Unfortunately, this simple story with its interesting interactive concept fails to take flight, weighed down by inconsistent...
A flight of butterflies is frustrated by a spider’s many webs, and users will find this story app just as frustrating as they try to trigger the speech-activated features.
Spring is here, and the butterflies are flying to their favorite meadow by Sugar Creek. Rhyming text and soft digital art create a happy feeling. There is no narration for this story; instead, the animations are activated by readers’ voices. Regrettably, this app suffers from a host of problems. Grammatical errors—in part probably due to the need to suit scansion—are rife in this app and will pose comprehension difficulties for young readers. For instance, the butterflies are shocked to find that a spider has spun many webs among the flowers. “Just one we agreed, not this many that’s what we said.” Furthermore, the story misses an important opportunity to model conflict resolution. Instead of seeking compromise, the butterflies simply demand that Mr. Spider take down his webs. Young children know that this would never be successful—neither in nature nor on the playground. The speech-generated animations do not work smoothly or consistently, and readers may need to repeat a sentence several times before the screen changes.
Unfortunately, this simple story with its interesting interactive concept fails to take flight, weighed down by inconsistent features and poor grammar. (Requires iOS 7 and above.) (iPad storybook app. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 29, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Moises Gonzalez
Review Posted Online: Nov. 30, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2013
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
This frenetic ode to fatherhood is predictable fare but may please series fans.
It’s time to look for the elusive Daddysaurus.
In this latest installment in the seemingly never-ending series about a group of diverse kids attempting to trap mythical creatures, the youngsters are now on the lookout for a big mauve dinosaur with an emblazoned D on his stomach and a superhero cape. The fast-moving Daddysaurus is always on the go; he will be difficult to catch. Armed with blueprints of possible ideas, the kids decide which traps to set. As in previous works, ones of the sticky variety seem popular. They cover barbells with fly paper (Daddysaurus like to exercise) and spread glue on the handle of a shovel (Daddysaurus also likes to garden). One clever trick involves tempting Daddysaurus with a drawing of a hole, taped to the wall, because he fixes everything that breaks. Daddysaurus is certainly engaged in the children’s lives, not a workaholic or absent, but he does fall into some standard tropes associated with fathers. The rhyming quatrains stumble at times but for the most part bounce along. Overall, though, text and art feel somewhat formulaic and likely will tempt only devotees of the series. The final page of the book (after Daddysaurus is caught with love) has a space for readers to write a note or draw a picture of their own Daddysaurus. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
This frenetic ode to fatherhood is predictable fare but may please series fans. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-72826-618-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
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