by Kate Gleeson illustrated by Kate Gleeson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2011
Several promising ideas gone wrong or buggy mar this digital version of a 1998 board book.
Paired to a pithy text explaining that best friends “share umbrellas,” “stick together” and sometimes even “dress alike,” simply drawn scenes in twee pastels depict a plush elephant and a calico kitty in five cozy domestic settings. Occasionally, a hyped-up squirrel zooms by on a toy car to crash or to knock popcorn into an unattended popper. An opening menu provides access to either a three-level “Concentration” game or a “Read My Book” option. Tapping a pink or blue button on the next screen selects a male or female narrator. Touch-activated effects on subsequent slow-to-load pages include a belching teddy bear, a butterfly that inexplicably buzzes like a bee, a hopping crutch that tends to get stuck in a feedback loop and, for a picture of the Little Beasties talking on their (landline) phones, a misguided set of voicemail and “failed call” recordings. Furthermore, some sounds spill over past a page turn, each screen features a “pause” button that actually opens an otherwise inaccessible thumbnail index and in “Read Myself” mode, the text on the first page vanishes after a moment. The background music channels Vince Guaraldi’s “Peanuts” soundtrack. Next to Sandra Boynton’s board-book apps, this diaper needs changing. (iPad toddler app. 6 mos.-18 mos.)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Gleeson Group
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2012
Share your opinion of this book
by Dan Saks ; illustrated by Brooke Smart ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2020
A joyful celebration.
Families in a variety of configurations play, dance, and celebrate together.
The rhymed verse, based on a song from the Noodle Loaf children’s podcast, declares that “Families belong / Together like a puzzle / Different-sized people / One big snuggle.” The accompanying image shows an interracial couple of caregivers (one with brown skin and one pale) cuddling with a pajama-clad toddler with light brown skin and surrounded by two cats and a dog. Subsequent pages show a wide array of families with members of many different racial presentations engaging in bike and bus rides, indoor dance parties, and more. In some, readers see only one caregiver: a father or a grandparent, perhaps. One same-sex couple with two children in tow are expecting another child. Smart’s illustrations are playful and expressive, curating the most joyful moments of family life. The verse, punctuated by the word together, frequently set in oversized font, is gently inclusive at its best but may trip up readers with its irregular rhythms. The song that inspired the book can be found on the Noodle Loaf website.
A joyful celebration. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22276-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
Share your opinion of this book
More by Dan Saks
BOOK REVIEW
by Dan Saks ; illustrated by Brooke Smart
BOOK REVIEW
by Dan Saks ; illustrated by Brooke Smart
BOOK REVIEW
by Dan Saks ; illustrated by Brooke Smart
by Loren Long & illustrated by Loren Long ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2009
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
Share your opinion of this book
More In The Series
by Loren Long ; illustrated by Loren Long
by Loren Long ; illustrated by Loren Long
by Loren Long ; illustrated by Loren Long
More by Jason June
BOOK REVIEW
by Jason June ; illustrated by Loren Long
BOOK REVIEW
by Amanda Gorman ; illustrated by Loren Long
BOOK REVIEW
by Lisa Wheeler ; illustrated by Loren Long
More About This Book
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.