While the clever illustrations might draw children to the app, the overall package does not deliver a wholesome offering.
Mixing together satire, visual recipes and quirky illustrations, this app takes a fresh approach; unfortunately, the results seem a bit half-baked.
A saucy interview with The Carrot starts off this unconventional app. “My ideal role is in Carrot Soup but I am open to suggestions. Vegetable Soup was as a result of solid cooperation with Potato, Parsley, Celery and Brussels Sprout.” A short chapter on vitamins follows, but the interactive features fail to add to readers’ knowledge; readers simply touch the apple, then an apple core and finally a smiling girl to show that eating fruit makes for happy, healthy kids, for instance. The illustrations complement the satirical tone with offbeat animated characters. A bag of flour waves—“Hey, hey”—and an egg gallantly tips its hat. But the stylish illustrations don’t make up for the overall lack of substance. Recipes are not spelled out clearly for young readers to follow. Nutritional facts are obscured by the focus on humorous caricatures. Interactive features are uneven and do not further real understanding of the content. Awkward sentences, possibly due to poor translation, contribute further problems.
While the clever illustrations might draw children to the app, the overall package does not deliver a wholesome offering. (iPad informational app. 5-10)Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: THE STORY
Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
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
These reindeer games are a bit tired but, given the series’ popularity, should have a large, ready-made audience.
The How to Catch A… crew try for Comet.
Having already failed to nab a Halloween witch, the Easter Bunny, a turkey, a leprechaun, the Tooth Fairy, and over a dozen other iconic trophies in previous episodes of this bestselling series, one would think the racially diverse gaggle of children in Elkerton’s moonlit, wintry scenes would be flagging…but no, here they lay out snares ranging from a loop of garland to an igloo baited with reindeer moss to an enticing candy cane maze, all in hopes of snagging one of Santa’s reindeer while he’s busy delivering presents. Infused with pop culture–based Christmas cheer (“Now I’ve already seen the shelf with the elf”), Comet prances past the traps until it’s time to gather up the kids, most of whom look terrified, for a group snapshot with the other reindeer and then climb back into harness: “This was a great stop but a few million to go / Christmas Eve must continue with style!” Though festive, the verse feels trite and unlikely to entice youngsters. A sprinkling of “True Facts About Reindeer” (“They live in the tundra, where they have friends like the arctic bunny”) wrap up this celebration of the predatory spirit. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
These reindeer games are a bit tired but, given the series’ popularity, should have a large, ready-made audience. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2022
ISBN: 9781728276137
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2022
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