The app price ($7.99 at the time of review) may make you squeal, but still it’s a creative and charming alternative to...
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
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)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of...
An international story tackles a serious global issue with Reynolds’ characteristic visual whimsy.
Gie Gie—aka Princess Gie Gie—lives with her parents in Burkina Faso. In her kingdom under “the African sky, so wild and so close,” she can tame wild dogs with her song and make grass sway, but despite grand attempts, she can neither bring the water closer to home nor make it clean. French words such as “maintenant!” (now!) and “maman” (mother) and local color like the karite tree and shea nuts place the story in a French-speaking African country. Every morning, Gie Gie and her mother perch rings of cloth and large clay pots on their heads and walk miles to the nearest well to fetch murky, brown water. The story is inspired by model Georgie Badiel, who founded the Georgie Badiel Foundation to make clean water accessible to West Africans. The details in Reynolds’ expressive illustrations highlight the beauty of the West African landscape and of Princess Gie Gie, with her cornrowed and beaded hair, but will also help readers understand that everyone needs clean water—from the children of Burkina Faso to the children of Flint, Michigan.
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of potable water. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-17258-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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