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STRIDING BIRD

Name: STRIDING BIRD
Author: Stephanie Yap

AN INTERACTIVE TALE

by Stephanie Yap & illustrated by Wenpo Sun & developed by Comicorp ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 28, 2012

Standard fare with some satisfying interactive features. (iPad storybook app. 3-8)

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In a twist on a familiar tale, a small bird decides to give up flying and become a land creature.

Striding Bird envies his four-legged friends, who don’t have to worry about strong winds sweeping them or their homes away. So he tucks away his wings, practices walking and makes his home in a hollow log on land. Striding Bird is quite content until a thunderstorm washes him and his home away. While he is bemoaning his fate, he meets a one-legged bird with a broken wing who is whistling as he repairs his nest. After some reflection, Striding Bird realizes that “real happiness comes with appreciating what he had, instead of what he did not.” The story is predictable and uninventive, although Striding Bird is an appealing character. Interesting interactions liven up the unremarkable artwork. Moving a finger from the center of the screen will cause winds to blow, day to turn to night, lightning to strike, etc. A navigation bar and brief tutorial is accessible on each page. Some minor annoyances include having to press a narration button on each page, not being able to turn off the music without muting the iPad, and some intermittent crashes.

Standard fare with some satisfying interactive features. (iPad storybook app. 3-8)

Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2012

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Striding Bird Productions

Review Posted Online: April 17, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2012

- BOOK REVIEW
THE TREE THAT REFUSED TO SHED
by Stephanie Yap ; illustrated by Stephanie Yap ; developed by Wenpo Sun ; Striding Bird Productions

PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

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PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

by James Dean ; illustrated by James Dean ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 18, 2018

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

- BOOK REVIEW
PETE THE KITTY'S FIRST DAY OF PRESCHOOL
by Kimberly Dean ; illustrated by James Dean

- BOOK REVIEW
I LOVE PETE THE KITTY
by James Dean & Kimberly Dean ; illustrated by James Dean

- BOOK REVIEW
TOOL SCHOOL
by Joan Holub ; illustrated by James Dean

HOW TO MAKE AN APPLE PIE AND SEE THE WORLD

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HOW TO MAKE AN APPLE PIE AND SEE THE WORLD

by Marjorie Priceman & illustrated by Marjorie Priceman ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 2, 1994

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What if the market was closed when you wanted to bake a pie? You could embark for Europe, learn Italian en route, and pick up some semolina wheat in Italy, an egg in France, kurundu bark for cinnamon in Sri Lanka, and an entire cow in England (butter) before coming home via Jamaica (sugar) and Vermont (apples). The expertly designed illustrations in which a dark-haired lass journeys by various means to these interesting places to get her groceries are lovely and lively, and the narrative, too, travels at a spritely pace. The journey is neither quite logical enough to be truly informative nor quite bizarre enough to be satisfyingly silly, while the rich, sweet recipe that's appended will take some adult assistance. Still, fun. (Picture book. 4-8)