It's a strikingly beautiful and strange package; though wordy, it's still a worthwhile trip. (iPad storybook app. 4-10)
Visually arresting aliens and planetary vistas make this app worth a visit, but plodding text and uninspired narration make the trip less awe-inspiring that it could have been.
A planet-hopping spaceman offers readers a ride across the galaxy to see the "big gaseous planet Jeffrey," the oceanic 4CC420 and several other wondrous worlds. Judicious use of animation brings the many aliens to wiggling, active life. Slithery green creatures with seven eyes on stalks frolic alongside mops of fur with tiny antlers. The design of the aliens and their home planets—even familiar ones like Mars and Jupiter's moon Europa—are so imaginative readers could easily skip the tiny text that runs (and runs and runs) on each page. The text is not poorly written and contains interesting details and insights ("Perhaps even terrestrial life was born outside planet Earth. Some believe it was born in the water on comets"), but it's very lengthy, essentially a tedious information dump. The stale, matter-of-fact narration doesn't help. It may be that all that text is meant to keep readers lingering longer on each page for the clever, exquisite visuals. Extras include some lovely jigsaw puzzles and a serviceable coloring interface, as well as the option of experiencing the alien ride in the publisher's native Italian.
It's a strikingly beautiful and strange package; though wordy, it's still a worthwhile trip. (iPad storybook app. 4-10)Pub Date: June 15, 2012
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: WARE'S ME
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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 friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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