This storybook app isn’t breaking any new ground, but it’s a solid effort that will undoubtedly stimulate more than a few...
A seek-and-find scavenger hunt encourages readers to explore what lies behind various doors.
This interactive adaptation of Munro’s 2004 print release, Doors, appears to be identical to its predecessor in terms of rhyme, artwork and concept. But the interactive digital interface adds to the appeal by providing a plethora of sound effects and more than 100 animated and/or interactive objects. Children can tap, swipe and tilt the tablet to reveal hidden items that are mentioned in the text. Some things yield a particular sound (a whining dog, creaking cabinet hinges, the flush of a toilet), while others simply offer a short glissando to alert readers that they’ve found one of the hidden treasures. Children can explore a wide variety of locations, including a fire station, a train compartment, a horse stable, a doctor’s office and a well-stocked refrigerator, to name only a few. There are three narrative options: voiced either by a male or female reader, or narration can be completely turned off (for those who wish to read the story themselves). Sound effects can be switched on and off separately, and a pull-down menu offers easy access to individual pages as well as narrative and sound options.
This storybook app isn’t breaking any new ground, but it’s a solid effort that will undoubtedly stimulate more than a few curious little minds. (iPad storybook app. 3-7)Pub Date: July 24, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: OCG Studios
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2011
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree.
A Christmas edition of the beloved alphabet book.
The story starts off nearly identically to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989), written by John Archambault and the late Bill Martin Jr, with the letters A, B, and C deciding to meet in the branches of a tree. This time, they’re attempting to scale a Christmas tree, not a coconut tree, and the letters are strung together like garland. A, B, and C are joined by the other letters, and of course they all “slip, slop, topple, plop!” right down the tree. At the bottom, they discover an assortment of gifts, all in a variety of shapes. As a team, the letters and presents organize themselves to get back up on the Christmas tree and get a star to the top. Holiday iterations of favorite tales often fall flat, but this take succeeds. The gifts are an easy way to reinforce another preschool concept—shapes—and the text uses just enough of the original to be familiar. The rhyming works, sticking to the cadence of the source material. The illustrations pay homage to the late Lois Ehlert’s, featuring the same bold block letters, though they lack some of the whimsy and personality of the original. Otherwise, everything is similarly brightly colored and simply drawn. Those familiar with the classic will be drawn to this one, but newcomers can enjoy it on its own.
A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781665954761
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
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