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THE GREEBLEY GREEBLEY

Name: THE GREEBLEY GREEBLEY
Author: Tim Molloy

illustrated by Tim Molloy & developed by Ginger Whale ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 2011

Not much for plot or special features, but the engagingly ugly monster(s) will draw chortles.

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A customizable monster and silly sound effects aplenty make a story that is, at best, perfunctory seem more or less forgivable.

Thanks to its resident monster—which viewers create at the outset by tapping a stocky figure that features 10 interchangeable hairy, slimy or otherwise monstrous heads, bodies, legs and arms—the mountain town of Greebley is a popular tourist destination. Until, that is, the short-sighted residents, infuriated by the monster’s damage to flowerbeds and buildings, drive it away. When economic depression strikes the suddenly deserted town, the complainers, who “felt sorry for treating the Greebley Greebley so badly,” coax it back. Party time! Along with a loop of classical music and crowd noises in the background, tapping figures in the cartoon illustrations sets off camera clicks, exclamations in chipmunk voices, echoing howls and, from the sad monster, hilariously juicy sobs and sniffs. A “home” icon on each page lets readers remake the monster any time, but they are left to discover on their own that page turns require tapping or swiping the lower corners. Furthermore, there is no animation or audio narration.

Not much for plot or special features, but the engagingly ugly monster(s) will draw chortles. (iPad storybook app. 6-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2011

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Ginger Whale

Review Posted Online: Nov. 27, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2011

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DIARY OF A SPIDER

by Doreen Cronin & illustrated by Harry Bliss ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2005

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The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005

ISBN: 0-06-000153-4

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
LAWRENCE & SOPHIA
by Doreen Cronin ; illustrated by Brian Cronin

- BOOK REVIEW
MAMA IN THE MOON
by Doreen Cronin ; illustrated by Brian Cronin

- BOOK REVIEW
LAWRENCE & SOPHIA
by Doreen Cronin ; illustrated by Brian Cronin

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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)