Nevertheless, it's got a formidable array of virtual mechanics that'll wow any kid who's starting to look beyond LEGOs for...
A brawny antidote to the fairy-tale adaptations and cutesy cartoon-character apps that overstuff the App Store, this ear-catchingly titled story is all about power tools and building.
Promising to help readers build a Crankamacallit, "With buttons and levers and yes, of course—CRANKS!", the app fills its pages with red and green buttons, a toolbox full of building instruments and, later, an orchestra pit built into what looks like a birthday-party-balloon–powered zeppelin. There are blueprints, a silly notepad filled with illustrated engineering notes and the occasional flight of fancy. (Literally, in one case: an inspirational flying goose.) The visual style is a curious mix of near-photorealistic artwork and polished computer animation. Near the end, running a finger along the screen generates a thrilling rotating view of the finished flying vehicle. The sound effects and narration are energetic and satisfying. But many of the elements, including some of the buttons and schematics, are difficult to interact with because the app reads many taps as page turns. It's far too sensitive, and unnecessary to boot, given the page-turning arrows on the bottom corners of each page. In fact, navigation in general is overdone and fussy given the subject matter. There are four different ways to navigate, and that's probably two too many for an app with only 20 pages total.
Nevertheless, it's got a formidable array of virtual mechanics that'll wow any kid who's starting to look beyond LEGOs for bigger building blocks. (iPad storybook app. 4-8)Pub Date: May 27, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: POLYMASH
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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