by Patricia Crété & illustrated by Bruno Wennagel & Mathieu Ferret & developed by Vincent Montuclard & Quelle Histoire ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 9, 2014
It’s so cursory of plotline that even the fates of Penelope’s suitors go unmentioned, but it may be a good way to introduce...
A young gamer’s version of the life and adventures of Odysseus, with digital character cards to collect by taking on “challenges” at each stop along the way.
The compressed narrative itself, which appears on undecorated pull-down panels, looks and reads like an afterthought: “The fighting lasts for ten years. The Greeks win the war. Everyone can go home. Odysseus sets sail with his companions. ‘Phew, we’re out of here.’ ” Each of the 15 single-screen “chapters” is a cartoon scene—mostly of Odysseus and (while they last) his men confronting a monster or other hazard—with small animated movements. Around the edges are icons that toggle the lively narration and dramatic background music on or off, lead to a map of the Mediterranean with modern photos of each (putative) location, return readers to the home screen to choose among 11 available languages and open up a series of easy-to-work games. These last include concentration-style and spot-the-difference games, jigsaw puzzles, multiple-choice quizzes (“Where did Odysseus meet Penelope?”) and, for the sirens, an exercise in reproducing sequences of tones. Successful players earn “cards” that, when rubbed, reveal figures from the tale that can be tapped to make hidden descriptive captions appear.
It’s so cursory of plotline that even the fates of Penelope’s suitors go unmentioned, but it may be a good way to introduce or review the cast and the epic tale’s broad outlines. (Requires iOS 6.0 and above.) (iPad storybook/game app. 6-9)Pub Date: April 9, 2014
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Quelle Histoire
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
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by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ; color by Jose Garibaldi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 30, 2016
What a wag.
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What do you get from sewing the head of a smart dog onto the body of a tough police officer? A new superhero from the incorrigible creator of Captain Underpants.
Finding a stack of old Dog Mancomics that got them in trouble back in first grade, George and Harold decide to craft a set of new(ish) adventures with (more or less) improved art and spelling. These begin with an origin tale (“A Hero Is Unleashed”), go on to a fiendish attempt to replace the chief of police with a “Robo Chief” and then a temporarily successful scheme to make everyone stupid by erasing all the words from every book (“Book ’Em, Dog Man”), and finish off with a sort of attempted alien invasion evocatively titled “Weenie Wars: The Franks Awaken.” In each, Dog Man squares off against baddies (including superinventor/archnemesis Petey the cat) and saves the day with a clever notion. With occasional pauses for Flip-O-Rama featurettes, the tales are all framed in brightly colored sequential panels with hand-lettered dialogue (“How do you feel, old friend?” “Ruff!”) and narrative. The figures are studiously diverse, with police officers of both genders on view and George, the chief, and several other members of the supporting cast colored in various shades of brown. Pilkey closes as customary with drawing exercises, plus a promise that the canine crusader will be further unleashed in a sequel.
What a wag. (Graphic fantasy. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-58160-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
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by Dav Pilkey ; illustrated by Dav Pilkey ; color by Jose Garibaldi & Wes Dzioba
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SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
by Doreen Cronin & illustrated by Harry Bliss ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2005
The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-000153-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005
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