This yarn could definitely use a tighter weave.
A crocheted calico snail loses sight of a coveted head of lettuce and must creep through a tremendously laborious story to try and find it.
Loopy the snail and Mumma Butterfly are fashioned from a wide variety of yarns—fuzzy, smooth and patterned textures in an assortment of vibrant colors. In fact, crocheted creatures and surroundings populate every illustration. They’re creative and cute. All of the other app components, however, are significantly lacking. The story, read by a sweet enough but monotone-voiced Australian girl, is told in pedestrian rhyme that regularly strong-arms the narrative to fit the meter. Not only are the page transitions and animations—well, snaillike, the story lumbers on and on. Just when he thinks he’s going to find his lettuce, poor Loopy has to help other creatures with their tasks—games that range from endurable to mind-numbing—before they’ll help him with his. The difficulty-level options at the app’s launch correspond with the games, not the text. Tap-activated interactions perform fine (though they’re often repetitive and dull), but the tilt and shake features are often inconsistent and frustratingly slow. By the time Loopy finds his lettuce, readers will have gotten a visual tutorial of the seasons and a few gratuitous interactive thrills, but they might also be covered in cobwebs.
This yarn could definitely use a tighter weave. (iPad storybook app. 2-5)Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2012
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Pixelflip Studios
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2013
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
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes.
A lift-the-flap book gives the littlest trick-or-treaters some practice identifying partygoers under their costumes.
Little Blue Truck and his buddy Toad are off to a party, and they invite readers (and a black cat) along for the ride: “ ‘Beep! Beep! Beep!’ / says Little Blue. / ‘It’s Halloween!’ / You come, too.” As they drive, they are surprised (and joined) by many of their friends in costume. “Who’s that in a tutu / striking a pose / up on the tiniest / tips of her toes? / Under the mask / who do you see?” Lifting the flap unmasks a friend: “ ‘Quack!’ says the duck. / ‘It’s me! It’s me!’ ” The sheep is disguised as a clown, the cow’s a queen, the pig’s a witch, the hen and her chick are pirates, and the horse is a dragon. Not to be left out, Little Blue has a costume, too. The flaps are large and sturdy, and enough of the animals’ characteristic features are visible under and around the costumes that little ones will be able to make successful guesses even on the first reading. Lovely curvy shapes and autumn colors fade to dusky blues as night falls, and children are sure to notice the traditional elements of a Halloween party: apple bobbing, lit jack-o’-lanterns, and punch and treats.
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-77253-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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