An unappealing, pedantic sibling story features two tiger sisters.
Delilah’s big sister, Sophie, can do many things: ride the bus by herself, fly a kite and ride a two-wheeler. Delilah still has accidents and has a stuffy snout that leaks and makes her breathe too loudly. She generally annoys her big sister and gets in her way until they have a catfight and end up getting tiger timeouts. But when Delilah really needs her—to stand up to some neighborhood bullies or get her down from a tree—big sister steps up and helps her out. The story ends with Delilah declaring “She loves me! She’s my big sister!” There’s nothing new here, and the mediocre graphics, sound effects, animations and features offer little to lift this app out of the ordinary. The narration is particularly subpar, with frequent pauses between words. Navigation is simple page-forward and -back, with no way to choose a page or return to a page from the home page. There is a Spanish-language option, and the text is interactive, so when a word is touched, it is highlighted and the narrator reads it.
This story is nothing to roar about . (iPad storybook app. 2-4)Pub Date: July 14, 2012
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: 33 Loretta Kids Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 26, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2012
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A hefty board book filled with ruminations on the nature of love.
While love is the topic of this board book, it’s the inventive gatefolds and charmingly vintage illustrations that readers will fall for. Brimming with sweeping declarations along the lines of “Love is / strong. // You have my back and I’ll always have yours,” the text sounds like a series of greeting cards strung together. It’s benign enough, but are most toddlers interested in generic proclamations about love? Some statements, like the ones on “unsinkable” hippos or a panda parent holding a cub “steady,” could introduce new vocabulary. At least there’s plenty of winsome critters to fawn over as the surprisingly sturdy flaps tell dramatic little ministories for each cartoon-style animal species. A downcast baby giraffe looks longingly up at a too-high tasty branch; lift a flap to bring an adult giraffe—and the delicacy—down to the baby, or watch an adventurous young fox retreat into a fold-down–flap burrow to learn that “my heart will always be home with you.” At points, the pages are tricky to turn in the correct order, but clever touches, like a series of folds that slow readers down to a sloth’s speed, make up for it. The book concludes with a gatefold revealing a vibrant playground populated with racially and ethnically diverse humans; two are wheelchair users.
Fun format; bland text. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3153-2
Page Count: 84
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: Dec. 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS
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After busy days spent doing what dinos do, nine colorful dinosaurs happily bed down for the night protected by a loving adult dino.
Each sleepy dinosaur inhabits a fanciful environment, though it is unclear whether they are based on known information about where dinosaurs lived. There is nothing ferocious or threatening about these dinosaurs. Nor are they likely to excite young paleontologists, as the purpose of the book is to convince young children to go to sleep, just like each of the dinosaurs. The singsong-y verses don’t really work as poetry. Uneven meter makes for an awkward read-aloud experience, and forced rhymes (“Mom” and “calm”; “leaves” and “trees”) are a bit of a stretch. Similarly, touch-and-feel elements added to one of the dinosaurs on each spread feel arbitrary and are more distraction than successful additions. Even toddlers will wonder why only one of each set of dinosaurs has this tactile element. Each spread ends with a “Good night” followed by an alliterative nickname: “Dozing Diplos”; “Resting Raptors”; “Tiny Pteros”; “Snoozing Spinos.” This affectation will turn off adults with a low tolerance for cute and potentially confuse readers just beginning to learn dinosaur names.
A snore for all but the most avid toddler paleontologists. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-680105-48-3
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
Categories: CHILDREN'S DINOSAURS & PREHISTORIC CREATURES
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