Promising, though the navigation needs tweaking, and the glossary is still in an early stage.
Googly eyed cartoon letter-monsters scatter and can be nudged back into order to form words in this hyperactive vocabulary builder.
Preceded by a swipe-through index that provides the only alternative to going in strict alphabetical order, the words—which run to lively choices like “lick,” “hilarious” and “cooperate”—appear one to a screen. Once a viewer settles on a word, a passing herd of cartoon monsters kicks the letters away from their outlines. The letters develop eyes and sound themselves out as they’re dragged back into their places, and reassembling the word opens a second screen in which more monsters demonstrate its use. A speech-balloon icon in one corner, unintuitively labeled “Word,” activates a short, voiced definition (“When you DEMOLISH something, you break it on purpose”). Big sound effects, loud colors and sudden quick movements give the whole exercise a feel of gleeful unrestraint, reminiscent of Sesame Street at its most frenetic. The app as reviewed offers just 32 terms, but more are promised at unspecified intervals (and, at least potentially, cost), and a screen headed “Information For Parents” contains, so far, only links to a technical assistance page and social media.
Promising, though the navigation needs tweaking, and the glossary is still in an early stage. (iPad alphabet app. 4-7)Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Callaway Digital Arts
Review Posted Online: Feb. 26, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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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