A faithful and enjoyable, if at times over-busy, adaptation of the 1973 television special.
The developer’s preservation of much of the source material gives the app a welcoming feel. The new, touch-friendly elements, including a ribbon slider at the bottom of most pages to move the story along, tabs to activate special animations and a hidden-leaf game that runs through the entire story, are well-executed (though the last is disappointingly irrelevant to the story). Older readers who have the TV special’s rhythms burned deep into their memories may find these features jarring, and the repeated prompts, wiggling cut-out figures and dialogue snippets tagged with redundant character mug shots may distract even less-sentimental readers. On the other hand, other bits of new magic, such as a popcorn-popping minigame with Snoopy, are so enjoyable that it’s hard to begrudge them. The story itself—about Charlie Brown botching a Thanksgiving feast for friends who invited themselves over—shines through distractions. There’s been no attempt to update plot points or dialogue: Peppermint Patty still playfully accuses Charlie Brown of playing “lovers’ games”; disturbingly, little bird Woodstock appears to be ready to feast on a slice of turkey as the story ends. Young readers—who can absorb the story in “Autoplay” mode—won’t miss anything in the new version, and older readers may come to appreciate Loud Crow’s mix of old and new after repeated readings. (iPad storybook app. 3-10)
Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Loud Crow Interactive
Review Posted Online: Nov. 25, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
SEEN & HEARD
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