Unlikely friends Sparky and Dax both entertain and deliver a message disguised by humor and fun.
An interactive and silly adventure featuring Sparky, a shark, and his penguin buddy, Dax, and their quest to fit in on the beach.
When the people of Magneto Island ban sharks from their beaches, Sparky the shark is heartbroken, especially as this new rule eliminates him from an upcoming sand-sculpture competition. Not to be deterred, the unlikely duo embarks on a shopping spree on land to find a “people-pleasing” disguise that will enable Sparky to compete. However, once at the competition, Sparky learns the best way to fit in at the beach is to just be himself. Each screen features bold and bright illustrations, which feature interactive, although not always obvious, elements that move and make a variety of zany noises when tapped. Adding to the interactivity is a read-to-me version done in an easy-to-follow Australian accent. Extras include an additional feature that lets users disguise Sparky by dragging and dropping silly wigs, wild variations of teeth and zany pairs of eyes onto a model with the option of easily saving a screen shot of their creation.
Unlikely friends Sparky and Dax both entertain and deliver a message disguised by humor and fun. (iPad storybook app. 5-8)Pub Date: Nov. 30, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Biscuit Interactive
Review Posted Online: Jan. 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2012
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
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of...
An international story tackles a serious global issue with Reynolds’ characteristic visual whimsy.
Gie Gie—aka Princess Gie Gie—lives with her parents in Burkina Faso. In her kingdom under “the African sky, so wild and so close,” she can tame wild dogs with her song and make grass sway, but despite grand attempts, she can neither bring the water closer to home nor make it clean. French words such as “maintenant!” (now!) and “maman” (mother) and local color like the karite tree and shea nuts place the story in a French-speaking African country. Every morning, Gie Gie and her mother perch rings of cloth and large clay pots on their heads and walk miles to the nearest well to fetch murky, brown water. The story is inspired by model Georgie Badiel, who founded the Georgie Badiel Foundation to make clean water accessible to West Africans. The details in Reynolds’ expressive illustrations highlight the beauty of the West African landscape and of Princess Gie Gie, with her cornrowed and beaded hair, but will also help readers understand that everyone needs clean water—from the children of Burkina Faso to the children of Flint, Michigan.
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of potable water. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-17258-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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