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
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends
Gerald the elephant learns a truth familiar to every preschooler—heck, every human: “Waiting is not easy!”
When Piggie cartwheels up to Gerald announcing that she has a surprise for him, Gerald is less than pleased to learn that the “surprise is a surprise.” Gerald pumps Piggie for information (it’s big, it’s pretty, and they can share it), but Piggie holds fast on this basic principle: Gerald will have to wait. Gerald lets out an almighty “GROAN!” Variations on this basic exchange occur throughout the day; Gerald pleads, Piggie insists they must wait; Gerald groans. As the day turns to twilight (signaled by the backgrounds that darken from mauve to gray to charcoal), Gerald gets grumpy. “WE HAVE WASTED THE WHOLE DAY!…And for WHAT!?” Piggie then gestures up to the Milky Way, which an awed Gerald acknowledges “was worth the wait.” Willems relies even more than usual on the slightest of changes in posture, layout and typography, as two waiting figures can’t help but be pretty static. At one point, Piggie assumes the lotus position, infuriating Gerald. Most amusingly, Gerald’s elephantine groans assume weighty physicality in spread-filling speech bubbles that knock Piggie to the ground. And the spectacular, photo-collaged images of the Milky Way that dwarf the two friends makes it clear that it was indeed worth the wait.
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends . (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-9957-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your dreads! Isadora once again plies her hand using colorful, textured collages to depict her fourth fairy tale relocated to Africa. The narrative follows the basic story line: Taken by an evil sorceress at birth, Rapunzel is imprisoned in a tower; Rapunzel and the prince “get married” in the tower and she gets pregnant. The sorceress cuts off Rapunzel’s hair and tricks the prince, who throws himself from the tower and is blinded by thorns. The terse ending states: “The prince led Rapunzel and their twins to his kingdom, where they were received with great joy and lived happily every after.” Facial features, clothing, dreadlocks, vultures and the prince riding a zebra convey a generic African setting, but at times, the mixture of patterns and textures obfuscates the scenes. The textile and grain characteristic of the hewn art lacks the elegant romance of Zelinksy’s Caldecott version. Not a first purchase, but useful in comparing renditions to incorporate a multicultural aspect. (Picture book/fairy tale. 6-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-399-24772-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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