Still, it's very hard to resist a dragon who finally eats his vegetables; parents who are trying to wean a child off an...
A candy-devouring dragon is at the heart of this fairy-tale–themed bedtime story.
Little Senda hears a story of a "Glutton Dragon" at reading time and then imagines herself helping a prince and princess in a typical faraway kingdom. The dragon makes off with the princess when he mistakes her for sweets. Senda and the prince teach the fire-breathing but otherwise very easygoing dragon that there are others kinds of food to eat, including carrots, potatoes and peas. Princess saved, Senda returns from her imagination to finish off the school day, then goes home and is tucked in. The app’s presentation is lovely, with dynamic animations and detailed color illustrations with a wider palette than is usually seen. The backgrounds are wider than the screen, allowing readers to move the image left and right and giving each page a panorama effect. The app keeps a running tally of the 100 or so stars readers can collect throughout the story. Unfortunately, the text ranges from only serviceable to clumsy, as if a few bad translations made it through editing: "The Prince suggested the Dragon: We'll cook a delicious meal for you and, in turn, you'll free the princess."
Still, it's very hard to resist a dragon who finally eats his vegetables; parents who are trying to wean a child off an all-sugar diet should take a look. (Requires iOS 6 and above.) (iPad storybook app. 3-7)Pub Date: July 20, 2014
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: SOYO Interactive
Review Posted Online: Sept. 2, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2014
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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