developed by Martin Ruegenberg ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 9, 2013
Worthy of mission, somewhat ragged of execution.
Assembled as an introduction to physical diversity, cartoon images of 26 children in name order sport a broad range of dress, skin tones, facial features, foods, disabilities and playthings.
From “A is for Alyssa” to “Z is for Zaahid,” the smiling children—drawn one per screen in similar styles by an international cast of illustrators—sit or stand on plain white backgrounds next to captions printed in large hand-drawn script. A narrator enunciates each patterned line. There is no animation, but tapping four selected items in each picture (three for X, Y and Z) results in more printed and spoken words: “Gareth,” for instance, wears “Glasses” and holds on to a “Guide Dog” and a “Gift” near a bowl of “Grapes.” As these children are clad, mostly, in western European dress and associated with no ethnic or national markers more specific than their names, readers are left free to think about or discuss them in either local or globe-spanning contexts. Still, the app is plagued both by design issues, such as the lack of any way to go forward or back more than one letter at a time, an audio track that cannot be switched off and the relegation of associated enrichment activities to the app's website. Some readers might also question word choices like “Queen Crown” in “Q” and, in “X,” “X-Mas,” which is nonetheless pronounced as “Christmas.”
Worthy of mission, somewhat ragged of execution. (linked website for parents/caregivers; requires iOS 6 and above) (iPad alphabet app. 6-10)Pub Date: Oct. 9, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: SCA AB
Review Posted Online: Nov. 19, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2013
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by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ; color by Jose Garibaldi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 26, 2017
More trampling in the vineyards of the Literary Classics section, with results that will tickle fancies high and low.
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Recasting Dog Man and his feline ward, Li’l Petey, as costumed superheroes, Pilkey looks East of Eden in this follow-up to Tale of Two Kitties (2017).
The Steinbeck novel’s Cain/Abel motif gets some play here, as Petey, “world’s evilest cat” and cloned Li’l Petey’s original, tries assiduously to tempt his angelic counterpart over to the dark side only to be met, ultimately at least, by Li’l Petey’s “Thou mayest.” (There are also occasional direct quotes from the novel.) But inner struggles between good and evil assume distinctly subordinate roles to riotous outer ones, as Petey repurposes robots built for a movie about the exploits of Dog Man—“the thinking man’s Rin Tin Tin”—while leading a general rush to the studio’s costume department for appropriate good guy/bad guy outfits in preparation for the climactic battle. During said battle and along the way Pilkey tucks in multiple Flip-O-Rama inserts as well as general gags. He lists no fewer than nine ways to ask “who cut the cheese?” and includes both punny chapter titles (“The Bark Knight Rises”) and nods to Hamiltonand Mary Poppins. The cartoon art, neatly and brightly colored by Garibaldi, is both as easy to read as the snappy dialogue and properly endowed with outsized sound effects, figures displaying a range of skin colors, and glimpses of underwear (even on robots).
More trampling in the vineyards of the Literary Classics section, with results that will tickle fancies high and low. (drawing instructions) (Graphic fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-93518-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
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by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey color by Jose Garibaldi & Wes Dzioba
by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ; color by Jose Garibaldi & Wes Dzioba
by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ; color by Jose Garibaldi
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by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey color by Jose Garibaldi & Wes Dzioba
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by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ; color by Jose Garibaldi & Wes Dzioba
BOOK REVIEW
by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ; color by Jose Garibaldi & Wes Dzioba
by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ; color by Jose Garibaldi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 30, 2016
What a wag.
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What do you get from sewing the head of a smart dog onto the body of a tough police officer? A new superhero from the incorrigible creator of Captain Underpants.
Finding a stack of old Dog Mancomics that got them in trouble back in first grade, George and Harold decide to craft a set of new(ish) adventures with (more or less) improved art and spelling. These begin with an origin tale (“A Hero Is Unleashed”), go on to a fiendish attempt to replace the chief of police with a “Robo Chief” and then a temporarily successful scheme to make everyone stupid by erasing all the words from every book (“Book ’Em, Dog Man”), and finish off with a sort of attempted alien invasion evocatively titled “Weenie Wars: The Franks Awaken.” In each, Dog Man squares off against baddies (including superinventor/archnemesis Petey the cat) and saves the day with a clever notion. With occasional pauses for Flip-O-Rama featurettes, the tales are all framed in brightly colored sequential panels with hand-lettered dialogue (“How do you feel, old friend?” “Ruff!”) and narrative. The figures are studiously diverse, with police officers of both genders on view and George, the chief, and several other members of the supporting cast colored in various shades of brown. Pilkey closes as customary with drawing exercises, plus a promise that the canine crusader will be further unleashed in a sequel.
What a wag. (Graphic fantasy. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-58160-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
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by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey color by Jose Garibaldi & Wes Dzioba
by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ; color by Jose Garibaldi & Wes Dzioba
by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ; color by Jose Garibaldi
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by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey color by Jose Garibaldi & Wes Dzioba
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by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ; color by Jose Garibaldi & Wes Dzioba
BOOK REVIEW
by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ; color by Jose Garibaldi & Wes Dzioba
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