A brimming bagful of holiday cheer.
Santa comes to Wuzzleburg in this full-featured, deliciously silly adaptation of the classic poem.
“Wubbzy couldn’t believe what was next to appear, ‘WOW! WOW! It’s a sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer!’ ” Recast into preschooler-friendly rhymed prose, the text appears beneath brightly colored, simply drawn cartoon illustrations. These feature the cast of the Nick, Jr. TV show, a jolly bearded gent who “Ho-Ho-Hos” whenever poked and a set of bendy-antlered reindeer trailing a leader with a huge flashing red nose. Not only can every word be touched for a vocalization, but the figures, furnishings and piles of wrapped gifts in each scene respond briskly to taps, often in multiple ways. Better yet, all of the interactive distractions, along with the vivacious audio, can also be switched off with the “Just a Storybook” option. Moreover, side activities include a drag-and-drop “Snowman Dress-Up” and two other games, plus three coloring pages, three short but lively sing-along videos and a “Grown-Up’s Corner” with discussion questions.
A brimming bagful of holiday cheer. (iPad holiday app. 4-7)Pub Date: Nov. 30, 2012
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Cupcake Digital
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2012
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
Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-00361-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
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