It would be nice to have more control over the pace of the story, but the overall presentation is so spectacular it’s worth...
A stunning iPad adaptation showcases the story behind the popular ballet.
Over the last century, scores of books have attempted to capture The Nutcracker’s magic, but any one of them would be hard pressed to outshine this version. Without question the app’s most breathtaking component is the lavish artwork hand-painted by fine-art painter/illustrator Tanaka. Her exquisite use of color and light coupled with her distinctive interpretations of the characters provides a luxuriant feast for the eyes. Text is effectively scant, and there is no narration. Each screen is accompanied (occasionally at inconsistent audio levels) by Tchaikovsky’s beloved compositions, as performed by the developer’s “virtual” orchestra. In storybook mode, the features run their course at their own pace (which is frequently painstakingly slow), and readers have no choice but to wait it out. In movie mode, the pages turn automatically; both options offer a pause button. Interactive features are minimal and involve eliciting various brief sound effects, but there’s plenty of brilliant animation—though at times movement resembles languid animatronics in a mall display. On the iPad 2, the app can be streamed to HDTV for a “concert hall” experience.
It would be nice to have more control over the pace of the story, but the overall presentation is so spectacular it’s worth lingering over. (iPad storybook app. 3-10)Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Mouse King Media
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2011
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 top-grade creepy/funny addition to the spooky-picture-book canon.
Is a cute kitty built in a castle’s laboratory responsible for the bad things that start happening?
“Here is a tale to chill the blood and thrill the soul—a tale of spooky paws and eerie claws.” The disembodied talking skull who narrates this story is alluding to Frankenkitty, who was engineered out of multiple cats, with visible stitches to show for it. As the house ghouls look on, Frankenkitty’s inventor laments, “I’ve created a monster!” Sure enough, bad things start happening: The mummy begins to unravel. Kitchen mice terrorize the cook. Certainly, Frankenkitty must be to blame. But after the butler, who resembles Frankenstein’s Monster, tosses Frankenkitty outside into the snow, where he looks forlorn and adorable, the skull has second thoughts: “Wait! Did we get it wrong?” It’s up to readers to make the call. Powell-Tuck goes all in with her spoof of old-time horror tropes, although kids needn’t know who Boris Karloff is to be tickled. For the book’s every scare (a severed foot and hand, their bones visible), there’s a wink (in a bit of metafictive fun, the skull urges readers to opt for a story about “unicorns, beasts, or bears”). Grey, a glutton for detail, leans on menacing reds and sickly greens to capture the frights, which include, in a line for the spooky-story ages, “walls as gray as old underpants.” Human characters vary in skin tone.
A top-grade creepy/funny addition to the spooky-picture-book canon. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 7, 2026
ISBN: 9781664300972
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2026
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