What at first may seem like an over-the-top adaptation of a simple board book manages to retain the small-scale charms of...
Packed with silly, playful animation and perfectly fitting music and narration, this adaptation of Boynton's board book gets the tone and whimsy just right.
In this story of animals gathering for a cow-directed barnyard dance, each action is illustrated with rotating animations, bouncing critters, skittering rodents and other delights. The very easy-to-navigate pages give subtle, nearly transparent prompts to readers showing how to make the animations work. Swinging pigs may require drawing a small circle with a finger, while prancing horses may only require a button tap. The text from the original book still packs a galloping rhythm, and the banjo and violin music makes it bounce even higher. "Stand with the donkey / Slide with the sheep. / Scramble with the little chicks— / CHEEP CHEEP CHEEP!" In addition to the motions of the animals, the violin the cow holds can be played by moving a finger across the strings. Perhaps best of all is narrator John Stey's gruff but musical voice work; his soothing cadences may remind adults of Jeff Bridges.
What at first may seem like an over-the-top adaptation of a simple board book manages to retain the small-scale charms of the original while offering many new ways to enjoy one rollicking hootenanny. (iPad board-book app. 1-5)Pub Date: Oct. 26, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Loud Crow Interactive
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A joyful celebration.
Families in a variety of configurations play, dance, and celebrate together.
The rhymed verse, based on a song from the Noodle Loaf children’s podcast, declares that “Families belong / Together like a puzzle / Different-sized people / One big snuggle.” The accompanying image shows an interracial couple of caregivers (one with brown skin and one pale) cuddling with a pajama-clad toddler with light brown skin and surrounded by two cats and a dog. Subsequent pages show a wide array of families with members of many different racial presentations engaging in bike and bus rides, indoor dance parties, and more. In some, readers see only one caregiver: a father or a grandparent, perhaps. One same-sex couple with two children in tow are expecting another child. Smart’s illustrations are playful and expressive, curating the most joyful moments of family life. The verse, punctuated by the word together, frequently set in oversized font, is gently inclusive at its best but may trip up readers with its irregular rhythms. The song that inspired the book can be found on the Noodle Loaf website.
A joyful celebration. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22276-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
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