Aside from the overuse of absolute adverbs, this is a worthwhile add to any iPad bookshelf. (iPad storybook app. 3-6)
Based on the printed version of Tsitas’ book with the same title, this app chronicles the advantages and hazards of companionship.
Friends, says the narrator, will always do certain things. They’ll give you half of their snack. They’ll share their secrets. They’ll lend you their favorite belongings and help you clean your room—and the list goes on. (The number of things a friend always does may leave readers wondering if the narrator is describing a child or a genie. Can any kid live up to it all?) Regardless, friendships aren’t always so rosy. Sometimes friends have disagreements and get angry with each another. Is that the end of the world? As we all know, it can sure feel like it when you’re a child. But the author does a splendid job conveying the idea that sometimes disagreements blow over without the necessity of a courtroom trial. The app is visually interesting and beautifully illustrated. English is the sole language option, and the narration is lively and pleasantly inflective. There’s a generous amount of animation and motion but very little interactivity. That’s not necessarily a bad thing—storybook apps don’t have to be a digital circus to be good. This one strikes a nice balance.
Aside from the overuse of absolute adverbs, this is a worthwhile add to any iPad bookshelf. (iPad storybook app. 3-6)Pub Date: May 11, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Psichogios Publications
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree.
A Christmas edition of the beloved alphabet book.
The story starts off nearly identically to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989), written by John Archambault and the late Bill Martin Jr, with the letters A, B, and C deciding to meet in the branches of a tree. This time, they’re attempting to scale a Christmas tree, not a coconut tree, and the letters are strung together like garland. A, B, and C are joined by the other letters, and of course they all “slip, slop, topple, plop!” right down the tree. At the bottom, they discover an assortment of gifts, all in a variety of shapes. As a team, the letters and presents organize themselves to get back up on the Christmas tree and get a star to the top. Holiday iterations of favorite tales often fall flat, but this take succeeds. The gifts are an easy way to reinforce another preschool concept—shapes—and the text uses just enough of the original to be familiar. The rhyming works, sticking to the cadence of the source material. The illustrations pay homage to the late Lois Ehlert’s, featuring the same bold block letters, though they lack some of the whimsy and personality of the original. Otherwise, everything is similarly brightly colored and simply drawn. Those familiar with the classic will be drawn to this one, but newcomers can enjoy it on its own.
A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781665954761
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
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