An understated but illuminating first glimpse at what measurement is all about. (iPad storybook app. 4-8)
A little king breaks his bed and then has to contend with the invention of measurement to find one that is the right size.
This simple app, with minimal interaction and rudimentary storyline, introduces users to a boy-king who loves to bounce on his bed, until he busts the frame “and his bottom hit the floor. ‘Ouch!’ ” If told, his parents would hold him responsible. One of those light bulbs indicating thought illuminates: “He would get a new bed without telling them.” (Kings don’t have to worry about such trivialities as payment.) Toe-to-toe, he paces out the dimensions and gives them to his chamberlain, who gives them to the carpenter, the maker of duvets and the master of mattresses. They, in turn, use their own toe-to-toe measurements and arrive at a very disproportioned bed indeed, true only to the carpenter’s clodhoppers, the duvet maker’s petite tootsies and the mattress maestro’s standard-issues. The wizard is summoned, who produces three sticks of equal length for each of the bed makers. Thus the ruler—oh yes, pun fully intended—was born. Forget about Theodorus of Crete and all those Egyptians, Indians, Chinese and the many unsung creators of measurement—what is at stake here is the standard measure, one of the first and great democratic acts. The interactive element here is easy peasy (even if navigation from page to page throughout the site is not): The active ingredient has a glowing pulse. The settings are enveloped in fire-warmed hues, as befitting bedtime, and the bed is a vision of billowy swells in a royal blue sea, even if the characters are as stiff as cold marionettes.
An understated but illuminating first glimpse at what measurement is all about. (iPad storybook app. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 22, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Mrs. Fizz's Classroom
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2013
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
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.
All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.
Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)Pub Date: May 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
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