iSTORY IT'S ABOUT LIFE

Name: iSTORY IT'S ABOUT LIFE
Author: Bas Waijers

by Bas Waijers illustrated by Bas Waijers developed by Apps of All Nations ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 17, 2011

Sentimental, yes, but a refreshing dose of real emotion among hundreds of apps that are little more than wind-up digital...

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An unexpectedly poignant emotional punch to the gut, an illustrator's tribute to his father featuring a bear and his dad is touching and memorable.

With pages that mix realistic vistas and anthrpomorphized animals with more surreal background touches, author/illustrator Waijers captures the life cycle of a young bear and his loving father. "He was already my best friend when I was born," he writes, on a page featuring the baby bear being cradled by the new parent. The bear grows up, still advised and supported by the father, and, "when his time was up," the father bear ascends a set of piano keys leading to the sky. While some of the stylistic choices seem idiosyncratically personal, there's enough interaction and animation to keep the story from being an emotion-dump. The cleanly drawn, colorful, slightly Disneyesque characters range from the bears themselves to insects, birds and, oddly, fish that appear in the margins. Both they and some of the scenery move and make sounds, making the pages pleasingly lively. While the main story is simple and conveys a message of love and appreciation for a father, parents reading with their children may be most moved by a set of photos of Waijers as a child with his father as well as a tearjerking postscript describing the inspiration for the story.

Sentimental, yes, but a refreshing dose of real emotion among hundreds of apps that are little more than wind-up digital toys. (iPad storybook app. 4-8)

Pub Date: June 17, 2011

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Apps of All Nations

Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2011

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BALLY, THE BALLOON DOG
by Mara Colecchia & illustrated by Jorgito Rodriguez & Andrea Parisi & developed by iStoryApps & Apps of All Nations

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED

From the Little Blue Truck series

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 25, 2025

A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.

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In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.

Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”

A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: March 25, 2025

ISBN: 9780063387843

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S VALENTINE
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

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PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

by James Dean ; illustrated by James Dean ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 18, 2018

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among

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Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.

If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)