Despite minor flubs in the English translation (“The crab is a crustacea [sic] with 10 legs”), this is a voyage worth taking.
Unusual interactive features and visual effects give this undersea jaunt a glossy digital sheen.
Prefaced by two screens of instructions, the tale takes young Scott and his Japanese friend Aiko through ocean waters teeming with life to a sunken pirate ship, then into and out of the clutches of a goofy-looking giant octopus with googly eyes. Not only are the printed text and audio narration available in English, Spanish, French or Japanese (with the addition of an uncommon audio-only option), but both also come in two versions. There's a short, simply phrased one recommended for toddler audiences and a more advanced option for preschoolers and older children. Rising bubbles aside, there isn’t much conventional animation, but the sub’s capture is signaled by successive whole scenes that shimmy back and forth, and the two explorers are once seen from a wavery subsurface view. The illustrations are done in a plasticky anime style, but sea life is rendered with reasonable accuracy; several scenes are revealed by scrolling down or sideways. Other features range from a disappointingly static “spot these items” game to amusing touch-activated sound effects on most pages. There is also a virtual camera that allows readers to take snapshots of any part of any scene to create an “album”—in which any shots of sea animals come with informational captions.
Despite minor flubs in the English translation (“The crab is a crustacea [sic] with 10 legs”), this is a voyage worth taking. (iPad storybook app. 4-7)Pub Date: May 7, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Square Igloo
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories.
Kids know vegetables can be scary, but rarely are edible roots out to get someone. In this whimsical mock-horror tale, carrots nearly frighten the whiskers off Jasper Rabbit, an interloper at Crackenhopper Field.
Jasper loves carrots, especially those “free for the taking.” He pulls some in the morning, yanks out a few in the afternoon, and comes again at night to rip out more. Reynolds builds delicious suspense with succinct language that allows understatements to be fully exploited in Brown’s hilarious illustrations. The cartoon pictures, executed in pencil and then digitally colored, are in various shades of gray and serve as a perfectly gloomy backdrop for the vegetables’ eerie orange on each page. “Jasper couldn’t get enough carrots … / … until they started following him.” The plot intensifies as Jasper not only begins to hear the veggies nearby, but also begins to see them everywhere. Initially, young readers will wonder if this is all a product of Jasper’s imagination. Was it a few snarling carrots or just some bathing items peeking out from behind the shower curtain? The ending truly satisfies both readers and the book’s characters alike. And a lesson on greed goes down like honey instead of a forkful of spinach.
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0297-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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