NIKO

Name: NIKO
Author: Imaginism Studios

developed by Imaginism Studios ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 20, 2013

The writing doesn’t quite measure up to the slick production and design, but it’s a grand adventure for a diminutive hero...

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A fierce young warrior with a magic sword takes on a volcano-dwelling bad guy in this hybrid film/digital comic book.

Melodrama rules: “I am on a quest to destroy the darkness forever!!! Me and my mighty sword that is!!!” Backed by spookily atmospheric music that inexplicably shifts to a jaunty melody at the climax, the tale pits Niko—a small, dark-skinned figure in the cartoon art with a savage scowl and an aggressive mohawk—against a “monstrosaurus” and various other multieyed, evocatively named monsters on the way to a final face-off against a glowing, tentacled horror. Depending on the setting, panels of diverse size and shape appear one at a time either automatically or with cued taps on each black screen (page turns remain manual even in “autoplay”). Once launched, they generally proceed to display several seconds’ worth of magical transformations, violent explosions or other expertly designed animations. Though there are occasional inexact matches between the audio and visible narratives, and switching to silent mode also shuts off all the sound effects, a cast of voice actors chews the scenery with appropriate gusto.

The writing doesn’t quite measure up to the slick production and design, but it’s a grand adventure for a diminutive hero nonetheless. (iPad storybook app. 9-11)

Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2013

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Imaginism Studios Inc.

Review Posted Online: Nov. 16, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2013

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HOW TÍA LOLA CAME TO (VISIT) STAY

From the Tía Lola Stories series , Vol. 1

by Julia Alvarez ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2001

Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay.

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Renowned Latin American writer Alvarez has created another story about cultural identity, but this time the primary character is 11-year-old Miguel Guzmán.

When Tía Lola arrives to help the family, Miguel and his hermana, Juanita, have just moved from New York City to Vermont with their recently divorced mother. The last thing Miguel wants, as he's trying to fit into a predominantly white community, is a flamboyant aunt who doesn't speak a word of English. Tía Lola, however, knows a language that defies words; she quickly charms and befriends all the neighbors. She can also cook exotic food, dance (anywhere, anytime), plan fun parties, and tell enchanting stories. Eventually, Tía Lola and the children swap English and Spanish ejercicios, but the true lesson is "mutual understanding." Peppered with Spanish words and phrases, Alvarez makes the reader as much a part of the "language" lessons as the characters. This story seamlessly weaves two culturaswhile letting each remain intact, just as Miguel is learning to do with his own life. Like all good stories, this one incorporates a lesson just subtle enough that readers will forget they're being taught, but in the end will understand themselves, and others, a little better, regardless of la lengua nativa—the mother tongue.

Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay. (Fiction. 9-11)

Pub Date: March 1, 2001

ISBN: 0-375-80215-0

Page Count: 160

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
ALREADY A BUTTERFLY
by Julia Alvarez ; illustrated by Raúl Colón

- BOOK REVIEW
WHERE DO THEY GO?
by Julia Alvarez ; illustrated by Sabra Field

- BOOK REVIEW
HOW TÍA LOLA ENDED UP STARTING OVER
by Julia Alvarez

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RED-EYED TREE FROG

by Joy Cowley ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1999

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Bishop’s spectacular photographs of the tiny red-eyed tree frog defeat an incidental text from Cowley (Singing Down the Rain, 1997, etc.). The frog, only two inches long, is enormous in this title; it appears along with other nocturnal residents of the rain forests of Central America, including the iguana, ant, katydid, caterpillar, and moth. In a final section, Cowley explains how small the frog is and aspects of its life cycle. The main text, however, is an afterthought to dramatic events in the photos, e.g., “But the red-eyed tree frog has been asleep all day. It wakes up hungry. What will it eat? Here is an iguana. Frogs do not eat iguanas.” Accompanying an astonishing photograph of the tree frog leaping away from a boa snake are three lines (“The snake flicks its tongue. It tastes frog in the air. Look out, frog!”) that neither advance nor complement the action. The layout employs pale and deep green pages and typeface, and large jewel-like photographs in which green and red dominate. The combination of such visually sophisticated pages and simplistic captions make this a top-heavy, unsatisfying title. (Picture book. 7-9)