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LULU AND THE BLUE WOLF

Name: LULU AND THE BLUE WOLF
Author: Daniel Picouly

by Daniel Picouly & illustrated by Frédéric Pillot & developed by Avant-Goût Studios ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 5, 2012

This app ultimately falls short.

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A popular French picture-book character moves to the app realm with mixed results.

Lulu, a small tortoise with adorable wiggling pigtails in her hair, is surprised to hear laughing from all the forest animals and discovers that they are laughing at a big blue wolf. When she realizes that the animals are laughing at the wolf’s stuttering howls, Lulu determines to help him discover his frightening side, thus enabling him to pass his “wolf exams.” While readers will appreciate the resolution of this sweet story, the app adapts the picture book with only partial success. The music and narration, available in French, English and Spanish, engage readers, bringing them into the story, and the design is smooth and attractive. Illustrator Pillot’s vibrant artwork translates beautifully to the iPad, but the picture-book text is too wordy and long for the app format, dominating the screens and slowing the pacing. There are translation issues, too, with some nonsensical syntax (“today school’s nay”) and mystifying idioms (“It’s enough to lose her rag!”). The limited interactive features do not extend the story sufficiently, distracting readers instead of deepening their understanding of the themes or plot.

This app ultimately falls short. (iPad storybook app. 3-6)

Pub Date: Dec. 5, 2012

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Magnard Jeunesse

Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013

- BOOK REVIEW
THUMBELINA OF TOULABA
by Hans Christian Andersen & adapted by Daniel Picouly & translated by Claudia Zoe Bedrick & illustrated by Olivier Tallec

DR. SEUSS'S HOW THE GRINCH LOST CHRISTMAS!

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DR. SEUSS'S HOW THE GRINCH LOST CHRISTMAS!

by Alastair Heim ; illustrated by Aristides Ruiz ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 5, 2023

It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how many mediocre sequels you can squeeze out of Seussian property.

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Since a reformed Grinch is hardly any fun, this follow-up Grinches him up once more.

Those seeking more of the same, prepare to receive precisely that. Christmas is coming (again!), and the Grinch can hardly wait. He’s been patient all year, and now he can finally show the Whos down in Who-ville how much he’s changed. When the Grinch learns of a tree-decorating contest, he figures that if he wins, it’ll prove he truly has the Christmas spirit. He throws himself into the task, but when it comes time to judge the trees, the Grinch is horrified to discover that he’s received only the second-place trophy. Can Cindy-Lou Who find the words to save the day? Replicating many of the original beats and wordplay of the original, this tale feels like less a sequel and more like a vaguely rewritten variation. Meanwhile, Ruiz’s art seeks to bridge the gap between the animated Chuck Jones version of the Grinch and the one depicted in the original book. This thankless task results in a strange uncanny valley between Seuss and Jones but does allow the artist a chance to colorize everything and lend some racial diversity to the Who population (Cindy-Lou is light-skinned). (This book was reviewed digitally.)

It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how many mediocre sequels you can squeeze out of Seussian property. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023

ISBN: 9780593563168

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

- BOOK REVIEW
EVERYTHING IS GRAPE!
by Alastair Heim ; illustrated by Michelle Tran

- BOOK REVIEW
NO PEEKING AT PRESENTS
by Alastair Heim ; illustrated by Sara Not

- BOOK REVIEW
QUIET DOWN, LOUD TOWN!
by Alastair Heim ; illustrated by Matt Hunt

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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)