The unlikely offspring of Wheel of Fortune and ancient Greece, this app collects 20 of Aesop's fables as wedges on a large spinner. The app instructs readers to "Spin Your Fables," and when readers align a story with a pointer, a two- to four-page story with illustrations opens, complete with such morals as, "Expect no reward for serving the wicked" ("Wolf and the Crane"), and, "The race is not always to the swift" ("The Hare and the Tortoise"). The wheel is meant to be the app's killer feature, but it often works choppily, making one wish for a simple index instead. The stories themselves are elegantly illustrated with the appropriate level of seriousness for the weighty tales; wolves look menacing and sinister, while the shelled racer in "The Hare and the Tortoise" appears determined and ancient. English narration is offered (Chinese, Japanese and German are also available), as is the option to record your own reading. As a bonus, the more stories that are read, the more "Spot the Difference" puzzles are unlocked. The fables, timeless as they may be, don't skimp on animal violence ("The Goose and the Golden Egg") or carnal romance ("The Rose and the Butterfly") to make their point. Definitely unusual, but not as revolutionary as it appears. (iPad storybook app. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2010
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Jan. 6, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2011
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
A brisk if bland offering for series fans, but cleverer metafictive romps abound.
The titular cookie runs off the page at a bookstore storytime, pursued by young listeners and literary characters.
Following on 13 previous How To Catch… escapades, Wallace supplies sometimes-tortured doggerel and Elkerton, a set of helter-skelter cartoon scenes. Here the insouciant narrator scampers through aisles, avoiding a series of elaborate snares set by the racially diverse young storytime audience with help from some classic figures: “Alice and her mad-hat friends, / as a gift for my unbirthday, / helped guide me through the walls of shelves— / now I’m bound to find my way.” The literary helpers don’t look like their conventional or Disney counterparts in the illustrations, but all are clearly identified by at least a broad hint or visual cue, like the unnamed “wizard” who swoops in on a broom to knock over a tower labeled “Frogwarts.” Along with playing a bit fast and loose with details (“Perhaps the boy with the magic beans / saved me with his cow…”) the author discards his original’s lip-smacking climax to have the errant snack circling back at last to his book for a comfier sort of happily-ever-after.
A brisk if bland offering for series fans, but cleverer metafictive romps abound. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-0935-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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