But along with a spindly plot, the high level of cartoon pseudo-violence and the generic African setting only cause this to...
In a frantic frolic lit up by bright colors and raw physical comedy, an African king’s eager-to-please subjects oblige when he decides to play “cowboy.”
Looking like an orange tribble attached to a pipe-stem body, King Ra Ra enthusiastically dons boots, Stetson and carrot “guns” to become “probably the first Cowboy ever, in Africa.” Following his sudden collision with a tree after an ill-fated attempt to lasso a buffalo, his chortling animal subjects—a pink elephant, a purple giraffe and others with similarly unlikely hues—don silly cow costumes to give him safer targets. This they come to regret after King Ra Ra consults the Cowboy Handbook and learns about “branding,” but after seeing him shoot a derisive insect and fall on his own hot branding iron, all gather around in a final scene to fill a cooling vat with milk from their udders. “Everyone was happy in the jungle!!” The general ridiculousness of all this is enhanced by many tap-activated wriggles, giggles and growls in the cartoon scenes, as well as a particularly animated (optional) narrator who frequently departs from the printed text to deliver warnings or exclamations in a broad Swahili accent.
But along with a spindly plot, the high level of cartoon pseudo-violence and the generic African setting only cause this to bite the dust. (iPad storybook app. 6-8)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Sandman Animation Studio
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013
The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-000153-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005
A fair choice, but it may need some support to really blast off.
This rocket hopes to take its readers on a birthday blast—but there may or may not be enough fuel.
Once a year, a one-seat rocket shoots out from Earth. Why? To reveal a special congratulatory banner for a once-a-year event. The second-person narration puts readers in the pilot’s seat and, through a (mostly) ballad-stanza rhyme scheme (abcb), sends them on a journey toward the sun, past meteors, and into the Kuiper belt. The final pages include additional information on how birthdays are measured against the Earth’s rotations around the sun. Collingridge aims for the stars with this title, and he mostly succeeds. The rhyme scheme flows smoothly, which will make listeners happy, but the illustrations (possibly a combination of paint with digital enhancements) may leave the viewers feeling a little cold. The pilot is seen only with a 1960s-style fishbowl helmet that completely obscures the face, gender, and race by reflecting the interior of the rocket ship. This may allow readers/listeners to picture themselves in the role, but it also may divest them of any emotional connection to the story. The last pages—the backside of a triple-gatefold spread—label the planets and include Pluto. While Pluto is correctly labeled as a dwarf planet, it’s an unusual choice to include it but not the other dwarfs: Ceres, Eris, etc. The illustration also neglects to include the asteroid belt or any of the solar system’s moons.
A fair choice, but it may need some support to really blast off. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 31, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-338-18949-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: David Fickling/Phoenix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2018
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