It's certainly not the most attractive app on the market, but its twitchy, cackling, dance-happy main character has a...
Crude drawings and simple interactions don't hold this guided tour of a modern home, but its soundtrack may.
A large chicken stands in front of a white picket fence, beckoning readers to touch a doorknob (yes, a doorknob on a fence) to enter. From there, things only get stranger. As readers explore a garden, a living room, an attic, a kitchen and other rooms in a house, the chicken keeps popping up. It pops out of drawers, emerges from the toilet and appears from behind the television set. What does this chicken want? Does it own the house, or is it merely an avian interloper? Readers will never find out, but they will learn that this chicken likes to dance. At the end of a series of challenges, such as finding a pillow or a garden hose, the chicken jumps out, dancing to an addictive earworm of a song. The bulk of the app, which involves tapping objects on screen when prompted and activating others that are highlighted, is responsive and satisfying for young readers still learning basic words. The app's art is not particularly slick, and there's no story to speak of (even the kitchen scene promised in the title is anticlimactic), but the chicken's dance theme and the ease of navigation in the app nearly make up for it.
It's certainly not the most attractive app on the market, but its twitchy, cackling, dance-happy main character has a certain air of mystery that's hard to resist. (iPad storybook app. 18 mos.-5)Pub Date: Dec. 22, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Touchoo
Review Posted Online: Feb. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2012
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A joyful celebration.
Families in a variety of configurations play, dance, and celebrate together.
The rhymed verse, based on a song from the Noodle Loaf children’s podcast, declares that “Families belong / Together like a puzzle / Different-sized people / One big snuggle.” The accompanying image shows an interracial couple of caregivers (one with brown skin and one pale) cuddling with a pajama-clad toddler with light brown skin and surrounded by two cats and a dog. Subsequent pages show a wide array of families with members of many different racial presentations engaging in bike and bus rides, indoor dance parties, and more. In some, readers see only one caregiver: a father or a grandparent, perhaps. One same-sex couple with two children in tow are expecting another child. Smart’s illustrations are playful and expressive, curating the most joyful moments of family life. The verse, punctuated by the word together, frequently set in oversized font, is gently inclusive at its best but may trip up readers with its irregular rhythms. The song that inspired the book can be found on the Noodle Loaf website.
A joyful celebration. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22276-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
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