BILL THE FISH

Name: BILL THE FISH
Author: Brett Curzon

by Brett Curzon & illustrated by Brett Curzon & developed by Interact Media ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 3, 2012

Despite its good intentions, readers may find Bill’s message of individuality and acceptance lost in the catalogue of...

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An interactive and funky text transmits the message that it’s OK to just be yourself.

Eager to prove he’s not just another fish in the sea, Bill the Fish likes to say that he is “happy being me” and begins by highlighting his quirky habits, like eating breakfast for dinner and enjoying painting with his snail friend, Fred. Bill’s habits and characteristics are then contrasted with a motley crew of his fellow sea creatures, which range from a prawn with a beard to a stylish jellyfish called Kelly. The text features an easy-to-follow narrator whose clipped British accent adds to the silliness of the short and simple rhyming text. Unfortunately for those who chose to follow along with the printed text or read to themselves, the type used presents a confusing and inconsistent mix of upper- and lower-case letters. Interactive elements include zany sound effects (some of which make sense, while others don't), animated characters that are activated by tapping and a few characters that can be “dressed — up” by dragging and dropping elements like hats and beards. Bright, colorful painted illustrations pair well with the text, but renditions of the characters vary in quality, providing a sense of inconsistency that can be distracting.

Despite its good intentions, readers may find Bill’s message of individuality and acceptance lost in the catalogue of characteristics. (iPad storybook app. 4-8)

Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2012

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Interact Media

Review Posted Online: March 19, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2012

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BOATS WILL FLOAT
by Andria Warmflash Rosenbaum ; illustrated by Brett Curzon

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FRANKENKITTY

by Maudie Powell-Tuck ; illustrated by Mini Grey ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 7, 2026

A top-grade creepy/funny addition to the spooky-picture-book canon.

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Is a cute kitty built in a castle’s laboratory responsible for the bad things that start happening?

“Here is a tale to chill the blood and thrill the soul—a tale of spooky paws and eerie claws.” The disembodied talking skull who narrates this story is alluding to Frankenkitty, who was engineered out of multiple cats, with visible stitches to show for it. As the house ghouls look on, Frankenkitty’s inventor laments, “I’ve created a monster!” Sure enough, bad things start happening: The mummy begins to unravel. Kitchen mice terrorize the cook. Certainly, Frankenkitty must be to blame. But after the butler, who resembles Frankenstein’s Monster, tosses Frankenkitty outside into the snow, where he looks forlorn and adorable, the skull has second thoughts: “Wait! Did we get it wrong?” It’s up to readers to make the call. Powell-Tuck goes all in with her spoof of old-time horror tropes, although kids needn’t know who Boris Karloff is to be tickled. For the book’s every scare (a severed foot and hand, their bones visible), there’s a wink (in a bit of metafictive fun, the skull urges readers to opt for a story about “unicorns, beasts, or bears”). Grey, a glutton for detail, leans on menacing reds and sickly greens to capture the frights, which include, in a line for the spooky-story ages, “walls as gray as old underpants.” Human characters vary in skin tone.

A top-grade creepy/funny addition to the spooky-picture-book canon. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: July 7, 2026

ISBN: 9781664300972

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Tiger Tales

Review Posted Online: March 23, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S PARANORMAL & SUPERNATURAL

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DON'T DO IT, DOUG!
by Maudie Powell-Tuck ; illustrated by Duncan Beedie

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THE MOONLIGHT ZOO
by Maudie Powell-Tuck ; illustrated by Karl James Mountford

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THE MAGICAL CHRISTMAS STORE
by Maudie Powell-Tuck ; illustrated by Hoang Giang

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OTIS

From the Otis series

by Loren Long & illustrated by Loren Long ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2009

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Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)