Tropical illustrations and cheerful music are at odds with the scary creatures and sound effects, making for a...
An undistinguished story with plodding text and clashing interactions tries to walk the line between humor and horror and doesn’t succeed very well at either.
The Summers family takes a ride on the boat Lollipop on their vacation, but the weather goes bad, and they wash up on a creepy island with an angry volcano monster at its center. They split up into two groups and encounter strange, fantastical creatures like a Quetzalcoatl (winged snake), a Zillard (fire-breathing lizard) and a Catoblepas (horned, armored beast). The castaways seem doomed until one of the kids trips, accidentally dislodging a tree that has been stuck in the mountain’s foot like a splinter. The volcano becomes happy, the clouds clear and a rainbow appears. “Quickly, Man and beast became pals. They played, picnicked, and paraded about.” The app includes a plethora of features. Tilting the device hints at an unimpressive 3-D effect. Occasional starbursts appear on the screen, and if they’re touched quickly, a Halloween jack-o’-lantern appears with a creepy laugh and trail of black smoke. The characters have their own sound effects and animations, which sometimes interfere with the ability to activate the jack-o’-lanterns. There is a map icon on each page, and periodically a message appears that the viewer has “unlocked” a piece of the map, although the map doesn’t appear to change when that happens.
Tropical illustrations and cheerful music are at odds with the scary creatures and sound effects, making for a less-than-cohesive experience. (iPad storybook app. 4-8)Pub Date: March 14, 2012
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Mobad Games
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
What if the market was closed when you wanted to bake a pie? You could embark for Europe, learn Italian en route, and pick up some semolina wheat in Italy, an egg in France, kurundu bark for cinnamon in Sri Lanka, and an entire cow in England (butter) before coming home via Jamaica (sugar) and Vermont (apples). The expertly designed illustrations in which a dark-haired lass journeys by various means to these interesting places to get her groceries are lovely and lively, and the narrative, too, travels at a spritely pace. The journey is neither quite logical enough to be truly informative nor quite bizarre enough to be satisfyingly silly, while the rich, sweet recipe that's appended will take some adult assistance. Still, fun. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: May 2, 1994
ISBN: 0-679-83705-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1994
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of...
An international story tackles a serious global issue with Reynolds’ characteristic visual whimsy.
Gie Gie—aka Princess Gie Gie—lives with her parents in Burkina Faso. In her kingdom under “the African sky, so wild and so close,” she can tame wild dogs with her song and make grass sway, but despite grand attempts, she can neither bring the water closer to home nor make it clean. French words such as “maintenant!” (now!) and “maman” (mother) and local color like the karite tree and shea nuts place the story in a French-speaking African country. Every morning, Gie Gie and her mother perch rings of cloth and large clay pots on their heads and walk miles to the nearest well to fetch murky, brown water. The story is inspired by model Georgie Badiel, who founded the Georgie Badiel Foundation to make clean water accessible to West Africans. The details in Reynolds’ expressive illustrations highlight the beauty of the West African landscape and of Princess Gie Gie, with her cornrowed and beaded hair, but will also help readers understand that everyone needs clean water—from the children of Burkina Faso to the children of Flint, Michigan.
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of potable water. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-17258-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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