Even though the literary component isn’t wonderful, this app is worth the price of admission thanks to the innovative...
An interactive sequel to The Witch with No Name (2012).
The titular witch is back, and this time she’s looking for love—arguably, in all the wrong places. Obsessed with impressing the narcissistic Merlinor at his annual Halloween Ball, the witch sets out to improve her image. (The magic mirror is partially to blame for this, as it keeps telling her that she’s not marvelous enough for Merlinor.) First she seeks a new wardrobe by visiting German fashion designer Lagerspell, who is fabulous and the one character in the story that shines. She buys a new Ferraci broom and takes etiquette lessons from Mummily Manners. In the end, the witch ends up finding love, but not where she thought she would. There’s a plethora of interactive opportunities throughout the story, many of them delightful. Props to the developers for utilizing the full power of the iPad; SlimCricket harnesses the creative and interactive capabilities of the microphone, camera and tilt action and offers a host of animated touch features. In addition to exploring the tactile magic on each page, readers can complete four tasks to unlock a pleasant little surprise. As with the witch’s first outing, the actual story lags behind in accomplishment, but readers are unlikely to notice this.
Even though the literary component isn’t wonderful, this app is worth the price of admission thanks to the innovative interactive elements. (Requires iOS 6 and above.) (iPad storybook app. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 29, 2014
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: SlimCricket
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2014
Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
SEEN & HEARD
Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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