SPLOTCH: THE CENTER

Name: SPLOTCH: THE CENTER
Author: Michael-Paul Terranova

by Michael-Paul Terranova & illustrated by Michael-Paul Terranova & developed by Curious Circus ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 18, 2011

Sketchy but oddly effective.

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A minimalist fable featuring an inkblot, a blank page and (aside from page “turns”) a single animated effect.

A smiling blob yearns to be able to migrate from the edges of the screen to the center, where everything is purportedly better: “There isn’t a bedtime at the center of the page!” Nor homework, nor chores, nor pesky siblings, nor bullies, but there is longer recess and a bedroom, and “you always get chicken nuggets….” Alas, when the blot does manage with herculean effort to reach its goal, none of these benefits materialize—and so, after a few wordless screens and with the realization that “I make things better…not the center of the page,” it oozes edgeward once again. Although the blob can’t be moved around, it splatters at a touch (with a musical tone), then reverts a second or so later. Children can read the large-type text themselves or opt for the author’s animated rendition, and using a common (but in this case superfluous) feature also open a strip of thumbnail page images at any time.

Sketchy but oddly effective. (iPad storybook app. 6-8, adult)

Pub Date: July 18, 2011

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Curious Circus

Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2011

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SOUNDS WE MAKE
by Michael-Paul Terranova illustrated by Michael-Paul Terranova developed by Curious Circus

- BOOK REVIEW
MAX'S TEMPER TURNAROUND
by Michael-Paul Terranova & illustrated by Michael-Paul Terranova & developed by Curious Circus

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TINY LITTLE ROCKET

by Richard Collingridge ; illustrated by Richard Collingridge ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 31, 2018

A fair choice, but it may need some support to really blast off.

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This rocket hopes to take its readers on a birthday blast—but there may or may not be enough fuel.

Once a year, a one-seat rocket shoots out from Earth. Why? To reveal a special congratulatory banner for a once-a-year event. The second-person narration puts readers in the pilot’s seat and, through a (mostly) ballad-stanza rhyme scheme (abcb), sends them on a journey toward the sun, past meteors, and into the Kuiper belt. The final pages include additional information on how birthdays are measured against the Earth’s rotations around the sun. Collingridge aims for the stars with this title, and he mostly succeeds. The rhyme scheme flows smoothly, which will make listeners happy, but the illustrations (possibly a combination of paint with digital enhancements) may leave the viewers feeling a little cold. The pilot is seen only with a 1960s-style fishbowl helmet that completely obscures the face, gender, and race by reflecting the interior of the rocket ship. This may allow readers/listeners to picture themselves in the role, but it also may divest them of any emotional connection to the story. The last pages—the backside of a triple-gatefold spread—label the planets and include Pluto. While Pluto is correctly labeled as a dwarf planet, it’s an unusual choice to include it but not the other dwarfs: Ceres, Eris, etc. The illustration also neglects to include the asteroid belt or any of the solar system’s moons.

A fair choice, but it may need some support to really blast off. (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: July 31, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-338-18949-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: David Fickling/Phoenix/Scholastic

Review Posted Online: April 15, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LIONHEART
by Richard Collingridge ; illustrated by Richard Collingridge

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WAITING IS NOT EASY!

From the Elephant & Piggie series

by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 4, 2014

A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends

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Gerald the elephant learns a truth familiar to every preschooler—heck, every human: “Waiting is not easy!”

When Piggie cartwheels up to Gerald announcing that she has a surprise for him, Gerald is less than pleased to learn that the “surprise is a surprise.” Gerald pumps Piggie for information (it’s big, it’s pretty, and they can share it), but Piggie holds fast on this basic principle: Gerald will have to wait. Gerald lets out an almighty “GROAN!” Variations on this basic exchange occur throughout the day; Gerald pleads, Piggie insists they must wait; Gerald groans. As the day turns to twilight (signaled by the backgrounds that darken from mauve to gray to charcoal), Gerald gets grumpy. “WE HAVE WASTED THE WHOLE DAY!…And for WHAT!?” Piggie then gestures up to the Milky Way, which an awed Gerald acknowledges “was worth the wait.” Willems relies even more than usual on the slightest of changes in posture, layout and typography, as two waiting figures can’t help but be pretty static. At one point, Piggie assumes the lotus position, infuriating Gerald. Most amusingly, Gerald’s elephantine groans assume weighty physicality in spread-filling speech bubbles that knock Piggie to the ground. And the spectacular, photo-collaged images of the Milky Way that dwarf the two friends makes it clear that it was indeed worth the wait.

A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends . (Early reader. 6-8)