Utterly without subtlety, but there's little enough out there addressing the needs of transgender children that this can be...
Each sparkling, tap-happy screen of this version of the earnest 2010 book radiates the same relentless, if praiseworthy “Cherish Their Differences” message.
Literally radiates: Touching any character and many background details sets off spreading ripples of semitransparent heart shapes and, often, tinkling chimes too. The short text is a mother’s love note to her 4-year-old son, who enjoys wearing “girly dresses,” twirling like a ballerina and wearing a tiara. Noting that the lad is also lovingly accepted by his older brother, his father and playmates but not always by others, the narrator goes on to ask leading questions (“Would you laugh at him?”). Scripted responses follow (“I will not laugh at him”), appearing on translucent overlays in very large letters when certain lines of text are tapped. In the cartoon illustrations, stars pop into view and rise through pink skies as touches send balls bouncing, cause flowers to emit rapid drumbeats and make the boy (who looks considerably older than 4) and the other weirdly faceless human figures dance. An interactive counting game is shoehorned in midway through. “My Princess Boy is your Princess Boy,” the narrative concludes obscurely—a sentiment hinting that parents may have been the author’s intended audience all along.
Utterly without subtlety, but there's little enough out there addressing the needs of transgender children that this can be comfortably overlooked. (iPad bibliotherapy app. 6-8, adult)Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: KDT Media
Review Posted Online: Nov. 27, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2011
The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-000153-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005
A fair choice, but it may need some support to really blast off.
This rocket hopes to take its readers on a birthday blast—but there may or may not be enough fuel.
Once a year, a one-seat rocket shoots out from Earth. Why? To reveal a special congratulatory banner for a once-a-year event. The second-person narration puts readers in the pilot’s seat and, through a (mostly) ballad-stanza rhyme scheme (abcb), sends them on a journey toward the sun, past meteors, and into the Kuiper belt. The final pages include additional information on how birthdays are measured against the Earth’s rotations around the sun. Collingridge aims for the stars with this title, and he mostly succeeds. The rhyme scheme flows smoothly, which will make listeners happy, but the illustrations (possibly a combination of paint with digital enhancements) may leave the viewers feeling a little cold. The pilot is seen only with a 1960s-style fishbowl helmet that completely obscures the face, gender, and race by reflecting the interior of the rocket ship. This may allow readers/listeners to picture themselves in the role, but it also may divest them of any emotional connection to the story. The last pages—the backside of a triple-gatefold spread—label the planets and include Pluto. While Pluto is correctly labeled as a dwarf planet, it’s an unusual choice to include it but not the other dwarfs: Ceres, Eris, etc. The illustration also neglects to include the asteroid belt or any of the solar system’s moons.
A fair choice, but it may need some support to really blast off. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 31, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-338-18949-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: David Fickling/Phoenix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2018
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