while the vaccination needle goes into his arm. Filled with simple colored-in line drawings surrounded by lots of white space, the tale revels in pirate-y details (a treasure-chest-shaped shopping cart; dragons “so terrible that they will not be described in this book”—though they are depicted). The app’s Spartan interface includes pause/play buttons that only appear when the screen is pressed (along with an Info/Menu button). There’s also the choice of a child or adult narrator; listeners may find they prefer one cadence over the other or no narration at all, which is a third option. Writer/illustrator Roberts balances epic imagination and an everyday act of bravery to superb swashbuckling effect. (iPad storybook app. 2-8)
