by Mara Colecchia & illustrated by Jorgito Rodriguez & Andrea Parisi & developed by iStoryApps & Apps of All Nations ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 27, 2011
A few bells and whistles fail to make this app soar.
Bally meets up with three "real" dogs and through a series of events realizes that he’s different. Will he ever fit in?
Bally the “bright blue poodle” (clearly lavender on the iPad screen) is tethered to a string and held by the balloon seller in the park. As he floats high in the sky, a gust of wind gives him a lift and he manages to break free. Thus begins his attempt to keep up with three real canines. Bally tries to dive into a fountain but can only float on the surface. He tries to lift his leg on a tree but nothing comes out (though apparently he can pass gas). He tries to eat a hotdog and ends up catapulting it on top of a hedge none of them can reach. It’s only when he retrieves the wayward hotdog that he is fully accepted as “one of them.” There are elements to this app that kids will enjoy: feeding hotdogs to pups; dropping dogs into a fountain; recording personal narration. But by and large, it’s about as limp as a balloon that survived last week’s birthday party. The story is weak and inconsistent, the writing is undistinguished and the implicit “moral” leaves the impression that usefulness equals value.
A few bells and whistles fail to make this app soar. (iPad storybook app. 4-7)Pub Date: April 27, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Apps of All Nations
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2011
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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 Hoda Kotb ; illustrated by Chloe Dominique ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2024
Pleasant enough but not particularly original.
Uplifting messages of positivity from the Today show anchor.
Hope springs eternal, so the saying goes. Kotb agrees, here delivering to children the cheery news that hope lives inside all of them and that whatever they might wish for can be theirs. All they need is a sunny outlook, and the possibilities for happy outcomes are virtually endless. Children’s dreams can be in-the-moment ones—like purple ice cream with whipped cream and a cherry—or more far-ranging ones, such as growing tall enough to reach that high shelf easily or for hair that’s long enough to braid. It doesn’t matter, the author reassures young readers. Your aspirations will be realized, so don’t give up on them—just keep believing in them and, most of all, in yourself. Throughout, Kotb calls hope a rainbow, a feeling, a gift, and a wish. Hope is “new friends you’ll find— / friends who are loving and funny and kind.” Hope is “practicing your heart out, letter by letter.” The book’s overarching theme is upbeat, but its bouncy rhyming text is clumsy. The child-appealing illustrations are colorful and lively, though they have a generic look. The cast of wide-eyed characters is racially diverse; some have visible disabilities.
Pleasant enough but not particularly original. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9780593624128
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
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by Hoda Kotb ; illustrated by Suzie Mason
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