This little-known folktale deserves better treatment; Rafe Martin's picture book of the same name, illustrated by Vladyana...
A charming Cinderella tale from the Czech tradition suffers from amateurish computer illustrations, a lack of features and no narration.
Marusa lives happily with her father in a house in the woods next to an apple tree, until her father takes a second wife, a woman with a jealous daughter. When her father dies, the apple tree withers, and the stepmother and stepsister make Marusa’s life miserable. In the dead of winter, they send her out to find violets, then strawberries and finally apples. Each time, she gets help from 12 men she finds sitting around a fire; they represent the 12 months. Finally, the stepmother and stepsister venture out to find more of the delicious fruit, but when they are rude to the men, the men disappear and leave them lost in the forest. Marusa plants a new apple tree, and readers find her seven years later, happily married and living in her childhood home. Though the story doesn't necessarily call for complex artwork, these illustrations, drawn on the iPad with Inkpad, are regrettably simplistic and unemotional. Some of the words are voiced or have sound effects (touch "apple" to trigger a crunching sound), and there are a few animations, but those are the only features. A navigation bar at the bottom works well.
This little-known folktale deserves better treatment; Rafe Martin's picture book of the same name, illustrated by Vladyana Langer Krykorka, is a much better alternative. (iPad storybook app. 3-8)Pub Date: March 24, 2012
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: William Lindmeier
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2012
Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
SEEN & HEARD
A tale of intergenerational bonding to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren.
In talk-show host Fallon and illustrator Ordóñez’s latest picture-book collaboration, an elderly pooch waxes rhapsodic about a life well lived.
Observing Papa sitting in his chair watching TV all day, a young pup says, “I’m starting to think…you don’t do ANYTHING.” So Papa proceeds to list his accomplishments, both big and small, mundane and profound. Some are just a result of being older and physically bigger (being tall enough to reach a high shelf and strong enough to open jars); others include winning a race and performing in a band when he was younger. Eventually, the pup realizes that while Papa may have slowed down in his old age, he’s led a full life. The most satisfying thing about Papa’s life now? Watching his grandchild take center stage: “I can say lots of thoughts / but I choose to be quiet. / I’d rather you discover things and then try it.” Fallon’s straightforward text is sweetly upbeat, though it occasionally lacks flow, forcing incongruous situations together to fit the rhyme scheme (“I cook and I mow, / and I once flew a plane. // I play newspaper puzzles because it’s good for my brain”). Featuring uncluttered, colorful backgrounds, Ordóñez’s child-friendly digital art at times takes on sepia tones, evoking the sense of looking back at old photos or memories. Though the creators tread familiar ground, the love between Papa and his little one is palpable.
A tale of intergenerational bonding to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 13, 2025
ISBN: 9781250393975
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
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