The wolf isn’t the only one who should be embarrassed by this misguided, pedantic, poorly designed rendition.
A thoroughly sanitized retelling (sandwiched between pop-up advertisements for another app) linked to stylized illustrations that are probably intended to be sweet but are actually strange and eerie.
This retelling finds Little Red fleeing from her granny’s cottage, pursued by the wolf—who, after being clubbed by the woodsman and having his jaws “prised open” so that Granny can dance out, slinks off “embarrassed and ashamed.” In sharp contrast to this gooey version of the familiar plot, the art veers off into disturbing territory. Sporting enormous, glassy eyes in an oversized rectangular face, Little Red Riding Hood skips through a retro pastel forest as the menacing wolf oozes like a shaggy snake up a twisty path to the cottage. He devours Granny in a sudden whirl and then springs open-mawed after his second intended victim. Aside from a few tap-activated sound effects and floaty animations keyed by flashing outlines, the only interactive feature is a tantalizingly large “X” in the corner of each screen. Touching this abruptly restarts the story, bringing up an introductory page on which, along with auto-advance and manual-viewing options, a “Learn” mode introduces occasional quizzes interjected by the British-accented narrator: “There is a clue to show that the wolf is in Granny’s cottage. Can you find it? That’s right, it’s his tail.”
The wolf isn’t the only one who should be embarrassed by this misguided, pedantic, poorly designed rendition. (iPad storybook app. 4-7)Pub Date: Nov. 21, 2012
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Mindshapes
Review Posted Online: Dec. 25, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on.
Sharpson offers so-fish-ticated readers a heads up about the true terror of the seas.
The title says it all. Our unseen narrator is just fine with other animals: mammals. Reptiles. Even birds. But fish? Don’t trust them! First off, the rules always seem to change with fish. Some live in fresh water; some reside in salt water. Some have gills, while others have lungs. You can never see what they’re up to, since they hang out underwater, and they’re always eating those poor, innocent crabs. Soon, the narrator introduces readers to Jeff, a vacant-eyed yellow fish—but don’t be fooled! Jeff’s “the craftiest fish of all.” All fish are, apparently, hellbent on world domination, the narrator warns. “DON’T TRUST FISH!” Finally, at the tail end, we get a sly glimpse of our unreliable narrator. Readers needn’t be ichthyologists to appreciate Sharpson’s meticulous comic timing. (“Ships always sink at sea. They never sink on land. Isn’t that strange?”) His delightful text, filled to the brim with jokes that read aloud brilliantly, pairs perfectly with Santat’s art, which shifts between extreme realism and goofy hilarity. He also fills the book with his own clever gags (such as an image of Gilligan’s Island’s S.S. Minnow going down and a bottle of sauce labeled “Surly Chik’n Srir’racha’r”).
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 8, 2025
ISBN: 9780593616673
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
PERSPECTIVES
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