bookshelf

POINTY AND POKEY

Name: POINTY AND POKEY
Author: PixelMat

developed by PixelMat ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 4, 2012

The worthy theme needs a better vehicle than this to carry it to its audience.

bookshelf

An undistinguished animal story teaches the importance of kids accepting themselves and others for who they are.

Pointy the hedgehog and Pokey the porcupine can’t make friends with the other forest animals because of their sharp quills, so their friend Spinner (a weaver bird) stitches shirts out of hay and grass to help them hide their quills. When some wolves threaten the animals at a birthday party for a little rabbit, Pointy and Pokey use their quills to protect the revelers and are hailed as heroes. Grandpa Rabbit concludes, “You should not hide your precious quills. You are good, as you are!” The message is fine, but the characterization and plot are unexceptional. Pokey is supposedly naughty, and Pointy is likewise shy, but there is never any evidence of this. Moreover, the plot depends on the myth that porcupines "throw" their quills, giving this ability to hedgehogs as well. Swipe navigation works well enough for getting forward and back, with a pop-up menu that will bring viewers back to the homepage. Rudimentary effects are mostly limited to animal sounds or a stream of colored confetti that is released when the screen is touched. Some pages are designed with split panels, offering some interest, but the cartoon-style artwork is uninspired. Words are underlined as the narrator voices the text.

The worthy theme needs a better vehicle than this to carry it to its audience. (iPad storybook app. 3-7)

Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2012

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: PixelMat

Review Posted Online: Feb. 14, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2012

bookshelf

ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

bookshelf

Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

bookshelf

IZZY GIZMO AND THE INVENTION CONVENTION

From the Izzy Gizmo series

by Pip Jones ; illustrated by Sara Ogilvie ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2020

A disappointing follow-up.

bookshelf

Inventor Izzy Gizmo is back in this sequel to her eponymous debut (2017).

While busily inventing one day, Izzy receives an invitation from the Genius Guild to their annual convention. Though Izzy’s “inventions…don’t always work,” Grandpa (apparently her sole caregiver) encourages her to go. The next day they undertake a long journey “over fields, hills, and waves” and “mile after mile” to isolated Technoff Isle. There, Izzy finds she must compete against four other kids to create the most impressive machine. The colorful, detail-rich illustrations chronicle how poor Izzy is thwarted at every turn by Abi von Lavish, a Veruca Salt–esque character who takes all the supplies for herself. But when Abi abandons her project, Izzy salvages the pieces and decides to take Grandpa’s advice to create a machine that “can really be put to good use.” A frustrated Izzy’s impatience with a friend almost foils her chance at the prize, but all’s well that ends well. There’s much to like: Brown-skinned inventor girl Izzy is an appealing character, it’s great to see a nurturing brown-skinned male caregiver, the idea of an “Invention Convention” is fun, and a sustainable-energy invention is laudable. However, these elements don’t make up for rhymes that often feel forced and a lackluster story.

A disappointing follow-up. (Picture book. 3-6)