All in all, it’s lightweight fare that may elicit some giggles but not much more.
Simple, amusing animations add some life to a fairly predictable story.
Dabby Dill just can’t stop hiccupping, so she turns to her family and friends to help her out. Her dad brings a glass of water, and Emma tells her to blow on her thumb, but nothing helps. Auntie NaNa finally offers a sweet suggestion that works. Digital cartoon illustrations add to the bright, cheerful tone of the story, although the color scheme is reminiscent of a Polly Pocket dollhouse. Each page contains several animations that readers trigger by tapping, but as they often lack any connection to story or theme, they will likely distract readers instead of adding to their understanding. Supplemental nonfiction text that provides information on hiccups, peanut butter and taste buds is revealed by tapping words underlined in red. Readers can tap words highlighted in blue to hear their definitions and examples. The narration in “Story Mode” is upbeat and fits the story, but it is haltingly slow in the “Read Along” mode with word highlighting for beginning readers. Although this story does not otherwise have a religious tone, Auntie NaNa tells her niece, “Don’t forget to say your prayers, Dabby Dill,” as the now–hiccup-free girl heads back home.
All in all, it’s lightweight fare that may elicit some giggles but not much more. (Requires iOS 6.1 and above.) (iPad storybook app. 3-7)Pub Date: Nov. 27, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Pickled Productions
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014
A comical, fresh look at crayons and color
Duncan wants to draw, but instead of crayons, he finds a stack of letters listing the crayons’ demands in this humorous tale.
Red is overworked, laboring even on holidays. Gray is exhausted from coloring expansive spaces (elephants, rhinos and whales). Black wants to be considered a color-in color, and Peach? He’s naked without his wrapper! This anthropomorphized lot amicably requests workplace changes in hand-lettered writing, explaining their work stoppage to a surprised Duncan. Some are tired, others underutilized, while a few want official titles. With a little creativity and a lot of color, Duncan saves the day. Jeffers delivers energetic and playful illustrations, done in pencil, paint and crayon. The drawings are loose and lively, and with few lines, he makes his characters effectively emote. Clever spreads, such as Duncan’s “white cat in the snow” perfectly capture the crayons’ conundrum, and photographic representations of both the letters and coloring pages offer another layer of texture, lending to the tale’s overall believability.
A comical, fresh look at crayons and color . (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: June 27, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-399-25537-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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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