For preschoolers and young grade-schoolers willing to mine its many treasures, this app is a gem.
When Sylvester’s band members don’t show up for a scheduled gig, Henry the raccoon saves the day by finding them and leading them back to Firefly Forest.
It’s finally time for a party that will feature Sylvester’s band. Henry the raccoon finds the other animals busily preparing for the festivities, but no one will let him help. In fact, they consider him a clumsy nuisance. When he learns that the concert is cancelled due to AWOL band members, he hunts them down so that the show can go on. The characters in the story look more like the wildly popular Uglydolls than they do animals, which for many will add to their appeal. Illustrations are stunning, and the interactive and animated elements are brilliantly designed. Among many other things, little fingers can capture fireflies, tickle animals’ feet, strum instruments and control the speed at which characters travel, work and play. There are plenty of tilt features, and the read-to-me option is narrated by full-time voice pro Bob Barnes. The app’s initial load time is a bit sluggish, but once it’s launched all elements reliably go off without a hitch—and it’s well worth the wait. Although the developer labels this app for ages 2-8, it really calls for more patience than most toddlers can manage.
For preschoolers and young grade-schoolers willing to mine its many treasures, this app is a gem. (iPad storybook app. 4-8)Pub Date: July 27, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Uncle Handsalt
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2011
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of...
An international story tackles a serious global issue with Reynolds’ characteristic visual whimsy.
Gie Gie—aka Princess Gie Gie—lives with her parents in Burkina Faso. In her kingdom under “the African sky, so wild and so close,” she can tame wild dogs with her song and make grass sway, but despite grand attempts, she can neither bring the water closer to home nor make it clean. French words such as “maintenant!” (now!) and “maman” (mother) and local color like the karite tree and shea nuts place the story in a French-speaking African country. Every morning, Gie Gie and her mother perch rings of cloth and large clay pots on their heads and walk miles to the nearest well to fetch murky, brown water. The story is inspired by model Georgie Badiel, who founded the Georgie Badiel Foundation to make clean water accessible to West Africans. The details in Reynolds’ expressive illustrations highlight the beauty of the West African landscape and of Princess Gie Gie, with her cornrowed and beaded hair, but will also help readers understand that everyone needs clean water—from the children of Burkina Faso to the children of Flint, Michigan.
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of potable water. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-17258-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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