developed by Kristin Harris ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 4, 2014
Though some of it may sail over the audience’s heads, this shot at early art appreciation is certainly worth the chance.
Choice reproductions of artwork from the National Gallery of Art are matched with letters and words for some amusing, very simple interplay with readers.
The format here is straightforward. The letters of the alphabet are arrayed on the screen; press any letter, and up comes a page comprising the letter, a few words starting with that letter and a piece of art whose title begins with that letter. Touch M for Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps’ Monkey Paging Through a Book, along with an upper- and lowercase M and the words “magic,” “media” and “monkey.” A brief narrative identifies the letter and introduces the artist. Touch the painting, and the monkey moves around a little; other artwork breaks out in furling ribbons of color or a swarm of musical notes. Each page has a movable creature—a cutout cat, duck or fish—readers can squire about (and sometimes leave a stream of glitter). There is something of a disconnect between the artwork, which can be pretty sophisticated stuff, and the age of the audience, which is fairly young considering the simplicity of the animation. Fodder, then, for the 4-year-old future museum curator. But it would be wrong to underestimate anyone’s curiosity in that lion’s-head door pull from 16th-century Germany.
Though some of it may sail over the audience’s heads, this shot at early art appreciation is certainly worth the chance. (iPad alphabet app. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2014
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Kristin Harris
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2014
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developed by Kristin Harris
by Loren Long & illustrated by Loren Long ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2009
Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
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More About This Book
SEEN & HEARD
by Adam Wallace ; illustrated by Andy Elkerton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2017
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers.
The bestselling series (How to Catch an Elf, 2016, etc.) about capturing mythical creatures continues with a story about various ways to catch the Easter Bunny as it makes its annual deliveries.
The bunny narrates its own story in rhyming text, beginning with an introduction at its office in a manufacturing facility that creates Easter eggs and candy. The rabbit then abruptly takes off on its delivery route with a tiny basket of eggs strapped to its back, immediately encountering a trap with carrots and a box propped up with a stick. The narrative focuses on how the Easter Bunny avoids increasingly complex traps set up to catch him with no explanation as to who has set the traps or why. These traps include an underground tunnel, a fluorescent dance floor with a hidden pit of carrots, a robot bunny, pirates on an island, and a cannon that shoots candy fish, as well as some sort of locked, hazardous site with radiation danger. Readers of previous books in the series will understand the premise, but others will be confused by the rabbit’s frenetic escapades. Cartoon-style illustrations have a 1960s vibe, with a slightly scary, bow-tied bunny with chartreuse eyes and a glowing palette of neon shades that shout for attention.
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-3817-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
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by Alice Walstead ; illustrated by Andy Elkerton
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by Adam Wallace ; illustrated by Christopher Nielsen
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