developed by Fairytale Studios ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 31, 2012
Snow White is given short shrift in this amateurish adaptation. Everything down to the tiny, barely there poisoned apple is...
A generic, uninspired take on "Snow White" brings rudimentary interactivity to the story without adding anything magical or even above average to make readers forget better versions.
There are no narrative surprises, as the plot follows the familiar path, and there's nothing in its delivery to distinguish it. The story gallops at a pace that doesn't give any characters, even Snow White herself, any time to come across as more than names and drawings. The dwarves, for instance, are given a single page of introduction in which they also agree to let Snow White be their housekeeper. When the text isn't bland, it's clunky: "Fearing for her life, she ran through the afternoon, growing weary, hungry and losing hope that she would find shelter." If there's a saving grace here, it's that a surprising number of objects, characters and backgrounds respond to touch with small snatches of animation or sound effects. But they're part of a design that clumsily mixes realistic-looking backgrounds with painted foregrounds and crudely cartoonish animals and characters. The app has no navigation beyond page arrows and no extras or options beyond narration or narration-free. It doesn't even include a page index or menu to jump to a specific page in the app.
Snow White is given short shrift in this amateurish adaptation. Everything down to the tiny, barely there poisoned apple is unconvincing and an opportunity missed. (iPad storybook app. 4-7)Pub Date: May 31, 2012
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Fairytale Studios
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
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by Adam Wallace ; illustrated by Andy Elkerton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2017
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers.
The bestselling series (How to Catch an Elf, 2016, etc.) about capturing mythical creatures continues with a story about various ways to catch the Easter Bunny as it makes its annual deliveries.
The bunny narrates its own story in rhyming text, beginning with an introduction at its office in a manufacturing facility that creates Easter eggs and candy. The rabbit then abruptly takes off on its delivery route with a tiny basket of eggs strapped to its back, immediately encountering a trap with carrots and a box propped up with a stick. The narrative focuses on how the Easter Bunny avoids increasingly complex traps set up to catch him with no explanation as to who has set the traps or why. These traps include an underground tunnel, a fluorescent dance floor with a hidden pit of carrots, a robot bunny, pirates on an island, and a cannon that shoots candy fish, as well as some sort of locked, hazardous site with radiation danger. Readers of previous books in the series will understand the premise, but others will be confused by the rabbit’s frenetic escapades. Cartoon-style illustrations have a 1960s vibe, with a slightly scary, bow-tied bunny with chartreuse eyes and a glowing palette of neon shades that shout for attention.
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-3817-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
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by Alice Walstead ; illustrated by Andy Elkerton
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by Hoda Kotb ; illustrated by Chloe Dominique ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2024
Pleasant enough but not particularly original.
Uplifting messages of positivity from the Today show anchor.
Hope springs eternal, so the saying goes. Kotb agrees, here delivering to children the cheery news that hope lives inside all of them and that whatever they might wish for can be theirs. All they need is a sunny outlook, and the possibilities for happy outcomes are virtually endless. Children’s dreams can be in-the-moment ones—like purple ice cream with whipped cream and a cherry—or more far-ranging ones, such as growing tall enough to reach that high shelf easily or for hair that’s long enough to braid. It doesn’t matter, the author reassures young readers. Your aspirations will be realized, so don’t give up on them—just keep believing in them and, most of all, in yourself. Throughout, Kotb calls hope a rainbow, a feeling, a gift, and a wish. Hope is “new friends you’ll find— / friends who are loving and funny and kind.” Hope is “practicing your heart out, letter by letter.” The book’s overarching theme is upbeat, but its bouncy rhyming text is clumsy. The child-appealing illustrations are colorful and lively, though they have a generic look. The cast of wide-eyed characters is racially diverse; some have visible disabilities.
Pleasant enough but not particularly original. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9780593624128
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
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by Hoda Kotb ; illustrated by Suzie Mason
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