This story is nothing to roar about
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. 25, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
Fun format; bland text.
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. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
A cheery little girl and her dad plan a shopping trip, go to the grocery store (by bike), purchase ingredients and go home to make pizza for the whole family (a biracial one, in a nice touch). An enthusiastic running commentary narrates the activities, which all go smoothly and safely, with just a bit of mess. Birkett’s bright, line-and-color illustrations focus on the child and her contributions, evoking Aliki in line and mood. The narration, which seems to include both the child and her father’s dialogue without distinction, may confuse some readers slightly, but its rapid-fire enthusiasm is appealing. This entry in the Helping Hands series is joined by Clean It! (ISBN: 978-1-84643-283-6), Fix It! (ISBN: 978-1-84643-286-6) and Grow It! (ISBN: 978-1-84643-285-9). All have a thinner-than-usual page stock that suits them, appropriately, to toddlers. (Board book. 2-4)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-84643-284-2
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Child's Play
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2010
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