THE TRULY GREAT NOODLE

Name: THE TRULY GREAT NOODLE
Author: Sam Berman

by Sam Berman & illustrated by Bonnie Bright & developed by Grids Interactive ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 20, 2011

The spaghetti that young Nate sits down to slurp turns out to be just one long noodle that extends out the door, across the...

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A heaping plateful of interactive, often gross-out effects nearly bury this rhymed gustatory episode. Not that that’s a bad thing.

The spaghetti that young Nate sits down to slurp turns out to be just one long noodle that extends out the door, across the street, past the cat scratching in the playground sandbox, through the pig sty and like unsavory places. “Finally, it stopped at Gower’s Junk Store, / and ended up next to a boot on the floor.” Each of the 17 broadly comical cartoon scenes is festooned with touch-activated animations or sound effects large and small. These range from a dog-walker’s “Go pee-pee for Mama!” and a snoring pig’s chartreuse fart to a recurring mouse popping up in various garbs and, toward the end, Nate’s escalating series of belches. The screens load quickly, and multiple taps on some of the special features trigger multiple responses. Children can’t turn off the short, brassy soundtrack loop but do have the option of hearing the tale read by a jovial canned narrator, reading it silently or recording it for themselves. The “self-record” also comes into play in an Extras area, which, along with samples from an album of food-related songs (sold separately), contains a “Burp-O-Meter” for competitive eructation.

Pub Date: June 20, 2011

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Grids Interactive

Review Posted Online: July 20, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2011

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TINY LITTLE ROCKET

by Richard Collingridge ; illustrated by Richard Collingridge ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 31, 2018

A fair choice, but it may need some support to really blast off.

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This rocket hopes to take its readers on a birthday blast—but there may or may not be enough fuel.

Once a year, a one-seat rocket shoots out from Earth. Why? To reveal a special congratulatory banner for a once-a-year event. The second-person narration puts readers in the pilot’s seat and, through a (mostly) ballad-stanza rhyme scheme (abcb), sends them on a journey toward the sun, past meteors, and into the Kuiper belt. The final pages include additional information on how birthdays are measured against the Earth’s rotations around the sun. Collingridge aims for the stars with this title, and he mostly succeeds. The rhyme scheme flows smoothly, which will make listeners happy, but the illustrations (possibly a combination of paint with digital enhancements) may leave the viewers feeling a little cold. The pilot is seen only with a 1960s-style fishbowl helmet that completely obscures the face, gender, and race by reflecting the interior of the rocket ship. This may allow readers/listeners to picture themselves in the role, but it also may divest them of any emotional connection to the story. The last pages—the backside of a triple-gatefold spread—label the planets and include Pluto. While Pluto is correctly labeled as a dwarf planet, it’s an unusual choice to include it but not the other dwarfs: Ceres, Eris, etc. The illustration also neglects to include the asteroid belt or any of the solar system’s moons.

A fair choice, but it may need some support to really blast off. (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: July 31, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-338-18949-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: David Fickling/Phoenix/Scholastic

Review Posted Online: April 15, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LIONHEART
by Richard Collingridge ; illustrated by Richard Collingridge

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WAITING IS NOT EASY!

From the Elephant & Piggie series

by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 4, 2014

A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends

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Gerald the elephant learns a truth familiar to every preschooler—heck, every human: “Waiting is not easy!”

When Piggie cartwheels up to Gerald announcing that she has a surprise for him, Gerald is less than pleased to learn that the “surprise is a surprise.” Gerald pumps Piggie for information (it’s big, it’s pretty, and they can share it), but Piggie holds fast on this basic principle: Gerald will have to wait. Gerald lets out an almighty “GROAN!” Variations on this basic exchange occur throughout the day; Gerald pleads, Piggie insists they must wait; Gerald groans. As the day turns to twilight (signaled by the backgrounds that darken from mauve to gray to charcoal), Gerald gets grumpy. “WE HAVE WASTED THE WHOLE DAY!…And for WHAT!?” Piggie then gestures up to the Milky Way, which an awed Gerald acknowledges “was worth the wait.” Willems relies even more than usual on the slightest of changes in posture, layout and typography, as two waiting figures can’t help but be pretty static. At one point, Piggie assumes the lotus position, infuriating Gerald. Most amusingly, Gerald’s elephantine groans assume weighty physicality in spread-filling speech bubbles that knock Piggie to the ground. And the spectacular, photo-collaged images of the Milky Way that dwarf the two friends makes it clear that it was indeed worth the wait.

A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends . (Early reader. 6-8)