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GRIMM'S PUSS IN BOOTS

Name: GRIMM'S PUSS IN BOOTS
Author: StoryToys

3D INTERACTIVE POP-UP BOOK

developed by StoryToys ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 12, 2012

One of a crowd, and not close to being a front-runner.

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A simplified adaptation of a Grimm Brothers version of the more familiar French rendition of an old tale, with 10 interspersed screens of pop-up “fun” and “games.”

Despite all the filtering, the text differs from Perrault’s rendition only in minor details—leaving the putative “Count of Carabas” unnamed, for instance, and having Puss deliver animals to the king for the royal menagerie rather than his dinner table. The story is presented either in silent mode or by an expressive narrator (in a choice of four European languages). It pauses at too-frequent intervals for screens that not only drift when tilted for a 3-D effect, but feature touch-activated animations ranging from a game of whack-a-mouse and spinnable wheels to a wardrobe of cowboy, astronaut and other alternative garb for Puss. Like the cartoon art overall, the cat, though sporting the customary Three Musketeers–style floppy hat and footgear, is unmemorably generic. Despite smooth, easy navigation, the story moves in fits and starts thanks to the oversupply of sometimes only marginally relevant distractions.

One of a crowd, and not close to being a front-runner. (iPad storybook app. 6-8)

Pub Date: Dec. 12, 2012

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: StoryToys

Review Posted Online: Jan. 15, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2013

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MY VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR
developed by StoryToys

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POPPY CAT AND THE BUBBLE VOLCANO
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WAKE UP MO!
developed by StoryToys

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HENRY AND MUDGE AND THE STARRY NIGHT

From the Henry and Mudge series

by Cynthia Rylant & illustrated by Sucie Stevenson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1998

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Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)

Pub Date: April 1, 1998

ISBN: 0-689-81175-6

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
ROSETOWN FOREVER
by Cynthia Rylant

- BOOK REVIEW
A BOOK OF LOVES
by Cynthia Rylant ; illustrated by Cynthia Rylant

- BOOK REVIEW
HORNBEAM BY AND LARGE
by Cynthia Rylant ; illustrated by Arthur Howard

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BIG CHICKENS

by Leslie Helakoski & illustrated by Henry Cole ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2006

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With wordplay reminiscent of Margie Palatini at her best, Helakoski takes four timorous chickens into, then out of, the literal and figurative woods. Fleeing the henhouse after catching sight of a wolf, the pusillanimous pullets come to a deep ditch: “ ‘What if we can’t jump that far?’ ‘What if we fall in the ditch?’ ‘What if we get sucked into the mud?’ The chickens tutted, putted, and flutted. They butted into themselves and each other, until one by one . . . ” they do fall in. But then they pick themselves up and struggle out. Ensuing encounters with cows and a lake furnish similar responses and outcomes; ultimately they tumble into the wolf’s very cave, where they “picked, pecked, and pocked. They ruffled, puffled, and shuffled. They shrieked, squeaked, and freaked, until . . . ” their nemesis scampers away in panic. Fluttering about in pop-eyed terror, the portly, partly clothed hens make comical figures in Cole’s sunny cartoons (as does the flummoxed wolf)—but the genuine triumph in their final strut—“ ‘I am a big, brave chicken,’ said one chicken. ‘Ohh . . . ’ said the others. ‘Me too.’ ‘Me three.’ ‘Me four’ ”—brings this tribute to chicken power to a rousing close. (Picture book. 6-8)