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THE HIGGLEDY-PIGGLEDY PIGEON

Name: THE HIGGLEDY-PIGGLEDY PIGEON
Author: Don M. Winn

by Don M. Winn & illustrated by Dave Alfred & developed by Interact Books ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 23, 2012

Well-meant but unlikely to get children, learning-challenged or otherwise, off the ground.

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A pigeon with no sense of direction fails a flight school exam, but with additional study and a teacher’s encouragement, triumphs the second time around.

Confident student pilot Hank is plunged into despair after he loses track of where to go, and to the derision of his classmates, he returns from his demonstration flight two hours late. Second time’s the charm, though, after his teacher puts a proper spin on the experience—“With hard work on your side / And a compass to guide, / To the head of the class you can soar!”—and leaves him to practice his map-reading skills. Each scene features tap-activated blinks, squawks or other small-scale effects, a text box that evaporates with a touch, and an inconspicuous menu icon. Eight easy, multiple-choice comprehension and discussion questions (“Does having a personal hardship or learning challenge mean that you can’t succeed?”) cap a thoroughly lesson-driven episode. It is illustrated with bland cartoons and written in verse so contrived that even the supplied narration sounds labored.

Well-meant but unlikely to get children, learning-challenged or otherwise, off the ground. (iPad storybook app. 6-9)

Pub Date: May 23, 2012

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Interact Books

Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012

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LITTLE DAYMOND LEARNS TO EARN

by Daymond John ; illustrated by Nicole Miles ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 21, 2023

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.

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How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!

John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)

Pub Date: March 21, 2023

ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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DIARY OF A SPIDER

by Doreen Cronin & illustrated by Harry Bliss ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2005

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The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)