LADYBUG ZEE

Name: LADYBUG ZEE
Author: CoolAsh Studios

developed by CoolAsh Studios ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 6, 2014

Some younger kids will enjoy the story, which briefly branches off in three directions before coming back together, but many...

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A ladybug helps a friend and learns to fly.

Ladybug Zee, a cartoon critter who wears high-heel red boots for some reason, wants to help her caterpillar friend, Mony, by collecting leaves to eat. What follows is a soggy trek through different locales including a corn field and a swampy bog, but it’s an uninspired time riddled with typos (“Find six peaces [sic] of the map and put them together and you will find food for your friend”), badly formatted quotation marks and wan puzzles. These include a matching game, a jigsaw-style map puzzle and a "Frogger"-style challenge that’s become shorthand in children’s apps for, “We’ve run out of ideas.” The illustrations and rudimentary animation are flat and uninteresting, and the text if full of garbled sentences such as, “But now morning is coming, sun is already up in the sky and it is time for her to wake up.” By the time Mony transforms into a butterfly and Zee learns to fly with the help of a counting game, the lack of inspiration in the story makes the quick wrap-up ending that follows very welcome

Some younger kids will enjoy the story, which briefly branches off in three directions before coming back together, but many storybook apps do the same kind of thing much better. (iPad storybook app. 4-6)

Pub Date: April 6, 2014

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: CoolAsh Studio

Review Posted Online: June 26, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014

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THE ADVENTURES OF SLIBBY THE SNAIL
by Ivan Kuleš & illustrated by Tina Zlobec & developed by CoolAsh Studios

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024

ISBN: 9780593702901

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S PARANORMAL & SUPERNATURAL | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING SANTA CLAUS
by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis

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CHARLIE PIECHART AND THE CASE OF THE MISSING PIZZA SLICE
by Eric Comstock & Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Eric Comstock

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ALICE FROM DALLAS
by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Ard Hoyt

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THE CRAYONS GO BACK TO SCHOOL

by Drew Daywalt ; illustrated by Oliver Jeffers ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 16, 2023

Nothing new here but a nonetheless congenial matriculant in publishing’s autumnal rite of back-to-school offerings.

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The Crayons head back to class in this latest series entry.

Daywalt’s expository text lays out the basics as various Crayons wave goodbye to the beach, choose a first-day outfit, greet old friends, and make new ones. As in previous outings, the perennially droll illustrations and hand-lettered Crayon-speak drive the humor. The ever wrapperless Peach, opining, “What am I going to wear?” surveys three options: top hat and tails, a chef’s toque and apron, and a Santa suit. New friends Chunky Toddler Crayon (who’s missing a bite-sized bit of their blue point) and Husky Toddler Crayon speculate excitedly on their common last name: “I wonder if we’re related!” White Crayon, all but disappearing against the page’s copious white space, sits cross-legged reading a copy of H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man. And Yellow and Orange, notable for their previous existential argument about the color of the sun, find agreement in science class: Jupiter, clearly, is yellow AND orange. Everybody’s excited about art class—“Even if they make a mess. Actually…ESPECIALLY if they make a mess!” Here, a spread of crayoned doodles of butterflies, hearts, and stars is followed by one with fulsome scribbles. Fans of previous outings will spot cameos from Glow in the Dark and yellow-caped Esteban (the Crayon formerly known as Pea Green). (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Nothing new here but a nonetheless congenial matriculant in publishing’s autumnal rite of back-to-school offerings. (Picture book. 4-6)