For nostalgic and literary purposes this app fits the bill, but beyond that there’s nothing that warrants labeling it a...
A handsomely illustrated, moderately interactive portrayal of the famous poem.
First published in the early-19th century, this 14-stanza ballad is familiar to many but probably doesn’t get the amount of airtime it used to. This particular adaptation isn’t a standout in terms of interactive wowability, but it offers enough to keep little ones engaged while they become familiar with the classic verse. The poem is stretched across eight pages (easily navigable using a tap- and tilt-sensitive scene-selection filmstrip), each one sporting a simple, warm illustration that includes one or more interactions. Characters and objects float across the screen, many of which can be held, moved or flung. The app is very sensitive to gravity (or rather has been programmed to appear so), which often makes tilting the tablet a highly effective interaction. On the opening page, Christmas balls fall from a wreath and can be ricocheted around the screen much like billiards. On the audio side, there are no sound effects or narration, just an instrumental loop of “Deck the Halls” that drones on in the background—though it can be silenced (highly recommended). Other than scene selection, there is no menu, except a tab that showcases the developer's other books.
For nostalgic and literary purposes this app fits the bill, but beyond that there’s nothing that warrants labeling it a “must-read.” (iPad storybook app. 3-8)Pub Date: Dec. 8, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: XIMAD
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
SEEN & HEARD
A forgettable effort that fails to capture any of the magical charm of Santa’s story. (Picture book. 3-6)
Wallace and Elkerton continue their series about catching elusive mythical creatures (How to Catch a Leprechaun, 2016, etc.) with this Christmas story about an elf who must avoid traps constructed by children before Santa’s annual visit.
The unnamed elf narrator is the sole helper traveling with Santa on his delivery rounds on Christmas Eve, with each house featuring a different type of trap for elves. The spunky elf avoids a mechanical “elf snatcher,” hidden in a plate of cookies, as well as simple traps made of tinsel, double-sided tape, and a cardboard box concealing a mean-looking cat. Another trap looks like a bomb hidden in a box of candy, and a complicated trap in a maze has an evil cowboy clown with a branding iron, leading to the elf’s cry, “Hey, you zapped my tushy!” The bomb trap and the branding iron seem to push the envelope of child-made inventions. The final trap is located in a family grocery store that’s booby-trapped with a “Dinner Cannon” shooting out food, including a final pizza that the elf and Santa share. The singsong, rhyming text has a forced cheeriness, full of golly-jolly-holly Christmas spirit and too many exclamation marks, as well as rhyming word pairs that miss the mark. (No, little elf-boy, “smarter” and “harder” do not rhyme.) Bold, busy illustrations in a cartoon style have a cheeky appeal with a focus on the freckle-faced white elf with auburn curls and a costume with a retro vibe. (Santa is also white.)
A forgettable effort that fails to capture any of the magical charm of Santa’s story. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4631-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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