HIDING HANNAH

Name: HIDING HANNAH
Author: Mike Johnson

by Mike Johnson & illustrated by Melanie McCall & developed by Glowdot Productions ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 11, 2011

Though it lacks anything in the way of extras or games, Hannah's little story is one worth seeking out. She's a charmer.

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A child's frustrating habit of hiding things (including herself) around the house is offset by the cuteness of the hider and the light, playful tone of this app.

Honey-haired Hannah, a pint-sized toddler in hairclips and a bunny T-shirt, enjoys hiding items like her mother's hairbrush. She also enjoys hiding herself, especially at nap time ("I not tired!" she chirps) or bath time ("I not dirty!"). The cozy rooms in Hannah's house are full of potential hiding places, like cabinet drawers, closets and big couch cushions. Readers can touch these items to shake out whatever's missing, from Dad's remote control to Hannah herself. At the end of the story, Hannah's parents hide, causing a moment of genuine panic for the girl, but it all ends well with a group hug and laughs. Illustrations throughout are effective, with lots of colorful, distinct objects and parents who are drawn as alternately wary, exhausted and cuddly. There are clever details, such as an easy-to-miss photo of Hannah as a wailing baby in the background and a very amusing sock puppet–themed TV show. The story is narrated by Tom Kenny, the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants, which seems like overkill for such a short, basic affair, but it speaks highly of the publisher’s commitment to production values.

Though it lacks anything in the way of extras or games, Hannah's little story is one worth seeking out. She's a charmer. (iPad storybook app. 2-6)

Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2011

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Squeaky Frog

Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2012

- BOOK REVIEW
HIDING MONSTERS
by Mike Johnson ; illustrated by Melanie McCall ; developed by Glowdot Productions

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S CHRISTMAS

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 23, 2014

Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...

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The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.

The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.

Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)

Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3

Page Count: 24

Publisher: HMH Books

Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S VALENTINE
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

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LOVE FROM THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR

by Eric Carle ; illustrated by Eric Carle ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 15, 2015

Safe to creep on by.

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Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.

In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.

Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)