An exciting jaunt, imbued with a sense of mystery—but readers curious about what happens next or the significance of what...
A lad discovers an abandoned jungle city in this well-designed first chapter of an original tale.
Young Mika wanders away from his scientist grandma, finds a directional sign covered in “whimsical symbols,” fends off a giant snake and blithely carries away a small golden statue from a ruin. To go along with quiet New Age background music and low-volume sound effects, the verdant junglescapes in each atmospheric scene feature strange-looking flora and fauna, plus as well as eyes and eldritch lights that brighten or dim with a tap. Simple but smooth animations include an opening sequence, page “turns” and small flowers that bloom when touched. A touch will also blow the blocks of very small text up to a more legible size. Icons at the bottom of each screen point forward and back, allowing the voiced narration and music to be (independently) switched on or off; they also lead to a jigsaw puzzle and a concentration game. The translated text features some malapropisms and offbeat lines—“ ‘We will have to jump to make it across there,’ he thinks with a foreboding in the back of his mind”—and though the App Store description promises four languages, the app offers only English.
An exciting jaunt, imbued with a sense of mystery—but readers curious about what happens next or the significance of what Mika finds will have to wait for future episodes to find out. (iPad storybook app. 7-9)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2010
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: zuuka! GmbH
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
What a wag.
What do you get from sewing the head of a smart dog onto the body of a tough police officer? A new superhero from the incorrigible creator of Captain Underpants.
Finding a stack of old Dog Mancomics that got them in trouble back in first grade, George and Harold decide to craft a set of new(ish) adventures with (more or less) improved art and spelling. These begin with an origin tale (“A Hero Is Unleashed”), go on to a fiendish attempt to replace the chief of police with a “Robo Chief” and then a temporarily successful scheme to make everyone stupid by erasing all the words from every book (“Book ’Em, Dog Man”), and finish off with a sort of attempted alien invasion evocatively titled “Weenie Wars: The Franks Awaken.” In each, Dog Man squares off against baddies (including superinventor/archnemesis Petey the cat) and saves the day with a clever notion. With occasional pauses for Flip-O-Rama featurettes, the tales are all framed in brightly colored sequential panels with hand-lettered dialogue (“How do you feel, old friend?” “Ruff!”) and narrative. The figures are studiously diverse, with police officers of both genders on view and George, the chief, and several other members of the supporting cast colored in various shades of brown. Pilkey closes as customary with drawing exercises, plus a promise that the canine crusader will be further unleashed in a sequel.
What a wag. (Graphic fantasy. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-58160-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
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SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode.
A long-running series reaches its closing chapters.
Having, as Kline notes in her warm valedictory acknowledgements, taken 30 years to get through second and third grade, Harry Spooger is overdue to move on—but not just into fourth grade, it turns out, as his family is moving to another town as soon as the school year ends. The news leaves his best friend, narrator “Dougo,” devastated…particularly as Harry doesn’t seem all that fussed about it. With series fans in mind, the author takes Harry through a sort of last-day-of-school farewell tour. From his desk he pulls a burned hot dog and other items that featured in past episodes, says goodbye to Song Lee and other classmates, and even (for the first time ever) leads Doug and readers into his house and memento-strewn room for further reminiscing. Of course, Harry isn’t as blasé about the move as he pretends, and eyes aren’t exactly dry when he departs. But hardly is he out of sight before Doug is meeting Mohammad, a new neighbor from Syria who (along with further diversifying a cast that began as mostly white but has become increasingly multiethnic over the years) will also be starting fourth grade at summer’s end, and planning a written account of his “horrible” buddy’s exploits. Finished illustrations not seen.
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Nov. 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-451-47963-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
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