FARELLAS, THE LEGEND OF A GIANT

Name: FARELLAS, THE LEGEND OF A GIANT
Author: Núria Corbera i Padró

by Núria Corbera i Padró & illustrated by Núria Corbera i Padró & developed by Jordi Martín i Forns ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 6, 2013

Language issues aside, more a story outline than a finished work, but there’s something sweetly appealing about Farellas for...

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Though easy on the eyes and fun to tap, this simple tale of a good giant who fights a bad one could really use both a better translation and a more developed storyline.

At the urging of a passing lad, a kindly Catalan giant known as Strong Farell, or Farellas, sets out to free Barcelona from a mean giant. Rather than leave peaceably, said meanie demands that Farellas “fight against me to kick me out of the city.” After a quick feast “to recover strenght [sic],” Farellas tosses his adversary up into the sky so that he “flew over the roofs of Barcelona and got lost far away the sea horizon,” then strolls home past cheering crowds. Taps on the brightly colored, multitextured cartoon collages trigger mild, pleasing interactions. Night changes to day, roosters crow, small animals pop out of hiding, and the smiling, flannel-shirted giant traverses woods and city streets. These and other animations play out as rather loud strains of background music sound and, at times, clash. The unnarrated text can be read in English, Spanish or the original print version’s Catalan.

Language issues aside, more a story outline than a finished work, but there’s something sweetly appealing about Farellas for all that. (jigsaw puzzle) (iPad storybook app. 6-8)

Pub Date: April 6, 2013

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Jordi Martín i Forns

Review Posted Online: May 14, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2013

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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)

Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-4231-9957-1

Page Count: 64

Publisher: Hyperion

Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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RAPUNZEL

adapted by Rachel Isadora & illustrated by Rachel Isadora ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2008

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Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your dreads! Isadora once again plies her hand using colorful, textured collages to depict her fourth fairy tale relocated to Africa. The narrative follows the basic story line: Taken by an evil sorceress at birth, Rapunzel is imprisoned in a tower; Rapunzel and the prince “get married” in the tower and she gets pregnant. The sorceress cuts off Rapunzel’s hair and tricks the prince, who throws himself from the tower and is blinded by thorns. The terse ending states: “The prince led Rapunzel and their twins to his kingdom, where they were received with great joy and lived happily every after.” Facial features, clothing, dreadlocks, vultures and the prince riding a zebra convey a generic African setting, but at times, the mixture of patterns and textures obfuscates the scenes. The textile and grain characteristic of the hewn art lacks the elegant romance of Zelinksy’s Caldecott version. Not a first purchase, but useful in comparing renditions to incorporate a multicultural aspect. (Picture book/fairy tale. 6-8)