Despite its good intentions, readers may find Bill’s message of individuality and acceptance lost in the catalogue of...
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
BOOK REVIEW
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)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
SEEN & HEARD
Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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