A little sketchy of storyline, but well-endowed with digital widgetry and bursts (as it were) of alimentary humor.
A “choose your own”–style quest tale, with selectable options aplenty for protagonist and magical gear as well as plot.
The sudden disappearance of the green stars that bring happy dreams to the people of Leuman prompts the dispatch of a young hero—a boy named Yalot, a girl named Nidia or (with the audio switched off) a child with any reader-entered name—to, ultimately, a creepy castle basement. Along the way, questers are prompted to select several potions or other helpful items (which are smoothly integrated into later incidents), to choose directions at a fork in the road and to perform various other actions before being allowed to go on. The loudly colored cartoon pictures feature an unusually diverse array of touch-activated features, from falling stars, light bulbs and boulders that all become poppable bubbles to Leuman’s hilariously flatulent king and a spectacular cascade of bones rattling down a flight of stairs. The text and narration are available in English (with a British accent) or Spanish, and a thumbnail index allows readers to change options in midcourse if so moved.
A little sketchy of storyline, but well-endowed with digital widgetry and bursts (as it were) of alimentary humor. (iPad storybook app. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2012
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: ALPIXEL
Review Posted Online: Sept. 11, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2012
The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-000153-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fair choice, but it may need some support to really blast off.
This rocket hopes to take its readers on a birthday blast—but there may or may not be enough fuel.
Once a year, a one-seat rocket shoots out from Earth. Why? To reveal a special congratulatory banner for a once-a-year event. The second-person narration puts readers in the pilot’s seat and, through a (mostly) ballad-stanza rhyme scheme (abcb), sends them on a journey toward the sun, past meteors, and into the Kuiper belt. The final pages include additional information on how birthdays are measured against the Earth’s rotations around the sun. Collingridge aims for the stars with this title, and he mostly succeeds. The rhyme scheme flows smoothly, which will make listeners happy, but the illustrations (possibly a combination of paint with digital enhancements) may leave the viewers feeling a little cold. The pilot is seen only with a 1960s-style fishbowl helmet that completely obscures the face, gender, and race by reflecting the interior of the rocket ship. This may allow readers/listeners to picture themselves in the role, but it also may divest them of any emotional connection to the story. The last pages—the backside of a triple-gatefold spread—label the planets and include Pluto. While Pluto is correctly labeled as a dwarf planet, it’s an unusual choice to include it but not the other dwarfs: Ceres, Eris, etc. The illustration also neglects to include the asteroid belt or any of the solar system’s moons.
A fair choice, but it may need some support to really blast off. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 31, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-338-18949-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: David Fickling/Phoenix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
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