THIS IS MY STORY ... AND I'M STICKING TO IT

Name: THIS IS MY STORY ... AND I'M STICKING TO IT
Author: Gramercy Consultants

developed by Gramercy Consultants ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 3, 2011

While it could have been stronger with a few more surprises and features, the app's simplicity and novelty are nearly enough...

bookshelf

A kind of visual Mad Libs app, this one doesn't have a narrative or even consistent characters. But its very simple design and easy-to-grasp (both literally and figuratively) stickers make it fun nevertheless.

A title screen that has a hand-drawn look offers the options of "Make Up Your Own Story," "Match a Sticker Story," "Sticker Page Fun" and "Read a Saved Story" as big, box icons. The first option offers a scrolling rail at the bottom of the screen with 30 items ranging from "The Cupcake" to "The Kite" to "The Pig." Selecting an object's icon and sliding it into a blank, transparent box places it in a fill-in-the-blank story page (for instance, "The Spider said hello to The Flower"). This setup continues for eight pages, and then the story can be played back with narration or saved to be read again later. The "Match" game offers outlines of the objects, leaving the reader to scroll through the animals, clothes and other items to fill in the right shape. And "Sticker Page Fun" is a set of backgrounds on which to place stickers in a more free-form way. The rigid structure of the "Make Up" section doesn't exactly feel like it'll make anyone's imagination gallop at full pace, but the app is solidly built, supremely easy to navigate and filled with charmingly low-fi (but still effective) art. It's a shame there aren't more options available—to customize the story skeleton, record a reader's voice or even color the sticker pages, for instance.

While it could have been stronger with a few more surprises and features, the app's simplicity and novelty are nearly enough to make up for that. (iPad storybook app. 3-6)

Pub Date: May 3, 2011

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Callaway Digital Arts

Review Posted Online: July 18, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2011

- BOOK REVIEW
FRIDA'S WORLD
by Maria Gabriela Brito & illustrated by Natali Martinez & developed by Patuto Press & Gramercy Consultants

bookshelf

HALLOWEEN IS COMING!

by Cal Everett ; illustrated by Lenny Wen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2021

High-quality, inclusive illustrations make this one stand out.

bookshelf

From the changing season to decorations and costumes, children anticipate Halloween.

Little readers will enjoy all of the familiar markers of the season included in this book: falling leaves, jack-o’-lanterns, Halloween costumes, candy, and trick-or-treating. Everett’s rhyming couplets bob along safely, offering nothing that will wow but enough to keep the pages turning. It’s Wen’s illustrations that give the most to readers, full of bustling scenes and lovely details. A double-page spread of the children in town in front of the candy store includes jars with individually drawn treats and other festive delicacies. The townwide celebration features instruments, creative costumes, and a diverse crowd of people. There are three children who appear as the focus of the illustrations, though there are many secondary characters. One bespectacled White child is drawn in a manual wheelchair, another has dark brown skin, the third presents Asian. The child in the wheelchair is shown as a full participant. Readers will enjoy spotting spooks like a vampire, goblin, and werewolf, as they sometimes appear in the background and other times blend in with the crowd. The familiar trappings of Halloween paired with the robust illustrations will have little readers wanting to reread even if the content itself is not startlingly new.

High-quality, inclusive illustrations make this one stand out. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-7282-0586-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

bookshelf

CINDERELLA

From the Once Upon a World series

by Chloe Perkins ; illustrated by Sandra Equihua ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2016

A nice but not requisite purchase.

bookshelf

A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.

Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.

A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)