Some app reviews

Hi Folks in the Smoke,

   I'm a huge fan of Nosy Crow's fairytale apps - Cinderella and The Three Little Pigs are gorgeous, detailed and fun, packed with lots to explore and great non-linear story-crafting. I played with some of their other offerings over the holiday and thought I'd round them up in this post.

"Bizzy Bear", ideal for pre-schoolers

 Bizzy Bear is the hero of a series of lovely board books and apps for pre-schoolers. He's a loveable and inquisitive character who explores a new environment, completes tasks and makes friends. In "Bizzy Bear On the Farm" and "Bizzy Bear Builds A House", you must help him by swiping objects, opening doors and operating machinery.

                        

   There are eggs to collect, tractors to drive, horses to exercise, bricks to deliver, sand to shovel and cranes to operate. Benji Davis' art is cute, warm and fun and the soundtrack, highlighted reading and very young child narration all combine to make these apps really charming treats.

  

"Pip and Posy", ideal for pre-schoolers

   Pip (a rabbit) and Posy (a mouse) are best friends created by Axel Scheffler and they've had many picture book outings involving sharing their toys, bathroom emergencies, monster scares and snow creature construction. I've a real soft spot for them, they are very sweet and entertaining characters and their exploits are lovingly aimed at a toddler's experiences. This is their only app so far, and as the title suggests it's a game app to entertain fans rather than being story based.

   It features artwork from the stories and there are jigsaws to complete, differences to spot, card puzzles to solve and pictures to colour. My favourite task is the one where you point the tablet's camera at yourself and pull faces in order to copy Pip and Posy. Great fun with charming characters, complete with fun voice and music tracks.

"Parker Penguin", ideal for 3+

   Parker Penguin is the second in a new app avenue for Nosy Crow - non-fiction, specifically gentle but engaging natural history. The first outing featured Franklin the Frog. This material is composed by a couple Barry and Emma Tranter, who are responsible for the artwork and text, respectively.  The artwork is composed of circles, ovals, arcs etc, hence one aspect of rounds. The other is that the stories are cyclical - they begin with a baby animal and come right back around, that animal has offspring and we can go through their whole lifespan too, and that off their offspring. So we meet Parker, and his mate Penelope; and then their chick Percy and his mate Pippa and lastly Peter and Pearl at which stage we can keep the loop going by meeting their chick Parker.

   I think this is a really great, lively, layered and informative app. The use of a child's voice talent and really subtle music and sound effects are pitched perfectly. The art is funky and stylishly coloured. The interactivity (tilting the screen to make the penguin slide faster, nicely pulsing dots that tempt you to touch certain live areas) is clever and not at all intrusive. Helping Parker feed and then assisting the chicks as they shed their down were my favourite bits. And the text highlighting is lovely for early readers. It has great tangents to explore beyond the simple story of the life cycle - you can learn about ice-bergs and whales and seals, but it is never so much that you get bored of it or distracted from your character.



   Nosy Crow's next release is another fairytale - Red Riding Hood. I'm looking forward it and hope there are more Bizzy Bear, Pip and Posy and Rounds in the pipeline, too.

   Thanks for reading,
              LJ

A review of "My Big Shouting Day" by Rebecca Patterson

Hi People in the Ether, and Happy New Year,

   So, Santa (and my very lovely boyfriend) brought me lots of lovely picture books, some cool YAs and a smattering of story-fuelled apps for Christmas. Very exciting stuff! And I'll spend the next few weeks reviewing them.

   "My Big Shouting Day" was a huge hit last year, and it won the Roald Dahl Funny Prize for children aged six and under. It follows Bella whose day goes from bad to worse as his baby brother drives her mad, the toothpaste is irritating and her shoes are annoying. Everything winds Bella up and so she vents her fury into almighty screams and shouts, hectoring her mother about the awful dramas she must endure.

    Bella is thrillingly vocal in her frustration. Young readers will identify with a tantrum-indulging protagonist as adult readers will giggle along at hysteria that is both familiar and ridiculous. The story is amusing and has a comforting conclusion - Bella apologises for being such a terror and is lovingly forgiven and hugged by her mum and treated to a bedtime story.

    Patterson's characters are bristly and realistic, and her text is full of fun extremes and repetition, everything is too this or too that. The story is succinct and perfectly rendered, accompanied by beautiful, bold and retro illustrations, complete with very emphatic facial expressions. I love how the minor background characters are unimpressed or merely amused of Bella's outbursts. The most effective spread features a supermarket scene - Bella's mother is suppressing her exasperation while  fellow shoppers are judgmental and disdainful.

    The varying font sizes reflect Bella's mounting fury. And the colour palette for the other characters and all the settings is subtle and full of pastel shades - while Bella herself, for most of the story, is kitted out in angry red. And the black chasm of her screaming mouth in each scene serves as a wonderful focal point.

