COYOTE'S TALE

Name: COYOTE'S TALE
Author: Ruby Lee

by Ruby Lee illustrated by Robin Joseph developed by Skyreader Media ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 23, 2011

Locked in portrait mode and framed in two or three sequential panels per screen, the illustrations feature a sinuous,...

bookshelf

A select set of quiet yips, howls and giggles, plus the occasional blink or twitch of a nose, add fetching notes to an abbreviated trickster tale with Latin American antecedents.

Locked in portrait mode and framed in two or three sequential panels per screen, the illustrations feature a sinuous, sinister-looking coyote and a canny young rabbit with outsized ears. The coyote diverted from his nighttime dinner plans when his intended prey, the aforementioned rabbit, points out a tempting round of moon-shaped "cheese" in the nearby pond. Releasing Rabbit on the promise to return with bread for the upcoming meal (as if), in dives Coyote—only to realize too late that he's been suckered by his own greed. A slide-up menu not only reveals a strip of thumbnail page images but allows the touch-activated sound effects, auto advance and a spirited, three-voiced narration to be independently switched on or off at any point. Though the pages are a little slow to load, this version of the 2009 print edition makes a smooth leap into the digital domain, and both newly independent readers and those who haven't yet struck out on their own will enjoy seeing Rabbit's cleverness in action.

Pub Date: May 23, 2011

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: SkyReader Media

Review Posted Online: June 12, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2011

bookshelf

TINY LITTLE ROCKET

by Richard Collingridge ; illustrated by Richard Collingridge ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 31, 2018

A fair choice, but it may need some support to really blast off.

bookshelf

This rocket hopes to take its readers on a birthday blast—but there may or may not be enough fuel.

Once a year, a one-seat rocket shoots out from Earth. Why? To reveal a special congratulatory banner for a once-a-year event. The second-person narration puts readers in the pilot’s seat and, through a (mostly) ballad-stanza rhyme scheme (abcb), sends them on a journey toward the sun, past meteors, and into the Kuiper belt. The final pages include additional information on how birthdays are measured against the Earth’s rotations around the sun. Collingridge aims for the stars with this title, and he mostly succeeds. The rhyme scheme flows smoothly, which will make listeners happy, but the illustrations (possibly a combination of paint with digital enhancements) may leave the viewers feeling a little cold. The pilot is seen only with a 1960s-style fishbowl helmet that completely obscures the face, gender, and race by reflecting the interior of the rocket ship. This may allow readers/listeners to picture themselves in the role, but it also may divest them of any emotional connection to the story. The last pages—the backside of a triple-gatefold spread—label the planets and include Pluto. While Pluto is correctly labeled as a dwarf planet, it’s an unusual choice to include it but not the other dwarfs: Ceres, Eris, etc. The illustration also neglects to include the asteroid belt or any of the solar system’s moons.

A fair choice, but it may need some support to really blast off. (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: July 31, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-338-18949-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: David Fickling/Phoenix/Scholastic

Review Posted Online: April 15, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LIONHEART
by Richard Collingridge ; illustrated by Richard Collingridge

bookshelf

WAITING IS NOT EASY!

From the Elephant & Piggie series

by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 4, 2014

A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends

bookshelf

Gerald the elephant learns a truth familiar to every preschooler—heck, every human: “Waiting is not easy!”

When Piggie cartwheels up to Gerald announcing that she has a surprise for him, Gerald is less than pleased to learn that the “surprise is a surprise.” Gerald pumps Piggie for information (it’s big, it’s pretty, and they can share it), but Piggie holds fast on this basic principle: Gerald will have to wait. Gerald lets out an almighty “GROAN!” Variations on this basic exchange occur throughout the day; Gerald pleads, Piggie insists they must wait; Gerald groans. As the day turns to twilight (signaled by the backgrounds that darken from mauve to gray to charcoal), Gerald gets grumpy. “WE HAVE WASTED THE WHOLE DAY!…And for WHAT!?” Piggie then gestures up to the Milky Way, which an awed Gerald acknowledges “was worth the wait.” Willems relies even more than usual on the slightest of changes in posture, layout and typography, as two waiting figures can’t help but be pretty static. At one point, Piggie assumes the lotus position, infuriating Gerald. Most amusingly, Gerald’s elephantine groans assume weighty physicality in spread-filling speech bubbles that knock Piggie to the ground. And the spectacular, photo-collaged images of the Milky Way that dwarf the two friends makes it clear that it was indeed worth the wait.

A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends . (Early reader. 6-8)