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SHOE ZOO

Name: SHOE ZOO
Author: Rebecca Jelbert

From the Tales by Torchlight series

by Rebecca Jelbert & illustrated by Rebecca Jelbert & developed by Jellywalk ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 26, 2012

The multilayered illustrations cleverly capture a child imaginatively transforming herself, but it’s impossible to read this...

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An artistically inventive tale, rendered clunky and frustrating by interactive features of, at best, amateur quality.

Following an introductory frame story, Evangelina, a young artist who spins nighttime tales for her toys, describes how she and her mother pay a visit to a real zoo after old boots and other clothing inspires her to fancy herself as various animals. The zoo animals are photographed; the imagined ones are childlike drawings superimposed over more finished paintings of Evangelina’s face or other images. Selected screens have single, simple touch-activated changes of color or figure position, primitively signaled by printed instructions in the margin that locate the one area that will respond to a tap. Like a paper flip book, these changes are accomplished with short sequences of nearly identical separate images which, though they shift invisibly the first time through, must be manually scrolled back one screen at a time to replay the effect or, for that matter, even to page ahead. The story downloads into iBooks, and tapping any figure that is not touch-sensitive invariably activates the reader’s menu bar, highlighting and search functions—all of which, except for the “index” icon, are irrelevant distractions.

The multilayered illustrations cleverly capture a child imaginatively transforming herself, but it’s impossible to read this through without annoying stops and interruptions, and readers accustomed to the flexibility and razzmatazz of the better apps will be disappointed. (iPad enhanced e-book. 6-8)

Pub Date: June 26, 2012

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Jellywalk

Review Posted Online: Aug. 7, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2012

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VENUS! FIERCE AND FABULOUS

From the Our Universe series

by Stacy McAnulty ; illustrated by Stevie Lewis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 3, 2026

An introduction to Venus that shows the planet at her most verbally and visually vivacious.

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The solar system’s hottest diva struts her stuff.

The titular character’s claim that she’s the only goddess among the planetary gods may leave partisans of “Gaea” (technically not an official name, but still) feeling a little miffed. That aside, Venus still has plenty to crow about—from having higher surface temperatures than Mercury, to sporting a day that’s longer than her year, to spinning so the sun comes up in the west. Joining McAnulty’s other solar system soliloquies with the same engaging mix of facts and attitude (“Earth has clouds. I don’t…just have clouds. I’m smothered in them!”), Venus shines up from the page. She sports a proud expression on her broad face, whether hovering with windswept golden locks over a seashell like her Botticellian counterpart or floating in space, waving to her earthly and celestial fans with stubby limbs. Closing with a review quiz and a roundup of basic statistics, this animated planetary self-portrait will give young readers more reason than ever to pay proper attention to the brightest of our non-stellar astronomical neighbors.

An introduction to Venus that shows the planet at her most verbally and visually vivacious. (bibliography) (Informational picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026

ISBN: 9781250334473

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Odd Dot

Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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by Stacy McAnulty ; illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley

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by Stacy McAnulty

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by Stacy McAnulty ; illustrated by Claire Keane

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THE BEST CHEF IN SECOND GRADE

by Katharine Kenah & illustrated by Abby Carter ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 2007

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An impending school visit by a celebrity chef sends budding cook Ollie into a tailspin. He and his classmates are supposed to bring a favorite family food for show and tell, but his family doesn’t have a clear choice—besides, his little sister Rosy doesn’t like much of anything. What to do? As in their previous two visits to Room 75, Kenah builds suspense while keeping the tone light, and Carter adds both bright notes of color and familiar home and school settings in her cartoon illustrations. Eventually, Ollie winkles favorite ingredients out of his clan, which he combines into a mac-and-cheese casserole with a face on top that draws delighted praise from the class’s renowned guest. As Ollie seems to do his kitchen work without parental assistance, a cautionary tip or two (and maybe a recipe) might not have gone amiss here, but the episode’s mouthwatering climax and resolution will guarantee smiles of contentment all around. (Easy reader. 6-7)