FOUR LITTLE PIGS

Name: FOUR LITTLE PIGS
Author: Kimara Nye

by Kimara Nye & illustrated by Marcin Bruchnalski & developed by Maverick Arts Publishing Ltd ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 14, 2011

The app price ($7.99 at the time of review) may make you squeal, but still it’s a creative and charming alternative to...

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After complaining that a common fairy tale is boring and predictable, Tom is “spelled” into the story by his witch-grandmother.

Granny Mag is a witch—not the wart-covered, child-eating kind; she’s what Samantha Stephens of Bewitched fame might have been like as a senior citizen. When her grandson Tom balks at “The Three Little Pigs” as a bedtime story, Granny Mag picks up her wand, gives him a snout and casts a spell that drops him in to the story. Tom immediately sets out to warn the pigs of their impending doom, and each time the wolf shows up, Tom saves the day by outsmarting him. Interactive features are plentiful—a growling wolf, a melodic guitar, chuckling pigs, to name just a few—but when a touch accidentally becomes a minor swipe, it turns the page prematurely (annoying, but avoidable with practice). Bold colors and sharp illustrations make visual engagement easy, and characters are well drawn—both in a literary and an artistic sense. The wolf even elicits a little sympathy, as he’s clearly disoriented and frustrated by the fourth pig (Tom). There are auto-play and read-it-myself options, but an added bonus is that readers can opt for narration on a page-by-page basis.

The app price ($7.99 at the time of review) may make you squeal, but still it’s a creative and charming alternative to standard swine fare. (iPad storybook app. 5-9)

Pub Date: June 14, 2011

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Maverick Publishing

Review Posted Online: Aug. 9, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2011

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BEST BUNNY BROTHER EVER

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Tim Bowers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 6, 2026

A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note.

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Little Honey Bunny Funnybunny loves baseball almost as much as she loves her big brother P.J.—though it’s a close-run thing.

Readers familiar with the pranks P.J. plays on his younger sibling in older episodes of the series (most illustrated by Roger Bollen) will be amused—and perhaps a little confused—to see him in the role of perfect big brother after meeting his swaddled little sister for the first time in mama’s lap. But here, along with being a constant companion and “always happy to see her,” he cements his heroic status in her eyes by hitting a home run for his baseball team and then patiently teaching her how to play T-ball. After carefully coaching her and leading her through warm-up exercises, he even sits in the stands, loudly cheering her on as she scores the winning run in her own very first game. “‘You are the best brother a bunny could ever have!’” she burbles. This tale’s a tad blander compared with others centered on P.J. and his sister, but it’s undeniably cheery, with text well structured for burgeoning readers. The all-smiles animal cast in Bowers’ cartoon art features a large and diversely hued family of bunnies sporting immense floppy ears as well as a multispecies crowd of furry onlookers equally varied of color, with one spectator in a wheelchair.

A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note. (Early reader. 6-8)

Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026

ISBN: 9798217032464

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: March 17, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

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TALES FOR VERY PICKY EATERS

by Josh Schneider & illustrated by Josh Schneider ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2011

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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)