Lest you think every storybook for young readers in the App Store is a computer-animated, pixel-perfect digital showcase for what's possible, this one goes retro. Very retro. Based on a Platt & Munk book published in 1934 featuring illustrations by Eulalie, this slim take on the J.M. Barrie story will seem strikingly classic to some readers and hopelessly quaint and old-fashioned to others. The narration, told in first-person by Peter Pan, seems similarly beamed in from a bygone era. The too-wholesome cadences could be considered refreshing in this era of smart-aleck, irony-prone cartoon characters. This is nicely punctured by Tinker Bell's apparently filthy mouth; Peter is constantly asking her to watch her language, though all readers hear and see is "Ting-a-ling." But the text is sometimes missing a punctuation mark or two and stumbles in transition, confusingly alternating between Peter's first-person and third-person interjections to introduce dialogue. It also lacks the wit (and occasional ickiness) of Barrie’s original play-turned-novel. Interactive features are minimal: page swipes, the option to turn off the narration and the ability to pause the story or start from the beginning while the adventure is unfolding. It's likely that a slew of cheaply reanimated books from the distant past will flood digital shelves, but for now, this version of Peter Pan is unique in its mood and presentation. (iPad storybook app. 2-7)
Pub Date: July 6, 2010
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Jan. 6, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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