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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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)

Pub Date: April 1, 1998

ISBN: 0-689-81175-6

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

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ROSETOWN FOREVER
by Cynthia Rylant

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A BOOK OF LOVES
by Cynthia Rylant ; illustrated by Cynthia Rylant

- BOOK REVIEW
HORNBEAM BY AND LARGE
by Cynthia Rylant ; illustrated by Arthur Howard

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BIG CHICKENS

by Leslie Helakoski & illustrated by Henry Cole ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2006

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With wordplay reminiscent of Margie Palatini at her best, Helakoski takes four timorous chickens into, then out of, the literal and figurative woods. Fleeing the henhouse after catching sight of a wolf, the pusillanimous pullets come to a deep ditch: “ ‘What if we can’t jump that far?’ ‘What if we fall in the ditch?’ ‘What if we get sucked into the mud?’ The chickens tutted, putted, and flutted. They butted into themselves and each other, until one by one . . . ” they do fall in. But then they pick themselves up and struggle out. Ensuing encounters with cows and a lake furnish similar responses and outcomes; ultimately they tumble into the wolf’s very cave, where they “picked, pecked, and pocked. They ruffled, puffled, and shuffled. They shrieked, squeaked, and freaked, until . . . ” their nemesis scampers away in panic. Fluttering about in pop-eyed terror, the portly, partly clothed hens make comical figures in Cole’s sunny cartoons (as does the flummoxed wolf)—but the genuine triumph in their final strut—“ ‘I am a big, brave chicken,’ said one chicken. ‘Ohh . . . ’ said the others. ‘Me too.’ ‘Me three.’ ‘Me four’ ”—brings this tribute to chicken power to a rousing close. (Picture book. 6-8)