LULU IN AUSTRALIA

Name: LULU IN AUSTRALIA
Author: Vanessa Pol

by Vanessa Pol & David Herschel & illustrated by Stéphanie Bertault & developed by Zanzibook ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 15, 2011

The animation and text/audio connections need work, but the colorful illustrations, appealing cast and a light load of basic...

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A young tourist and her cat go walkabout (well, in a minibus) Down Under.

Detailed on an opening map that also functions as an index for skipping around, the 10 stops that Lulu and her feline foil Zazou make range from Brisbane and Sydney to Uluru (Ayers Rock) and, for a bit of surfing, Cactus Beach. Along the way, the pair encounter koalas, penguins, kangaroos and didgeridoo-playing Aborigines—and readers can pause for a wildlife matching game, outfit Lulu with a sunhat and have her “throw” a boomerang along a finger-traced route. Along with small automatic animations on every page, taps on the cartoon figures activate jerky additional movements (notably a funky dance), sound effects and several original short songs or pieces of instrumental music. An option for silent reading is available but not recommended. The English or French audio narrative not only has to be muted separately on each screen but extends the visible text considerably with conversations, factual input (“Why did you wake me up? Don’t you know that koalas sleep for 18 hours a day?”) and additional descriptive commentary. An upcoming sequel gets no fewer than three plugs on the final page.

The animation and text/audio connections need work, but the colorful illustrations, appealing cast and a light load of basic information will draw armchair travelers. (iPad informational app. 6-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2011

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Zanzibook

Review Posted Online: Nov. 27, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2012

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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

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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)