GRANDPA IN SPACE

Name: GRANDPA IN SPACE
Author: Fairlady Media, Inc.

developed by Fairlady Media, Inc. ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 29, 2014

Children hoping for a substantive tour of the solar system may be disappointed, but those who click with the games should...

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A skim across the solar system serves as a framework for a set of elementary matching and counting games.

A grandfatherly narrator invites children to pick a planet from a tappable menu of nine images with fact boxes (the sun is not included in the tour; Pluto is called a “dwarf planet”). Readers then drag a three-piece rocket together, blast off and pause in low orbit for a live-action video clip of astronauts at work or play. On the way to the chosen destination and a video-only digest of basic facts, opportunities await to blast asteroids in numerical order, count aliens’ legs, sort floating stuff into labeled bins and other fun. Significantly, the video/fact screens feature a prominent “Skip” button, but the games do not, indicating that the latter are the main event. So rigid is the design that the trip is the same whether the destination is Earth or Pluto, though the games played on the way may vary. The 10 games can supposedly be customized according to user level, but what that seems to mean is that individual exercises can be turned on or off. The mix of cartoon scenes, space photography, video and space art blend reasonably well, and children who do not skip the videos could well pick up a fact or two.

Children hoping for a substantive tour of the solar system may be disappointed, but those who click with the games should build some skills. (iPad informational/math app. 6-8)

Pub Date: May 29, 2014

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Fairlady Media

Review Posted Online: Aug. 6, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014

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BEST BUNNY BROTHER EVER

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Tim Bowers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 6, 2026

A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note.

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Little Honey Bunny Funnybunny loves baseball almost as much as she loves her big brother P.J.—though it’s a close-run thing.

Readers familiar with the pranks P.J. plays on his younger sibling in older episodes of the series (most illustrated by Roger Bollen) will be amused—and perhaps a little confused—to see him in the role of perfect big brother after meeting his swaddled little sister for the first time in mama’s lap. But here, along with being a constant companion and “always happy to see her,” he cements his heroic status in her eyes by hitting a home run for his baseball team and then patiently teaching her how to play T-ball. After carefully coaching her and leading her through warm-up exercises, he even sits in the stands, loudly cheering her on as she scores the winning run in her own very first game. “‘You are the best brother a bunny could ever have!’” she burbles. This tale’s a tad blander compared with others centered on P.J. and his sister, but it’s undeniably cheery, with text well structured for burgeoning readers. The all-smiles animal cast in Bowers’ cartoon art features a large and diversely hued family of bunnies sporting immense floppy ears as well as a multispecies crowd of furry onlookers equally varied of color, with one spectator in a wheelchair.

A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note. (Early reader. 6-8)

Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026

ISBN: 9798217032464

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: March 17, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

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HENRY AND MUDGE AND THE STARRY NIGHT

From the Henry and Mudge series

by Cynthia Rylant & illustrated by Sucie Stevenson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1998

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Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)