The Panda Family takes a break from its breakfast of bamboo leaf porridge to take a walk in the bamboo forest. While they're...
A modern take on "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" features a charming style of animation and a lovable family of pandas.
The Panda Family takes a break from its breakfast of bamboo leaf porridge to take a walk in the bamboo forest. While they're gone, a young girl named Mei Mei walks through the familiar home-intrusion routine that most children will recognize. She finds Baby Panda's porridge to her liking, deems his chair most comfortable (but not before breaking it) and ends up in his cozy bed. What could have been a lazy retread with pandas and a distinct Chinese influence is instead made fresh with the app's animations, which combine photo collages, a live-action actress portraying Mei Mei (in a red dress and black Mary Janes) and movement for the pandas when the reader "tickles" each of them, as the app advises. The app can be experienced in English and Chinese (in both the text and optional narration), and a portion of the proceeds from each app sale goes to Pandas International, which has partnered with the publisher. Except for two letters that are exchanged at the end bringing the pandas and Mei Mei back together for a happy ending, the story is not much different from what readers expect from a "Goldilocks" story.Pub Date: April 23, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: See Here Studios
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2011
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers.
The bestselling series (How to Catch an Elf, 2016, etc.) about capturing mythical creatures continues with a story about various ways to catch the Easter Bunny as it makes its annual deliveries.
The bunny narrates its own story in rhyming text, beginning with an introduction at its office in a manufacturing facility that creates Easter eggs and candy. The rabbit then abruptly takes off on its delivery route with a tiny basket of eggs strapped to its back, immediately encountering a trap with carrots and a box propped up with a stick. The narrative focuses on how the Easter Bunny avoids increasingly complex traps set up to catch him with no explanation as to who has set the traps or why. These traps include an underground tunnel, a fluorescent dance floor with a hidden pit of carrots, a robot bunny, pirates on an island, and a cannon that shoots candy fish, as well as some sort of locked, hazardous site with radiation danger. Readers of previous books in the series will understand the premise, but others will be confused by the rabbit’s frenetic escapades. Cartoon-style illustrations have a 1960s vibe, with a slightly scary, bow-tied bunny with chartreuse eyes and a glowing palette of neon shades that shout for attention.
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-3817-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
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A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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