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
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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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