In a wordless gallery that is severely deficient in sexual and racial diversity, 12 cartoon figures model as many professions.
Differing only in hairstyle and outfit (except for a dark-skinned clown, the sole nonwhite character), each small, generic exemplar floats on a cream-colored screen, with characteristic tools or vehicles that are rendered as toys on right and left. Tapping sets off a gesture and a chuckle or other brief sound effect, after which a second tap will activate a second, repeatable, set of different ones. Aside from large buttons leading to the App Store at the end and the customary links to social media, that’s it for interactive features. Though most of the professions are signaled clearly enough—the construction worker leans on a pile driver, the chef flourishes a saucepan, the artist wears a beret—the medical professional examining a plush “patient” (the only recognizably female model) is more ambiguous, and both the police officer and the firefighter sport British-style headgear. There is no thumbnail index to make skipping around possible.
A nonstarter, too limited of cast, jobs and gender options to compete with Taro Muira’s Tools (2006) or Kathryn Heling’s and Deborah Hembrook’s Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do (2012). (iPad toddler app. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2012
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: kidEbook
Review Posted Online: Oct. 3, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2012
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Preserving the look of the classic board book—even to the trim size and rounded corners—this makeover folds new into old in such inventive ways that it may take more than a few passes to discover all the interactive features. Aboard a ship that rocks in response to a tilt of the tablet a set of animal passengers bounce belowdecks. First they take a bath featuring user-created bubbles, and then they brush their teeth using water so hot that the whole screen hazes up with wipe-able “steam.” Pajama-clad, all then wobble—or, tweaked by a finger, rocket—back outside for a bit of exercise before bed. (Readers control this part by twirling the moon.) In the finest animation of all, every touch of the night sky in the final scene brings a twinkling star into temporary being. Along with making small movements that resemble paper-engineered popup effects, Boynton’s wide eyed passengers also twitch or squeak (or both) when tapped. And though they don’t seem particularly sleepy or conducive to heavy lids, an optional reading by British singer Billy J. Kramer (whose well-traveled voice also pronounces each word individually at a touch), backed by soothing piano music, supplies an effectively soporific audio. “The day is done. / They say good night, / and somebody / turns off the light.” This is as beautiful as the developer’s earlier PopOut! Peter Rabbit while styling itself perfectly to Boynton's whimsy. (Ipad board-book app. 1-3)
Pub Date: March 7, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Loud Crow Interactive
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011
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Animal parents declare their love for their offspring in alphabetical order.
Each page displays an enormous capital letter, one line of verse with the keyword capitalized, and a loving nonhuman parent gazing adoringly at their baby. “A is for Always. I always love you more. / B is for Butterfly kisses. It’s you that I adore.” While not named or labelled as such, the A is also for an alligator and its hatchling and B is for a butterfly and a butterfly child (not a caterpillar—biology is not the aim of this title) interacting in some way with the said letter. For E there are an elephant and a calf; U features a unicorn and foal; and X, keyed to the last letter of the animal’s name, corresponds to a fox and three pups. The final double-page spread shows all the featured creatures and their babies as the last line declares: “Baby, I love you from A to Z!” The verse is standard fare and appropriately sentimental. The art is cartoony-cute and populated by suitably loving critters on solid backgrounds. Hearts accent each scene, but the theme of the project is never in any doubt.
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2095-6
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
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