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PHIL AND FREDDY'S HALLOWEEN

Name: PHIL AND FREDDY'S HALLOWEEN
Author: Annelle Rigsby

From the Phil and Freddy series

by Annelle Rigsby & illustrated by Annelle Rigsby & developed by Monkey Prism ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 22, 2011

More trick than treat.

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Two amiable amphibians prepare to attend a Halloween party.

Phil and Freddy (both frogs) pay a visit to the costume store, where they try on various get-ups, including—wait for it—a frog costume. On Halloween night, the duo meets up to go to the party together and realizes they don’t have any candy to bring. The candy store is closed (on its most profitable holiday of the year), so the frogs decide to trick or treat to get what they need; they eventually attend the party and everyone lives happily ever after (except, perhaps, readers, who have suffered through a tedious and dull story). There are gratuitous interactive features—tapping certain objects triggers arbitrary musical clips, blinking graphics and “sound effects,” the latter of which are often voiced by the female narrator (who might want to keep her day job). There are no navigation tools or menus, and narration, music and sound effects are audible only when the screen is touched. In terms of look and feel, the illustrations are colorful and sharp enough, but their form and functionality seem just a notch above some of the popular kids’ computer games circa 1994. That said, this app serves as a reminder that the iPad is capable of so much more than many developers opt to bother with.

More trick than treat. (iPad storybook app. 2-6)

Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2011

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Mister Engineer

Review Posted Online: Oct. 24, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2011

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LITTLE RED SLEIGH

by Erin Guendelsberger ; illustrated by Elizaveta Tretyakova ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2020

Sadly, the storytelling runs aground.

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A little red sleigh has big Christmas dreams.

Although the detailed, full-color art doesn’t anthropomorphize the protagonist (which readers will likely identify as a sled and not a sleigh), a close third-person text affords the object thoughts and feelings while assigning feminine pronouns. “She longed to become Santa’s big red sleigh,” reads an early line establishing the sleigh’s motivation to leave her Christmas-shop home for the North Pole. Other toys discourage her, but she perseveres despite creeping self-doubt. A train and truck help the sleigh along, and when she wishes she were big, fast, and powerful like them, they offer encouragement and counsel patience. When a storm descends after the sleigh strikes out on her own, an unnamed girl playing in the snow brings her to a group of children who all take turns riding the sleigh down a hill. When the girl brings her home, the sleigh is crestfallen she didn’t reach the North Pole. A convoluted happily-ever-after ending shows a note from Santa that thanks the sleigh for giving children joy and invites her to the North Pole next year. “At last she understood what she was meant to do. She would build her life up spreading joy, one child at a time.” Will she leave the girl’s house to be gifted to other children? Will she stay and somehow also reach ever more children? Readers will be left wondering. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 31.8% of actual size.)

Sadly, the storytelling runs aground. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-72822-355-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland

Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S CHRISTMAS

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 23, 2014

Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...

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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)