Anton's adventure in aural admonition isn't too pleasurable; by the time he gets to make a real racket, the story's already...
Rough illustrations, a not-quite-there translation and characters who come across as remarkably troubled for a children's app make this story seem like a good argument for keeping quiet.
One morning, bushy-haired Anton climbs into his parents' bed holding a squeak-toy rubber duck (called a "bird" throughout the story). He's quieted down immediately, and thus begins a day that seems miserable from the outside; everything that Anton does, from slurping hot soup to shuffling his feet at the museum, is discouraged by his persistently nagging father. Dad, who may be in over his head, is covering for Mom's headache and entertaining young Anton for the day. In the end, Anton and Dad end up under a bridge, banging instruments as loudly as they can, a brief respite in an otherwise grim drama about stamping out a child's every whim. Perhaps it's not meant to be that bleak, but the app's off-kilter hand-drawn look, the use of guillemets (»Don't slurp!« scolds his father) instead of quotation marks and sour adult characters make it a chore, despite some nice illustrations and competent narration. "It's weekend now and we can all rest nicely," Dad says in one typically awkward exchange. The App Store description, which describes a series of "Ridi-Apps," confirms the language issue with proclamations like, "So this Ridi allow your child to tune into a foreign language and learn it" and "Ridis can help a child to bridge waiting times." Those sentences read the way the app feels; like being stuck in a place you can't quite figure out.
Anton's adventure in aural admonition isn't too pleasurable; by the time he gets to make a real racket, the story's already become a jumbled, uncomfortable slog. (iPad storybook app. 4-8)Pub Date: April 20, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Ridili
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2012
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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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A brisk if bland offering for series fans, but cleverer metafictive romps abound.
The titular cookie runs off the page at a bookstore storytime, pursued by young listeners and literary characters.
Following on 13 previous How To Catch… escapades, Wallace supplies sometimes-tortured doggerel and Elkerton, a set of helter-skelter cartoon scenes. Here the insouciant narrator scampers through aisles, avoiding a series of elaborate snares set by the racially diverse young storytime audience with help from some classic figures: “Alice and her mad-hat friends, / as a gift for my unbirthday, / helped guide me through the walls of shelves— / now I’m bound to find my way.” The literary helpers don’t look like their conventional or Disney counterparts in the illustrations, but all are clearly identified by at least a broad hint or visual cue, like the unnamed “wizard” who swoops in on a broom to knock over a tower labeled “Frogwarts.” Along with playing a bit fast and loose with details (“Perhaps the boy with the magic beans / saved me with his cow…”) the author discards his original’s lip-smacking climax to have the errant snack circling back at last to his book for a comfier sort of happily-ever-after.
A brisk if bland offering for series fans, but cleverer metafictive romps abound. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-0935-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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