A dazzly dud.
A far-out meditation on the implications of being born.
This app gushes spiritual sentiment but doesn’t provide a drop of insight or practical relevance. We are born, according to the story, because we are loved. But once here, there’s a whole lot to live up to. “God wishes you to shine / and dazzle bright” and have “a heart like an illumined lamp / and a life like a star / shining forth all of its light.” No pressure. The text assumes that as readers grow, they’ll “show many virtues,” such as living joyfully, learning to pray alone and being helpful and considerate, “just as a child of God would be.” Beyond that there’s no context, no specifics—just a whole lot of trivial moralizing wrapped in a syrupy, mawkish text. Illustrations are bright and cheery, comprised of what one might expect with the accompanying narrative: stars and butterflies, balloons and ponies, with children frolicking in the meadow or floating through the air. Interaction is limited and profoundly basic. There are bonus jigsaw puzzles, matching games and a paint feature. “Personalized” text can be inserted in the story, and readers can access prayers/scripture from a variety of faiths—everything from Bahá'í to Zoroastrianism—which can be recorded, either visually (iPad 2) or audibly (iPad 1).
A dazzly dud. (iPad storybook app. 2-5)Pub Date: Dec. 22, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Twin Peacocks Publishing
Review Posted Online: Feb. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2012
A wandering effort, happy but pointless.
The perfect book for kids who love dragons and mild tacos.
Rubin’s story starts with an incantatory edge: “Hey, kid! Did you know that dragons love tacos? They love beef tacos and chicken tacos. They love really big gigantic tacos and tiny little baby tacos as well.” The playing field is set: dragons, tacos. As a pairing, they are fairly silly, and when the kicker comes in—that dragons hate spicy salsa, which ignites their inner fireworks—the silliness is sillier still. Second nature, after all, is for dragons to blow flames out their noses. So when the kid throws a taco party for the dragons, it seems a weak device that the clearly labeled “totally mild” salsa comes with spicy jalapenos in the fine print, prompting the dragons to burn down the house, resulting in a barn-raising at which more tacos are served. Harmless, but if there is a parable hidden in the dragon-taco tale, it is hidden in the unlit deep, and as a measure of lunacy, bridled or unbridled, it doesn’t make the leap into the outer reaches of imagination. Salmieri’s artwork is fitting, with a crabbed, ethereal line work reminiscent of Peter Sís, but the story does not offer it enough range.
A wandering effort, happy but pointless. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 14, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3680-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: March 27, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.
You think you know shapes? Animals? Blend them together, and you might see them both a little differently!
What a mischievous twist on a concept book! With wordplay and a few groan-inducing puns, Neal creates connections among animals and shapes that are both unexpected and so seemingly obvious that readers might wonder why they didn’t see them all along. Of course, a “lazy turtle” meeting an oval would create the side-splitting combo of a “SLOW-VAL.” A dramatic page turn transforms a deeply saturated, clean-lined green oval by superimposing a head and turtle shell atop, with watery blue ripples completing the illusion. Minimal backgrounds and sketchy, impressionistic detailing keep the focus right on the zany animals. Beginning with simple shapes, the geometric forms become more complicated as the book advances, taking readers from a “soaring bird” that meets a triangle to become a “FLY-ANGLE” to a “sleepy lion” nonagon “YAWN-AGON.” Its companion text, Animal Colors, delves into color theory, this time creating entirely hybrid animals, such as the “GREEN WHION” with maned head and whale’s tail made from a “blue whale and a yellow lion.” It’s a compelling way to visualize color mixing, and like Animal Shapes, it’s got verve. Who doesn’t want to shout out that a yellow kangaroo/green moose blend is a “CHARTREUSE KANGAMOOSE”?
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0534-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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