Readers will become immersed in this spectacular world, just as they might with a high-quality animated movie.
A gorgeous picture-book app adapted from a French animated film.
When beloved Aunt Eleanor dies, she leaves a mysterious old house to a young couple, a seemingly worthless Russian doll to their daughter and a library of books to their young son, Nathaniel. A struggling reader, Nathaniel is underwhelmed by his gift until he discovers that the books' characters have come to life, albeit in miniature. But a storm destroys part of the roof of the old house, and the books must be sold off to an antique dealer to help pay for repairs. When Nathaniel fails to read a secret inscription on the library wall, a wicked fairy shrinks him down to the size of the storybook characters, and he is taken along with all the books to the warehouse. Nathaniel must get back to the house and properly read the inscription or the storybook characters will fade into nothingness. There are more plot elements than can comfortably fit into a short app, particularly near the end, where the story gets a bit muddled, but the high production values more than make up for this. The stunning animation makes full use of varying perspectives, rich colors and patterns and is paired with an eerie and evocative soundtrack. There is a French-language option, as well as a pop-up screen with options that illustrate or define some words, identify vowels and switch from typeset letters to cursive. One minor quibble is that there is no easy way for readers to turn off the narration and read the book on their own.
Readers will become immersed in this spectacular world, just as they might with a high-quality animated movie. (iPad storybook app. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Chocolapps
Review Posted Online: Oct. 30, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2011
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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