I DON'T LIKE PINK

Gabi is excited to receive a surprise present from her grandmother, but, once unwrapped, the gift box reveals a pink T-shirt. (See title.)

Akin to waving a red cape at a bull, the very pinkness of the T-shirt enrages Gabi, and she unleashes her ire on her unsuspecting friend, Ben. Fighting the stereotype that all girls like pink, Gabi details her hatred of pink and affinity for blue. Fortunately Ben is fast on his feet and swaps his blue T-shirt for the offending pink gift. The author, who has a soft twang, narrates at a moderate pace and attempts to infuse emotion into an otherwise flat dialogue, which is only slightly enhanced by vocal exclamation and varying type sizes and colors. A few animated elements, such as tissue paper flying from the gift box, notwithstanding, the iPad platform is not leveraged. Navigation is standard, with a simple finger swipe to turn pages; at the story’s conclusion, however, there is no easy way to return to the title page—instead readers are subjected to advertising for other apps from the publisher. The text’s final pages feature several story-related questions that attempt to connect the text’s themes to the reader’s own experiences.

In all, Gabi’s ferocity comes across as pretty limp. Pass.