Luckily, this app was built with plenty of love and care; it may not be a perfectly constructed story, but there are little...
An unusual, ethereal app uses its slow pace, musical accompaniment and oil-painted illustrations to create a mood that transcends its sometimes-plodding storytelling.
A young boy whose name is never revealed discovers a baby girl floating on a shell by the shore. He picks her up and tries to wake her, but nothing happens. He decides to take the baby to a group of creatures called the Oomorels, who are wise and have magical powers. The seven Oomorels—of all shapes, colors and kinds of fur—take turns trying to determine what the baby may need, from food to drink to shelter. What finally awakens the child is love, in the form of a kiss from the young boy, but until that point the story teases the outcome for a disturbingly long time, creating anxiety that the baby may not be alive. "But her eyes were closed, like she was sleeping," the text reads early in the story, and the baby stays that way for nearly 30 pages. The app's moody illustrations, piano soundtrack and apparently sad main character make for a touching experience. But that spell is nearly broken by a repetitious middle section that's only bearable because of lovely animation and challenging interactions. If it's meant to be a fable, it's one with a very simple message: that a child needs love to awaken and grow.
Luckily, this app was built with plenty of love and care; it may not be a perfectly constructed story, but there are little moments of grace within. (iPad storybook app. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2012
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Persian Cat Press
Review Posted Online: March 4, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2012
Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
SEEN & HEARD
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.
All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.
Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)Pub Date: May 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
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