It's not a perfect story, and some will find the text ("The shadow at far is a giant / Bigger than the pines") too...
A child travels through a series of watercolor dreamscapes in a strikingly off-kilter stream-of-consciousness story.
Against a beautiful set of purple trees dwarfed by a great wall, a child begins a journey. It's unclear if it's a boy or girl; the child is always seen from behind, with straw-colored hair and black clothing. This land is populated by rabbits and birds but also “shadow hands,” and a gigantic border wall looms. If there's a story beyond the traditional hero's journey, it's not easy to find, as the app trades narrative for dream logic. Is the story a child's long, flowing dream or a metaphor? In a less visually arresting app, those questions would irk, but it's hard not to fall under the slow spell of this one, which sets a mood of both dread and wonder with gorgeous page transitions and memorable imagery, from bell lanterns to the detailed rainbow bricks of the giant, crumbling wall. The app is not easy to navigate. Readers may find themselves stabbing the screen in frustration until the page advances. But if that's a method to slow readers down and create a sense of entrapment, it works.
It's not a perfect story, and some will find the text ("The shadow at far is a giant / Bigger than the pines") too ephemeral, but the app sets a peculiar mood that is tough to shake. (Requires iOS 6 and above.) (iPad storybook app. 6-12)Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2014
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Harry's Collar
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2014
More trampling in the vineyards of the Literary Classics section, with results that will tickle fancies high and low.
Recasting Dog Man and his feline ward, Li’l Petey, as costumed superheroes, Pilkey looks East of Eden in this follow-up to Tale of Two Kitties (2017).
The Steinbeck novel’s Cain/Abel motif gets some play here, as Petey, “world’s evilest cat” and cloned Li’l Petey’s original, tries assiduously to tempt his angelic counterpart over to the dark side only to be met, ultimately at least, by Li’l Petey’s “Thou mayest.” (There are also occasional direct quotes from the novel.) But inner struggles between good and evil assume distinctly subordinate roles to riotous outer ones, as Petey repurposes robots built for a movie about the exploits of Dog Man—“the thinking man’s Rin Tin Tin”—while leading a general rush to the studio’s costume department for appropriate good guy/bad guy outfits in preparation for the climactic battle. During said battle and along the way Pilkey tucks in multiple Flip-O-Rama inserts as well as general gags. He lists no fewer than nine ways to ask “who cut the cheese?” and includes both punny chapter titles (“The Bark Knight Rises”) and nods to Hamiltonand Mary Poppins. The cartoon art, neatly and brightly colored by Garibaldi, is both as easy to read as the snappy dialogue and properly endowed with outsized sound effects, figures displaying a range of skin colors, and glimpses of underwear (even on robots).
More trampling in the vineyards of the Literary Classics section, with results that will tickle fancies high and low. (drawing instructions) (Graphic fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-93518-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
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What a wag.
What do you get from sewing the head of a smart dog onto the body of a tough police officer? A new superhero from the incorrigible creator of Captain Underpants.
Finding a stack of old Dog Mancomics that got them in trouble back in first grade, George and Harold decide to craft a set of new(ish) adventures with (more or less) improved art and spelling. These begin with an origin tale (“A Hero Is Unleashed”), go on to a fiendish attempt to replace the chief of police with a “Robo Chief” and then a temporarily successful scheme to make everyone stupid by erasing all the words from every book (“Book ’Em, Dog Man”), and finish off with a sort of attempted alien invasion evocatively titled “Weenie Wars: The Franks Awaken.” In each, Dog Man squares off against baddies (including superinventor/archnemesis Petey the cat) and saves the day with a clever notion. With occasional pauses for Flip-O-Rama featurettes, the tales are all framed in brightly colored sequential panels with hand-lettered dialogue (“How do you feel, old friend?” “Ruff!”) and narrative. The figures are studiously diverse, with police officers of both genders on view and George, the chief, and several other members of the supporting cast colored in various shades of brown. Pilkey closes as customary with drawing exercises, plus a promise that the canine crusader will be further unleashed in a sequel.
What a wag. (Graphic fantasy. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-58160-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
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SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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