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WRECK THIS APP

Name: WRECK THIS APP
Author: Keri Smith

by Keri Smith & illustrated by Keri Smith developed by CitrusSuite ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 19, 2011

An app to energize the creative juices.

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Essentially an interactive black-and-white coloring book filled with amusing tools to guide users in their pursuit to locate their inner artists.

"To create is to destroy," is the tagline for this text, which opens with basic instructions that encourage users to freely express themselves through a series of drawing exercises that are wide open to interpretation. For example, users are instructed to “scribble wildly, violently, with reckless abandon” or import pictures from their iPad for creative defacing. Each page features an array of tools at the bottom; these range from a simple pencil to a fingerpaint tool, which enables users to add color and special touches to each page. iPad functionality is well leveraged, though users will need to fight the urge to turn pages with a finger swipe, which only frustratingly draws lines across their drawing. Instead a patient finger-tap on the page’s bottom corners enables users to easily navigate. Users can save, e-mail or even utilize their Facebook or Flickr accounts to share their masterpieces. Due to some edgy page instructions ("Write as many four-letter words as you can"), this text is probably best suited for teens and adults.

An app to energize the creative juices. (iPad interactive sketchbook. 13 & up)

Pub Date: July 19, 2011

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Penguin

Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011

- BOOK REVIEW
BOYOLOGY
by Sarah O’Leary Burningham and illustrated by Keri Smith

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THE BIG NOTHING

From the Neighborhood series , Vol. 3

by Adrian Fogelin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2004

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Big brother Duane is off in boot camp, and Justin is left trying to hold the parental units together. Fat, acne-ridden, and missing his best friend Ben, who’s in the throes of his first boy-girl relationship with Cass, Justin’s world is dreary. It gets worse when he realizes that all of his mother’s suspicions about his father are probably true, and that Dad may not return from his latest business trip. Surprisingly ultra-cool Jemmie, who is also missing her best friend, Cass, actually recognizes his existence and her grandmother invites Justin to use their piano in the afternoons when Jemmie’s at cross-country practice. The “big nothing” place, where Justin retreats in time of trouble, is a rhythmic world and soon begins to include melody and provide Justin with a place to express himself. Practice and discipline accompany this gradual exploration of his talent. The impending war in Iraq gives this story a definite place in time, and its distinct characters make it satisfying and surprisingly realistic. Misfit finds fit. (Fiction. YA)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2004

ISBN: 1-56145-326-9

Page Count: 224

Publisher: Peachtree

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2004

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
SOME KIND OF MAGIC
by Adrian Fogelin

- BOOK REVIEW
SUMMER ON THE MOON
by Adrian Fogelin

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SORTA SISTERS
by Adrian Fogelin

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GINGERBREAD BABY

by Jan Brett ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1999

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In a snowbound Swiss village, Matti figures it’s a good day to make a gingerbread man. He and his mother mix a batch of gingerbread and tuck it in the oven, but Matti is too impatient to wait ten minutes without peeking. When he opens the door, out pops a gingerbread baby, taunting the familiar refrain, “Catch me if you can.” The brash imp races all over the village, teasing animals and tweaking the noses of the citizenry, until there is a fair crowd on his heels intent on giving him a drubbing. Always he remains just out of reach as he races over the winterscape, beautifully rendered with elegant countryside and architectural details by Brett. All the while, Matti is busy back home, building a gingerbread house to entice the nervy cookie to safe harbor. It works, too, and Matti is able to spirit the gingerbread baby away from the mob. The mischief-maker may be a brat, but the gingerbread cookie is also the agent of good cheer, and Brett allows that spirit to run free on these pages. (Picture book. 4-8)