      This is great for passionate pre-schoolers and weary adults, providing the former with a mirror to their own tantrums and resupplying the latter with wry laughs and some patience to help cope with such escapades  This summer sees a new Bella adventure "My Busy Being Ella Day", so more fun and histrionics are in store.

      Thanks for reading,
               LJ

A review of "Just Right" written by Birdie Black and illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw

Hey there, Folks in the Smoke,

   I'm so very sorry for this tardy post - life has been a bit hectic lately and posting wasn't possible. But I hope this Christmas review will compensate somewhat.

   "Just Right", also published as "Just Right for Christmas", is a simple and enchanting tale full of festive flavour and snowy scenes.

   It's Christmas Eve in a snow-laden kingdom. We follow the route of a piece of red cloth and learn of the uses it and it's subsequent off-cuts are put to - the initial bolt is used to make a cloak for a princess. The scraps are placed by the back door and taken by a kitchen-maid, she then makes a gift for her mother. The same process is repeated with each set of scraps being perfect from which to fashion a smaller gift for a smaller creature until the very final gift of a scarf for a tiny mouse. Each gift is sewn with love and given with tenderness. The reveal spread, on which we see each recipient opening and adoring their present, is gorgeous and sweet. 

    Black's story is tender and warm, it feels like a traditional tale with a perfectly pitched array of characters and an elegant thread binding them together. The text has a beautiful cadence, and I love the repetition of "snipped and sewed, sewed and snipped" as each character creates their own gift from the red cloth.The closing sentiment of each gift being "just right", and that is "just how Christmas should feel", is sure to warm even the chilliest heart. 

   Beardshaw's illustrations are poised and cosy - her people are rosy-cheeked and her animals are exquisitely furry and very energetic. The colour palette of the brown of the forest, the red of the gifts and the white of the snow makes you feel chilly and comforted simultaneously. 

   I'd recommend this as a charming addition to the yuletide reading list - it's heartfelt and delightful. 

   Thanks for reading, and a very Merry Christmas (or general holiday season) to you and yours,

                Lisa 

A review of "A World Between Us" by Lydia Syson

Hello People in the Ether,

   This debut by Lydia Syson is a thrilling, romantic, powerful and heartfelt description of war and love.

   It's 1936 and Felix (short for Felicity) is a trainee nurse in the East End of London. She has all but escaped her claustrophobic, suburban background - apart from visits to a quiet mother, a judgemental brother and a sweet (but apparently dull) brother's best friend, George. In a dramatic opening we find her trapped in Whitechapel during a famous anti-fascist demonstration - where she meets an activist, Nat.

   A tender courtship doesn't have much time to develop before Nat leaves to join the International Brigades in Spain against Franco's forces. At the prospect of being apart from Nat and wanting to avoid a proposal from George, Felix decides to flee to Spain too and there she volunteers as a battlefield nurse. Newspaper man, George, follows Felix in the hope of returning her safely to her family but he soon realises the merit of the anti-fascist struggle and enlists as a mechanic in the Brigades. So, a complicated and intense love triangle plays out against the backdrop of the battles and horrors of the Spanish Civil War - we follow each of our trio through the drama.

   The plot is cleverly constructed; full of vivid set-pieces, political intrigue, questioned loyalties, exciting twists and bracing battle scenes. The romance, its thrills and pains, is very convincingly depicted and you do feel genuinely swept along with the pent-up passions and the world-falling-apart atmosphere. 

   Syson's style is subtle and gorgeous, she melts you into another time and place. The text is crystalline, by turns simple and poetic. Her pacing is really great, I found it compelling reading. She draws sharp, confused, flawed characters that you feel for, and occasionally feel frustrated with. George and Nat are honourable, steadfast, true matinee idols while Felix is honest, idealistic,naive and brave. I found the romance tender and exciting, and the battlefield medicine passages were visceral. 

   I think this is a nigh-perfect YA read, its engaging, pulsing, beautifully written and doesn't shy away from complicated facts and tough history. Equally highly recommended for early teens interested in history and politics or those wanting an intense love story without any supernatural hook.

    Thanks for reading,

       LJ

A review of "Hubble Bubble, Granny Trouble" written by Tracey Corderoy and illustrated by Joe Berger

Hi Folks in the Smoke,

   As Halloween fast approaches I think a spooky offering might be in order. This is a fun, rhyming story from the talented Tracey Corderoy teamed with lush, retro illustrations by Joe Berger. It was published last Autumn and there is a new installment "Whizz, Pop, Granny, Stop!" out now, but I thought I'd opt for the original today.

