Though the story is simple, even obvious, it takes flight because of the ambitious design work, the kind of thing that can...
A moody, beautifully rendered dreamscape, this app about conquering a fear of the dark takes full advantage of the iPad's capabilities.
In a small cottage, a nameless boy is being put to bed, and Mummy tells him the Sandman will soon help him off to sleep. After the Sandman visits, a mysterious owl leads the boy through landscapes and starry skies to learn why there's no reason to be afraid of nighttime. Scary things, like a wicked, twisted witch, turn out to be more normal objects like a squirrel in an old tree. Dark silhouettes against dense, textured backgrounds match the story’s tone beautifully. There are neat surprises, like moons that grow to reveal hidden things, a maze of purple clouds that must be flown through and a simple but brilliant navigation wheel that brings up all the features through easy-to-access icons. But perhaps the thing this app has to offer most to readers, and to the state of storybook apps, is its joyous transitions. On one page, readers brush away the last page to get to the next. On another, sleepy eyelids come together to blackout a page before the next one is illuminated by starlight. It's all accompanied by a lush, classical soundtrack.
Though the story is simple, even obvious, it takes flight because of the ambitious design work, the kind of thing that can only be pulled off as an app like this. (iPad storybook app. 3-7)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2012
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: hocusbookus
Review Posted Online: Oct. 8, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2012
A wandering effort, happy but pointless.
The perfect book for kids who love dragons and mild tacos.
Rubin’s story starts with an incantatory edge: “Hey, kid! Did you know that dragons love tacos? They love beef tacos and chicken tacos. They love really big gigantic tacos and tiny little baby tacos as well.” The playing field is set: dragons, tacos. As a pairing, they are fairly silly, and when the kicker comes in—that dragons hate spicy salsa, which ignites their inner fireworks—the silliness is sillier still. Second nature, after all, is for dragons to blow flames out their noses. So when the kid throws a taco party for the dragons, it seems a weak device that the clearly labeled “totally mild” salsa comes with spicy jalapenos in the fine print, prompting the dragons to burn down the house, resulting in a barn-raising at which more tacos are served. Harmless, but if there is a parable hidden in the dragon-taco tale, it is hidden in the unlit deep, and as a measure of lunacy, bridled or unbridled, it doesn’t make the leap into the outer reaches of imagination. Salmieri’s artwork is fitting, with a crabbed, ethereal line work reminiscent of Peter Sís, but the story does not offer it enough range.
A wandering effort, happy but pointless. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 14, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3680-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: March 27, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-00361-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
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