Like the anonymous illustrator, Andersen's name is nowhere to be found here. Just as well.
A rhymed version of the Hans Christian Andersen tale is thickly swaddled in an array of touch-activated animations and sound effects.
Accompanying a singsong, forcibly rhymed narration, cartoon scenes feature a portly Emperor, courtiers with foolish faces and, as the requisite skeptics, both a bright-eyed commoner lad and a gloomy imperial basset hound. These and other figures, many recycled with unchanged postures from scene to scene, can be made to utter grunts, chuckles, cries of dismay and other sounds. Readers can also, with a touch, flick them from place to place or run the clothes-horse Emperor through a skimpy wardrobe of fancy garb. Despite cries that the Emperor "is not wearing anything upon his skin," he appears at the climax in a full and discreet set of underclothes—and then joins the two con-men in the finale to wave jovially and say, "Bye Bye!" Along with links fore and aft to the publisher's other offerings, children can opt for an audio reading, for phrase-by-phrase highlighting and for either auto or manual advance. The jolly music and background noises play regardless.
Like the anonymous illustrator, Andersen's name is nowhere to be found here. Just as well. (iPad storybook app. 5-8)Pub Date: May 27, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: TabTale
Review Posted Online: June 12, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2011
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of...
An international story tackles a serious global issue with Reynolds’ characteristic visual whimsy.
Gie Gie—aka Princess Gie Gie—lives with her parents in Burkina Faso. In her kingdom under “the African sky, so wild and so close,” she can tame wild dogs with her song and make grass sway, but despite grand attempts, she can neither bring the water closer to home nor make it clean. French words such as “maintenant!” (now!) and “maman” (mother) and local color like the karite tree and shea nuts place the story in a French-speaking African country. Every morning, Gie Gie and her mother perch rings of cloth and large clay pots on their heads and walk miles to the nearest well to fetch murky, brown water. The story is inspired by model Georgie Badiel, who founded the Georgie Badiel Foundation to make clean water accessible to West Africans. The details in Reynolds’ expressive illustrations highlight the beauty of the West African landscape and of Princess Gie Gie, with her cornrowed and beaded hair, but will also help readers understand that everyone needs clean water—from the children of Burkina Faso to the children of Flint, Michigan.
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of potable water. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-17258-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...
Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.
A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-30311-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
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