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THE WITCH OF THE TUILERIES

Name: THE WITCH OF THE TUILERIES
Author: Avant-Goût Studios

From the Apolline & Leon series

by Avant-Goût Studios illustrated by Marion Piffaretti developed by Avant-Goût Studios ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 11, 2011

Too brief to stir more than momentary attention from young readers, but well stacked with touch-activated sounds and...

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Two young snoops spy on an old lady they (wrongly) suspect of being a witch in this short, mildly sweet import.

In just 12 cartoon-style scenes, the tale takes sibs Apolline and Léon from a park bench on which a fierce-looking babushka leaves a tantalizing trunk. They open it and find, to their surprise, not toads and spiders but a book with musical notations. They follow her to her nearby apartment, where they discover that she's really a music teacher friendly enough to invite them in and set them to dancing with a merry tune on her violin. Page transitions and the small, scattered animations are stiff, but the teacher owns several musical instruments that can actually be played in a rudimentary way. The varied assortment of other touch- or tilt-activated effects elsewhere is highlighted by that trunk—from which hordes of imaginary spiders and "toads" (actually frogs), which the two children fear are inside, spring out as quickly as little fingertips can tap. The drop-down text and (optional) audio narration are available in no fewer than nine languages.

Too brief to stir more than momentary attention from young readers, but well stacked with touch-activated sounds and features. (iPad storybook app. 6-8)

Pub Date: June 11, 2011

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Avant-Gout Studios

Review Posted Online: July 18, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2011

- BOOK REVIEW
LULU AND THE BLUE WOLF
by Daniel Picouly & illustrated by Frédéric Pillot & developed by Avant-Goût Studios

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WORLD OF SAM
by Sophie Jansem & illustrated by Sophie Jansem & developed by Avant-Goût Studios

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TINY LITTLE ROCKET

by Richard Collingridge ; illustrated by Richard Collingridge ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 31, 2018

A fair choice, but it may need some support to really blast off.

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This rocket hopes to take its readers on a birthday blast—but there may or may not be enough fuel.

Once a year, a one-seat rocket shoots out from Earth. Why? To reveal a special congratulatory banner for a once-a-year event. The second-person narration puts readers in the pilot’s seat and, through a (mostly) ballad-stanza rhyme scheme (abcb), sends them on a journey toward the sun, past meteors, and into the Kuiper belt. The final pages include additional information on how birthdays are measured against the Earth’s rotations around the sun. Collingridge aims for the stars with this title, and he mostly succeeds. The rhyme scheme flows smoothly, which will make listeners happy, but the illustrations (possibly a combination of paint with digital enhancements) may leave the viewers feeling a little cold. The pilot is seen only with a 1960s-style fishbowl helmet that completely obscures the face, gender, and race by reflecting the interior of the rocket ship. This may allow readers/listeners to picture themselves in the role, but it also may divest them of any emotional connection to the story. The last pages—the backside of a triple-gatefold spread—label the planets and include Pluto. While Pluto is correctly labeled as a dwarf planet, it’s an unusual choice to include it but not the other dwarfs: Ceres, Eris, etc. The illustration also neglects to include the asteroid belt or any of the solar system’s moons.

A fair choice, but it may need some support to really blast off. (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: July 31, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-338-18949-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: David Fickling/Phoenix/Scholastic

Review Posted Online: April 15, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LIONHEART
by Richard Collingridge ; illustrated by Richard Collingridge

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WAITING IS NOT EASY!

From the Elephant & Piggie series

by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 4, 2014

A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends

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Gerald the elephant learns a truth familiar to every preschooler—heck, every human: “Waiting is not easy!”

When Piggie cartwheels up to Gerald announcing that she has a surprise for him, Gerald is less than pleased to learn that the “surprise is a surprise.” Gerald pumps Piggie for information (it’s big, it’s pretty, and they can share it), but Piggie holds fast on this basic principle: Gerald will have to wait. Gerald lets out an almighty “GROAN!” Variations on this basic exchange occur throughout the day; Gerald pleads, Piggie insists they must wait; Gerald groans. As the day turns to twilight (signaled by the backgrounds that darken from mauve to gray to charcoal), Gerald gets grumpy. “WE HAVE WASTED THE WHOLE DAY!…And for WHAT!?” Piggie then gestures up to the Milky Way, which an awed Gerald acknowledges “was worth the wait.” Willems relies even more than usual on the slightest of changes in posture, layout and typography, as two waiting figures can’t help but be pretty static. At one point, Piggie assumes the lotus position, infuriating Gerald. Most amusingly, Gerald’s elephantine groans assume weighty physicality in spread-filling speech bubbles that knock Piggie to the ground. And the spectacular, photo-collaged images of the Milky Way that dwarf the two friends makes it clear that it was indeed worth the wait.

A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends . (Early reader. 6-8)