A sweet and simple app for toddlers. A mouse letter carrier starts her day and asks readers for help in delivering letters to various animals busy at home and work in the village. It’s her birthday, and she quietly laments at the end of the day that her bag is empty, without any birthday card for her. Not until she reaches home does she realize that she’s been delivering invitations to her own surprise party. The story is told mainly via the simply drawn, colorful illustrations, with minimal animation, sound effects and text (only speech bubbles, which are read aloud). The single touch-screen activity involves dragging envelopes to their destinations (where pulsing objects signal action), and there are no function buttons on the page. A separate sticker activity, available off the main menu, allows readers to stamp images of the fifteen animals featured in the story on a digital canvas, which can be saved to the device’s photo library. Readers can experience the story in English (British English, as the red postal equipment strongly suggests the Royal Mail), Dutch (De Verjaardag) or Chinese. Readers in search of whizbang animation and action may be disappointed, but the youngest readers will find this a satisfying picture book delivered digitally. (iPad storybook app. 1-4)
Pub Date: June 17, 2010
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: WingedChariot
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2011
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Little Blue Truck feels, well, blue when he delivers valentine after valentine but receives nary a one.
His bed overflowing with cards, Blue sets out to deliver a yellow card with purple polka dots and a shiny purple heart to Hen, one with a shiny fuchsia heart to Pig, a big, shiny, red heart-shaped card to Horse, and so on. With each delivery there is an exchange of Beeps from Blue and the appropriate animal sounds from his friends, Blue’s Beeps always set in blue and the animal’s vocalization in a color that matches the card it receives. But as Blue heads home, his deliveries complete, his headlight eyes are sad and his front bumper droops ever so slightly. Blue is therefore surprised (but readers may not be) when he pulls into his garage to be greeted by all his friends with a shiny blue valentine just for him. In this, Blue’s seventh outing, it’s not just the sturdy protagonist that seems to be wilting. Schertle’s verse, usually reliable, stumbles more than once; stanzas such as “But Valentine’s Day / didn’t seem much fun / when he didn’t get cards / from anyone” will cause hitches during read-alouds. The illustrations, done by Joseph in the style of original series collaborator Jill McElmurry, are pleasant enough, but his compositions often feel stiff and forced.
Little Blue Truck keeps on truckin’—but not without some backfires. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Dec. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-358-27244-1
Page Count: 20
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
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Families in a variety of configurations play, dance, and celebrate together.
The rhymed verse, based on a song from the Noodle Loaf children’s podcast, declares that “Families belong / Together like a puzzle / Different-sized people / One big snuggle.” The accompanying image shows an interracial couple of caregivers (one with brown skin and one pale) cuddling with a pajama-clad toddler with light brown skin and surrounded by two cats and a dog. Subsequent pages show a wide array of families with members of many different racial presentations engaging in bike and bus rides, indoor dance parties, and more. In some, readers see only one caregiver: a father or a grandparent, perhaps. One same-sex couple with two children in tow are expecting another child. Smart’s illustrations are playful and expressive, curating the most joyful moments of family life. The verse, punctuated by the word together, frequently set in oversized font, is gently inclusive at its best but may trip up readers with its irregular rhythms. The song that inspired the book can be found on the Noodle Loaf website.
A joyful celebration. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22276-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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