A fine addition to any toddler’s virtual shelf, next to the likes of Lazy Larry Lizard (2011) and Sandra Boynton’s e–board...
Simple art, bright colors, and a loose-jointed, tap-responsive monkey swathed in oversized knitwear give this app particular appeal for digi-tots.
Playtime begins with Monkey entering through a tap-opened door; with further taps, he boogies or gestures invitingly. Having let him in, on subsequent screens viewers can play hide-and-seek, give him high-fives, feed him bananas, join him in belting out jazzy riffs on musical instruments, watch him moonwalk, send him a “text”—by tapping one of four emojilike icons—and other interactions. On alternating monochrome screens, suggestions (“Monkey is hiding. Can you find him?”) supply initial directions in any of 14 languages, among them Dutch, Swedish, Turkish, Russian and four Asiatic languages. Page turns or further actions are cued in the illustrations by Monkey’s pointing or another unobtrusive animation. Playtime ends with a bedtime story (recognizably Haughton’s own Oh No, George, 2012), and then a final tap turns out the light. Sounds and motions throughout are lively without being startling or frenetic.
A fine addition to any toddler’s virtual shelf, next to the likes of Lazy Larry Lizard (2011) and Sandra Boynton’s e–board books. (Requires iOS 7 and above.) (iPad toddler app. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2014
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Fox & Sheep
Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2014
Cute and sprightly but not a standout.
Deck the stalls?
A bevy of barnyard animals, a cat, and some dogs get fully into the Christmas spirit by sprucing up the farm with colorful decorations, including holly berries and sparkling baubles. They have a great time and sing while going about their merry chores in a manner somewhat in keeping with the rhythm of the classic tune “Deck the Halls.” (In fact, a flock of sheep are shown holding song sheets for it.) As might be expected with these particular celebrants, some of the familiar lyrics are altered just a bit; for instance, “boughs of holly” is “translated” as “cows and holly.” Adult readers expecting the rhythm here to work exactly as it does in the original will be disappointed, because it doesn’t—it’s clunky. This is merely a brief, lightweight spoof of the familiar ditty, so it’s recommended that grown-ups read rather than sing this—except for that final line!—to very young targeted audiences, who may be unfamiliar with the actual song anyway. Some fun is still to be had in the illustrations, however. The spirited, wittily expressive animal characters are depicted having a fine time romping about and producing a variety of onomatopoeic sounds throughout. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Cute and sprightly but not a standout. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-66591-435-2
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Boynton Bookworks
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.
It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Robin Corey/Random
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
