A familiar story and illustrations enhanced with interactivity give this classic new life.
Interactive and entertaining, this 1975 classic that has been introducing kids to the potty for years adapts well to the iPad, integrating amusing sound effects, interesting use of page transition and even a sing-a-long.
The app is available in both male and female versions, and the differences between the two are limited to the anatomically obvious and slight variations in color. In both texts, the child’s mother is the primary narrator, pouring on the enthusiasm as she energetically cheers on Prudence or Joshua (depending on the edition). A gender-neutral child’s voice is heard throughout and is used effectively as a teaching tool, especially when tapping illustrations of the child. An early page introduces the child’s body, and a tap of the child’s head announces "head"; the critical body parts are "pee-pee" and "little hole," regardless of gender. However, some body parts, such as the belly button, trigger musical sound effects that are silly but not informative, which helps to keep the instructional tone light. Additional sound effects, which are activated by tapping various objects, lean toward the comical. For example, a tap of the potty elicits cheers and fanfare when the child finally succeeds in appropriately using it. Finally, where possible, tapping objects in the illustrations highlights the text word as it is pronounced.
A familiar story and illustrations enhanced with interactivity give this classic new life. (iPad storybook app. 1-3)Pub Date: May 31, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Oceanhouse Media
Review Posted Online: June 12, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.
It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Robin Corey/Random
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Not a great choice for the youngest dinosaur lovers.
A board-book ode to parental love as old as the dinosaurs.
A line of text on the left of each spread reads like a dinosaur-themed valentine that a third grader might choose, with punishingly punny wordplay that incorporates dinosaur-related words. On the facing page a dinosaur pair—a baby and an adult—gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes against whimsical, pastel-hued prehistoric-ish backgrounds. In smaller print, in all caps, at the bottom of the left page is the scientific name for the dinosaur referenced by the text and picture followed by a helpful phonetic pronunciation guide. White-outlined footprints appear next to their names, though the white is sometimes difficult to see against the pastel pages. Ten of the best-known dinosaurs are included. Twisting the dinosaur names to fit the loving sentiments succeeds some of the time but more often results in tortured text, well beyond the understanding of the board book audience. The line accompanying two hugging velociraptors, for instance, is just confusing: “Wrap-TOR arms around me, / with you I’ll always stay.” Others are just plain clumsy: “I-wanna-GUANODON you kisses, / I truly just adore you.” Very young children, even those fascinated by dinosaurs, will not get it. Older dinosaur fans will be put off by the babyish format.
Not a great choice for the youngest dinosaur lovers. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2295-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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