Not useful for reference, though an enticing plaything for younger armchair travelers.
Animations and clever enhancements give this elementary atlas more flash than its print version (2011), but the content remains skimpy and poorly organized.
Built around a really quite cool cartoon globe that can be rotated at will, the app allows viewers to zoom in on any area or country. A tap opens a fact box that contains an animated national flag, basic information such as land area, capital city and (with location settings turned on) “Distance From Me.” There are also a handful of environmental facts such as average CO2 emissions per head and current weather (presumably in said capital). Audio narration and a snatch of localized music are optionally available as well. Alternatively, countries or world regions can also be selected through searchable lists linked to a corner icon or visited alphabetically using arrows at the bottom. In addition, tapping on any of the dozens of small buildings, flora or fauna, objects and human figures that festoon the globe opens a box with a link to a photo and an assortment of facts, albeit not always clearly presented ones. The “Brahman cattle” icon, for instance, indicates that though they are "[o]riginally from India, these cattle are now popular around the world," without explaining exactly why it's wandering across Brazil. There are no political boundaries except for country borders, and those are hard to find even at full zoom.
Not useful for reference, though an enticing plaything for younger armchair travelers. (iPad informational app. 5-8)Pub Date: March 15, 2012
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: March 27, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
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
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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