bookshelf

THE SPACE HAMSTERS

Name: THE SPACE HAMSTERS
Author: Jen X Productions

developed by Jen X Productions ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

Here’s hoping these hamsters get lost in space.

bookshelf

This poorly written tale about rodent vigilantes has very little to offer in terms of literary, technological or creative value.

Sinjin and Piper—hamsters from outer space—arrive in their spaceship to help Nikki find his pet, a French bulldog (aka "Frenchie") named Sesame Dumpling. Guinea pigs are apparently kidnapping animals and taking their places in an effort to become “the new favorite pet.” A cat named Nietzsche points Sinjin and Piper to a guinea pig yacht in La Jolla, where they negotiate Sesame Dumpling’s release with the ship’s leader, Matisse, who sounds like a cross between Perez Hilton and Boy George. The narrative is accompanied by Star Wars–type sound effects and peppy electronica, which can be silenced via a menu called up when tapping the large hamster-head icon. It’s annoying, yes, but overall, it’s also inconsequential, because the narrative itself is riddled with more holes than a piece of Swiss cheese. Readers are left to piece the story together themselves, as there’s absolutely no character development, no cohesion and a plot that’s about as deep as a paper plate. There's a planet-identifying bonus game called "Solar System Safari," and the app offers a host of bland interactive elements, including toys and animals that yield predictably weak audio/visual elements. All fail, however, to add any considerable dimension to the story.

Here’s hoping these hamsters get lost in space. (iPad storybook app. 2-5)

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Jen X Productions

Review Posted Online: Oct. 2, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2012

bookshelf

Awards & Accolades

Likes

12

New York Times Bestseller

IndieBound Bestseller

DRAGONS LOVE TACOS

From the Dragons Love Tacos series

by Adam Rubin & illustrated by Daniel Salmieri ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 14, 2012

A wandering effort, happy but pointless.

bookshelf

Awards & Accolades

Likes

12

New York Times Bestseller

IndieBound Bestseller

The perfect book for kids who love dragons and mild tacos.

Rubin’s story starts with an incantatory edge: “Hey, kid! Did you know that dragons love tacos? They love beef tacos and chicken tacos. They love really big gigantic tacos and tiny little baby tacos as well.” The playing field is set: dragons, tacos. As a pairing, they are fairly silly, and when the kicker comes in—that dragons hate spicy salsa, which ignites their inner fireworks—the silliness is sillier still. Second nature, after all, is for dragons to blow flames out their noses. So when the kid throws a taco party for the dragons, it seems a weak device that the clearly labeled “totally mild” salsa comes with spicy jalapenos in the fine print, prompting the dragons to burn down the house, resulting in a barn-raising at which more tacos are served. Harmless, but if there is a parable hidden in the dragon-taco tale, it is hidden in the unlit deep, and as a measure of lunacy, bridled or unbridled, it doesn’t make the leap into the outer reaches of imagination. Salmieri’s artwork is fitting, with a crabbed, ethereal line work reminiscent of Peter Sís, but the story does not offer it enough range.

A wandering effort, happy but pointless. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: June 14, 2012

ISBN: 978-0-8037-3680-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Dial Books

Review Posted Online: March 27, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012

Categories:

CHILDREN'S DRAGONS & MYTHICAL CREATURES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE HUMAN KABOOM
by Adam Rubin

- BOOK REVIEW
THE ICE CREAM MACHINE
by Adam Rubin ; illustrated by Daniel Salmieri , Charles Santoso , Liniers , Emily Hughes , Nicole Miles & Seaerra Miller

- BOOK REVIEW
GLADYS THE MAGIC CHICKEN
by Adam Rubin ; illustrated by Adam Rex

bookshelf

ANIMAL SHAPES

by Christopher Silas Neal ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 27, 2018

Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.

bookshelf

You think you know shapes? Animals? Blend them together, and you might see them both a little differently!

What a mischievous twist on a concept book! With wordplay and a few groan-inducing puns, Neal creates connections among animals and shapes that are both unexpected and so seemingly obvious that readers might wonder why they didn’t see them all along. Of course, a “lazy turtle” meeting an oval would create the side-splitting combo of a “SLOW-VAL.” A dramatic page turn transforms a deeply saturated, clean-lined green oval by superimposing a head and turtle shell atop, with watery blue ripples completing the illusion. Minimal backgrounds and sketchy, impressionistic detailing keep the focus right on the zany animals. Beginning with simple shapes, the geometric forms become more complicated as the book advances, taking readers from a “soaring bird” that meets a triangle to become a “FLY-ANGLE” to a “sleepy lion” nonagon “YAWN-AGON.” Its companion text, Animal Colors, delves into color theory, this time creating entirely hybrid animals, such as the “GREEN WHION” with maned head and whale’s tail made from a “blue whale and a yellow lion.” It’s a compelling way to visualize color mixing, and like Animal Shapes, it’s got verve. Who doesn’t want to shout out that a yellow kangaroo/green moose blend is a “CHARTREUSE KANGAMOOSE”?

Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable. (Board book. 2-4)