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CHICO TO THE RESCUE: FRIENDSHIP

Name: CHICO TO THE RESCUE: FRIENDSHIP
Author: Manuela Pentangelo

by Manuela Pentangelo & developed by Apps of All Nations ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

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Chico has a bad encounter at the beach when a small crab pinches his toe. He catches the crab and takes it home, but soon learns a lesson. A mermaid he just befriended (it was a very eventful day) has been tied up by a set of angry crabs. The tense hostage drama is undermined by cute, pastel-colored illustrations and the top-heavy crabs, who dance and click hilariously. Most pages have some interactive element, such as Chico’s color-changing swim trunks or suction-cup arrows Chico can fire at the enemy crabs. Each page features an icon of Chico’s face and a microphone allowing readers to add their own narration to the story. Sounds, narration, the microphone icons and autoplay can all be disabled in the options, but, confusingly, the options have to be highlighted black instead of white to be activated. Chico, with his big smile and rescue mission, is a charmer, but his misadventure with the temperamental beach crabs doesn’t really go anywhere. Chico is taught not to hurt or capture creatures of the sea, but it’s not clear that the “Friendship” of the title was ever achieved. Perhaps it should have been called, “Chico the Rescue: Détente”? (iPad storybook app. 2-7)

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2010

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by Daryl K. Cobb & illustrated by Manuela Pentangelo

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S CHRISTMAS

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 23, 2014

Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...

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The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.

The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.

Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)

Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3

Page Count: 24

Publisher: HMH Books

Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

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TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S VALENTINE
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

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HOW TO CATCH SANTA CLAUS

From the How To Catch… series

by Alice Walstead ; illustrated by Andy Elkerton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2023

Cookie-cutter predictability.

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After all the daring escapes in the How To Catch… series, will the kids be able to catch Santa?

Oddly, previous installments saw the children trying (and failing) to catch an elf and a reindeer, but both are easily captured in this story. Santa, however, is slippery. Tempted but not fooled by poinsettias, a good book (attached to a slingshot armed with a teddy bear projectile), and, of course, milk and cookies, Santa foils every plan. The hero in a red suit has a job to do. Presents must be placed, and lists must be checked. He has no time for traps and foolery (except if you’re the elf, who falls for every one of them). Luckily, Santa helps the little rascal escape each time. Little is new here—the kids resort to similar snares found in previous works: netting, lures, and technological wonders such as the Santa Catcher 5000. Although the rhythm falters quite a bit (“How did we get out you ask? / It looked like we were done for. / Santa’s magic is very real, / and I cannot reveal more”), fans of the series may not mind. Santa and Christmas just might be enough to overcome the flaws. Santa and the elf are light-skinned, one of the children is brown-skinned, and the other presents as Asian. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Cookie-cutter predictability. (Picture book. 3-6)