Otherwise a seamless adaptation of a modern classic, inventively enhanced, hilarious, a joy to read—particularly aloud.
Still the best Dr. Seuss tribute ever, Sierra’s rhymed 2004 tale of a librarian who gets all the animals in the zoo reading and writing is even funnier and more kinetic with digital flourishes.
Though Molly McGrew drives her bookmobile into the zoo by mistake, she does such a fine job turning her animal audience on to reading and writing that by the end there’s nothing for it but to build a branch library on the grounds. Here, an uncredited but engagingly exuberant narrator reads it aloud while each word is highlighted. The bouncy, playful verses—“Raccoons read alone and baboons read in bunches. / And llamas read dramas while eating their llunches”—accompany 17 brightly colored tableaus, each composed of layers that pop into view and roll back and forth with tilts of the tablet. Along with automatic but undistracting movements, there are balloons and balls to lead with a finger; blinks, nods, hysterical laughter (from the hyenas) and roars that are induced by a finger tap; “stinging” comments from an ill-tempered scorpion—even the occasional stampede. The narration and the soundtrack can be switched off separately, and an index of thumbnail images provides repeat visitors with shortcuts to favorite pages. As apps go this one is a little slow to load, and the art’s tilt-induced rolling may induce queasy stomachs (particularly for readers in moving vehicles) if overdone.
Otherwise a seamless adaptation of a modern classic, inventively enhanced, hilarious, a joy to read—particularly aloud. (iPad storybook app. 5-9)Pub Date: Jan. 21, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Random House Digital
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2011
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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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