MR. MARTIN AND THE BIRDS / EL SEÑOR MARTÍN Y LOS PÁJAROS

Name: MR. MARTIN AND THE BIRDS / EL SEÑOR MARTÍN Y LOS PÁJAROS
Author: Maroe Susti

by Maroe Susti & illustrated by Maroe Susti ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 28, 2011

The app itself is an odd bird that could use some updating, especially for the English version. (iPad storybook app. 5-8)

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An avian effort featuring concurrent English and Spanish versions of a story about a man and his feathered friends fails to take flight, despite some nice design touches.

Mr. Martin, an old man who has befriended groups of birds at the park, is puzzled when a crow tries to tell him something. Mr. Martin can speak to sparrows, blue jays and robins, "[b]ut what of other birds? Like eagles, or swans? Cockatoos, or crows? Not a word of their squeaks could he interpret!" As it turns out, the crow warned of rain, a turn of events so inspiring, Mr. Martin resolves to go home and write about it for his grandkids. While its hand-drawn illustrations and modest bits of animation work well (mostly birds flying across the screen or engaging in small bits of word-balloon dialogue), the story is slight, and the translation is rough. In Spanish, Mr. Martin's story is a lovely, rhythmic slice of life, but the English text, which also appears on each page, is riddled with unnecessary punctuation, at least one major misspelling ("though" instead of "thought"). There are no real options beyond page turns, and if there's a way to get back to the main menu once the story begins, it's very effectively hidden. It's a shame, because the pages themselves are beautifully designed. The app ends with a page that lists the birds’ English and Spanish names, though none are mentioned that way in the story proper.

The app itself is an odd bird that could use some updating, especially for the English version. (iPad storybook app. 5-8)

Pub Date: June 28, 2011

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Maroe Susti

Review Posted Online: Aug. 9, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2011

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I WISH YOU MORE

by Amy Krouse Rosenthal ; illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2015

Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.

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A collection of parental wishes for a child.

It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.

Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: April 1, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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EASTER BUNNY HELPER
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Christy Webster ; illustrated by Brigette Barrager & Chiara Fiorentino

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MOO-MOO, I LOVE YOU!
by Tom Lichtenheld & Amy Krouse Rosenthal ; illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

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CHOO-CHOO SCHOOL
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal ; illustrated by Mike Yamada

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IMANI'S MOON

by JaNay Brown-Wood ; illustrated by Hazel Mitchell ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 14, 2014

While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child...

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Imani endures the insults heaped upon her by the other village children, but she never gives up her dreams.

The Masai girl is tiny compared to the other children, but she is full of imagination and perseverance. Luckily, she has a mother who believes in her and tells her stories that will fuel that imagination. Mama tells her about the moon goddess, Olapa, who wins over the sun god. She tells Imani about Anansi, the trickster spider who vanquishes a larger snake. (Troublingly, the fact that Anansi is a West African figure, not of the Masai, goes unaddressed in both text and author’s note.) Inspired, the tiny girl tries to find new ways to achieve her dream: to touch the moon. One day, after crashing to the ground yet again when her leafy wings fail, she is ready to forget her hopes. That night, she witnesses the adumu, the special warriors’ jumping dance. Imani wakes the next morning, determined to jump to the moon. After jumping all day, she reaches the moon, meets Olapa and receives a special present from the goddess, a small moon rock. Now she becomes the storyteller when she relates her adventure to Mama. The watercolor-and-graphite illustrations have been enhanced digitally, and the night scenes of storytelling and fantasy with their glowing stars and moons have a more powerful impact than the daytime scenes, with their blander colors.

While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child to be admired. (Picture book. 5-8)