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CHRIS P. BACON

MY LIFE SO FAR...

Smooth of presentation, if simple of message; the very small, very pink, very photogenic piggy in the lead role helps to...

Paired with a mix of snapshots and cartoon art, a (real) piglet born without functional hind legs offers a sugary memoir retracing his climb to YouTube and TV celebrity.

He’s kitted out by veterinarian Dr. Len—“Dad, as I call him now”—with his rather ominous name and a small wheeled cart (“How awesome, I thought. ‘Oink-Oink,’ I said”). Chatty Chris recalls watching himself on the Web scooting about and then going on tour to demonstrate how, with “a little help—and a lot of grunting” and an upbeat attitude, anything is possible: “If you think positive, who knows what you can do?! Or in other words, Oinkity-Oink-Oink-Oink!” Minor animations aside, most of the movement in the illustrations is provided by automatic or swipe-activated pans. Along with a silent mode, auto-play and a self-record option for the narrative, every word in the text, oinks and all, can be revoiced with a tap. Likewise, touching any figure or detail in the illustrations, even the “wall” and “floor,” calls forth an aural label, as per Oceanhouse’s standard.

Smooth of presentation, if simple of message; the very small, very pink, very photogenic piggy in the lead role helps to compensate for his saccharine delivery. (photo album appended) (iPad storybook app. 5-8)

Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2013

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Oceanhouse Media

Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014

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OTIS

From the Otis series

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

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I WISH YOU MORE

Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.

A collection of parental wishes for a child.

It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.

Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: April 1, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015

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