See the movie; skip the book. Here’s hoping the next silver-screen adaptation gets the effort it deserves.
A spawn of the critically acclaimed 2011 holiday film.
Having spent millions on the development and production of blockbuster CGI films, it’s a no-brainer to put that investment to good use by licensing as many products as possible—especially when the movie strikes box-office gold. This app will undoubtedly ride the lucrative coattails of its 3-D, animated progenitor, but it doesn’t add much of anything to the experience. On Christmas Eve, one toy accidentally doesn’t get delivered, and Arthur is the only one in the Claus family who truly cares about the present-less kid. The story chronicles his all-out attempt to include little Gwen in Santa’s munificence, and in the process he becomes the story’s hero. All 40 pages are adorned with crisp 3-D computer illustrations from the movie—and they are stunning. Readers can briefly animate a few scenes using a scrollbar that provides fleeting moments of interaction and movement. Beyond that, the app is a collection of screenshots accompanied by a run-of-the-mill narrative adapted from the story line of the film. The “bonus features”—which include a “wrap the bike” activity that takes all of five seconds and a “lull the lions” game that’s nothing more than a duplicated page from the story—are astonishingly meager and slapdash.
See the movie; skip the book. Here’s hoping the next silver-screen adaptation gets the effort it deserves. (iPad storybook app. 4-9)Pub Date: Nov. 30, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: zuuka
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 sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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