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MATISYAHU'S "HAPPY HANUKKAH" JAM-ALONG

Name: MATISYAHU'S "HAPPY HANUKKAH" JAM-ALONG
Author: Mibblio

developed by Mibblio ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 7, 2013

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Another interactive music app from the creators of Mibblio (2013)—this one a single song (with a holiday theme) rather than a “freemium” platform for in-app purchases.

As the musician Matisyahu sings an original, reggae-style Hanukkah song with infectious brio, listeners can use buttons, tiles and icons running along three sides of each screen to add or subtract instrument tracks as well as jam along with keyboards, strings and percussion. Meanwhile, brightly colored cartoon scenes of children lighting menorah candles, riding a giant dreidel, dancing happily or posing in historical costume pass by in a slideshow that, with a flick of two fingers, can be expanded to a full-screen view. The lyrics, visible on each screen, mix specific references (“Son of King David! / Maccabee till the end of time!”) with general uplift: “Happy Hanukkah! / I wanna give a gift to you! / Light up the nights, / My love shines through.” The song and pictures can be paused but not replayed without starting over. An upbeat, well-designed outing with options aplenty to engage budding musicians. Eminently danceable, too. (Requires iPad 2 and above.) (iPad holiday app. 6-9)

Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2013

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Mibblio, Inc.

Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2013

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HOW NOT TO START THIRD GRADE

by Cathy Hapka and Ellen Titlebaum & illustrated by Debbie Palen ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 10, 2007

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Will and his little brother Steve face third grade and kindergarten in this over-the-top chapter book in the venerable Step-Into-Reading series for new readers. Will knows that going to the same school as his brother is going to be a challenge, but he does not know how much of a challenge it will be. From the moment Will has to hold Steve’s hand and take him to kindergarten, everything that can go wrong does. Whether Steve is slamming all the lockers, making faces through the third-grade window or starting a food fight in the cafeteria, he’s embarrassing his older brother. Expressive and stylized color illustrations add to the exaggerated plot lines. A comfortable, predictable ending on the bench outside of the principal’s office will make new readers everywhere smile with recognition. No one will mistake this for a lesson book about back to school, but new readers will find many reasons to laugh out loud with Will and Steve. (Fiction. 6-9)

Pub Date: July 10, 2007

ISBN: 978-0-375-83904-7

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2007

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
JOURNEY TO THE MOON
by Cathy Hapka & Ellen Vandenberg ; illustrated by Gillian Reid

- BOOK REVIEW
HORSE MAGIC
by Cathy Hapka & developed by Bookerella and Story Worldwide

- BOOK REVIEW
HOW NOT TO START THIRD GRADE
by Cathy Hapka and Ellen Titlebaum & illustrated by Debbie Palen

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ADA TWIST AND THE PERILOUS PANTS

From the Questioneers series , Vol. 2

by Andrea Beaty ; illustrated by David Roberts ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 16, 2019

Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book.

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Ada Twist’s incessant stream of questions leads to answers that help solve a neighborhood crisis.

Ada conducts experiments at home to answer questions such as, why does Mom’s coffee smell stronger than Dad’s coffee? Each answer leads to another question, another hypothesis, and another experiment, which is how she goes from collecting data on backyard birds for a citizen-science project to helping Rosie Revere figure out how to get her uncle Ned down from the sky, where his helium-filled “perilous pants” are keeping him afloat. The Questioneers—Rosie the engineer, Iggy Peck the architect, and Ada the scientist—work together, asking questions like scientists. Armed with knowledge (of molecules and air pressure, force and temperature) but more importantly, with curiosity, Ada works out a solution. Ada is a recognizable, three-dimensional girl in this delightfully silly chapter book: tirelessly curious and determined yet easily excited and still learning to express herself. If science concepts aren’t completely clear in this romp, relationships and emotions certainly are. In playful full- and half-page illustrations that break up the text, Ada is black with Afro-textured hair; Rosie and Iggy are white. A closing section on citizen science may inspire readers to get involved in science too; on the other hand, the “Ode to a Gas!” may just puzzle them. Other backmatter topics include the importance of bird study and the threat palm-oil use poses to rainforests.

Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book. (Fiction. 6-9)