HOW I BECAME A PIRATE

Name: HOW I BECAME A PIRATE
Author: Melinda Long

by Melinda Long & illustrated by David Shannon & developed by Oceanhouse Media ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 17, 2014

A lively alternative to the 2003 print version, with judicious audio and interactive tweaks but blessedly free of games and...

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Pans, zooms, gruff vocals and piratical sound effects add even more swash to the buckles of young Jeremy’s first encounter with Braid Beard and his disreputable crew.

A trip to the beach takes a turn for the exciting when Jeremy joins the errant pirates—“Shiver me timbers! We must have taken a wrong turn at Bora Bora.” He soon discovers, however, that as much as pirates delight in dispensing with table manners and tooth brushing, they also scorn bedtime tucking and storybooks. Artful panning or zeroing in on details nicely shows off Shannon’s lovingly detailed images of scurvy knaves in full pirate gear (some small animations have been added), as well as allowing the original narrative to be broken into more digestible passages. Along with options for an animated, multivoiced audio track or silent reading, there is a self-record feature. Readers can tap any word to hear it pronounced again; likewise, touching most figures or details in the pictures activates both vocal and visual labels.

A lively alternative to the 2003 print version, with judicious audio and interactive tweaks but blessedly free of games and like silly distractions. (iPad storybook app. 6-8)

Pub Date: July 17, 2014

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Oceanhouse Media

Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014

- BOOK REVIEW
THE CASE OF THE SLIDING SPACESHIP
by Melinda Long ; illustrated by Monica Wyrick

- BOOK REVIEW
PIRATES DON’T CHANGE DIAPERS
by Melinda Long & illustrated by David Shannon

- BOOK REVIEW
HOW I BECAME A PIRATE
by Melinda Long & illustrated by David Shannon

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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)