A profoundly homogenous and vacuous effort covered in faux glitter and sparkle.
This particular adventure is about generation four of the glimmering equines, but fans of any phase of the franchise will likely enjoy the trip to nostalgia-ville. It is unlikely to convert any new ones, though.
Princess Celestia commissions Twilight Sparkle to teach a history lesson, and Twilight takes the task quite seriously. The details of the story aren’t important, as their collective weight is probably less than a spool of cotton candy (and about as half as nourishing). Illustrations are commercially vibrant, sporting brilliant colors and laserlike images. As for interactive elements, one might think that the collaboration between Hasbro and Ruckus (both very resourceful and highly respected) would yield a product that would razzle and dazzle, especially given the track record of the brand. But this app falls far short. On most pages a starburst indicates various interactive elements that are, by most standards, weak and unimaginative—blinking eyes, flapping wings, flickering flames. The mini games are repetitive and lackluster, and on one of the “find the differences” pages, one element never responds to touch. Readers can collect words along the way to plug in to a Mad Libs–like entry in Twilight Sparkle’s diary, and they also have the option of recording their own narration.
A profoundly homogenous and vacuous effort covered in faux glitter and sparkle. (iPad storybook app. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Ruckus Mobile Media
Review Posted Online: Oct. 24, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Cookie-cutter predictability.
After all the daring escapes in the How To Catch… series, will the kids be able to catch Santa?
Oddly, previous installments saw the children trying (and failing) to catch an elf and a reindeer, but both are easily captured in this story. Santa, however, is slippery. Tempted but not fooled by poinsettias, a good book (attached to a slingshot armed with a teddy bear projectile), and, of course, milk and cookies, Santa foils every plan. The hero in a red suit has a job to do. Presents must be placed, and lists must be checked. He has no time for traps and foolery (except if you’re the elf, who falls for every one of them). Luckily, Santa helps the little rascal escape each time. Little is new here—the kids resort to similar snares found in previous works: netting, lures, and technological wonders such as the Santa Catcher 5000. Although the rhythm falters quite a bit (“How did we get out you ask? / It looked like we were done for. / Santa’s magic is very real, / and I cannot reveal more”), fans of the series may not mind. Santa and Christmas just might be enough to overcome the flaws. Santa and the elf are light-skinned, one of the children is brown-skinned, and the other presents as Asian. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Cookie-cutter predictability. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9781728274270
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
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