    The eponymous Granny causes trouble because she isn't a typical Granny - she isn't sweet and simple, she doesn't have a purple rinse or WI friends. She has unusual pets and strange habits and uses mischievous magic to make life easier and more fun. While this might sound great, her granddaughter finds it disconcerting. She'd prefer a normal life, a normal grandmother. So, she launches a Granny make-over, which seems to go well but it isn't long before the little girl realises that she misses her grandmother's eccentric ways and that Granny is now blue.

    Corderoy's story is clever and rich, fun and funny. I love the Granny, she's classy and sophisticated, an individual - not your typical witch. The rhymes are great, strong and joyous, they trip off the tongue and always propel the narrative instead of just ticking boxes.

    Berger's artwork is a delight. The colour palette is fabulous - very reminiscent of how I remember "Bewitched" or "I Dream of Jeannie" - smudgy greys and charcoals, moody blues and greens and sorbet pinks and purples. I adored the little details; watch out for the movie named on the cinema marquee.

   This is a great, warm story with infectious cadence and scintillating illustrations - I'd recommend it as an atmospheric read for Halloween but also as a subtle tale on identity and individuality. And  "Whizz, Pop, Granny, Stop!" is just as entertaining.

     Thanks for reading,
           LJ

A review of "Zac and Zeb and the Make-Believe Birthday Party" by Sarah Massini

Hi People in the Ether,

      Zac is a spotty dog and Zeb is a stripy zebra, and they are best friends. This, their first adventure, opens with Zac's birthday celebrations. When all the fun is over we learn that Zeb isn't the most patient creature and he wants his birthday right now. Zac tells him that it's next. Unfortunately, the little zebra takes this to mean tomorrow and is heartbroken when guests and gifts fail to arrive the next day. Instead, Zac rushes to the rescue and suggests a make-believe birthday party, complete with imagined gifts, an exciting journey and a scrummy picnic - on the Moon.

   The story trots along with nicely-pitched text, making use of great active words, and the use of glum as a verb made me grin! The font is very fluid, it zips around the illustrations and changes size for emphasis where needed - but it's never over-played.

   We meet our duo on a great introductory page, before the title page even. It's a nice touch and let's us know who and what they are and that they are each  "a good kind of best friend". This serves to save time, we can delve right into the story, and will be useful in their future outings, I'm sure - readers will be able to start reading at any book, not needing any more back story than this. Massini has created two really lively and loveable characters and gives us a strong sense of their personalities and the dynamic between them.

   The black and white of Zac and Zab contrasts zingily with the vibrant surroundings and supporting characters. The spreads, other than those in outer space, are crisp and white allowing the vivid shades to pop beautifully. The make-believe space backgrounds are rightly dreamy and I really appreciated the pair's cute flag which they plant on the Moon - with spots and stripes to match their own markings.

   I very much enjoyed this and I think, much like Zeb at the end of the tale, we've more fun and games to come.

   Thanks for reading,

        LJ

A review of "Ketchup Clouds" by Annabel Pitcher

Hi Folks in the Smoke,

    I've been lucky enough to get a sneaky, advance copy of Annabel Pitcher's upcoming novel "Ketchup Clouds". I adored her sparkling debut "My Sister Lives on the Mantlepiece" and was waiting with bated breath for this. So, with excitement just-about-contained, I thought I'd share it
with you.

    Where "My Sister…" followed 10-year-old  Jamie, "Ketchup Clouds" is an older affair. Our narrator this time out is a 15-year-old girl who is suffocating with guilt and grief. She gives herself the pseudonym "Zoe".

    The tale is beautifully wrought and I don't want to spoil any of the dramatic twists, so I'll stay sparse on plots details. Suffice to say Zoe has two younger sisters, a pair of stressed parents, a loyal and charismatic best friend, as well as studies to attend to and various social trials and tribulations to endure. But there are also two boys around whom most of the action revolves.

      Pitcher has Zoe pour her heart out through letters that she writes to an American death row prisoner, Stuart. It's meant to be a charitable act but becomes a confessional for Zoe, a way for her to divulge and eventually understand what's happened in the past year - she is a searingly honest narrator. This device is very powerful as it contrasts crime and guilt, conscience and prison. While we never read Stuart's replies we do see Zoe soften and become more comfortable and confiding as the forms of address and the sign offs evolve through the novel.

     I did weep when I finished "My Sister" and so there was a level of expectation that Pitcher might put me through the ringer again. She does, but in a different, teenaged way and so I was left with a sense of heartache rather than being convulsed in tears - but that's a great thing; she's a skilled, sophisticated crafter of story, not just a heartstring-tugger. And she's a more accomplished, confident writer this time out - she tells us things at her own pace, teasing us and reflecting the anxious nature of Zoe. While the reveal isn't a complete shock, that might merely be a reward for attentive reading.

    Pitcher's style is emotionally eloquent, weaving a story of teen uncertainty, of loss and of feeling lost, with tenderness and attitude, warmth and wit. Zoe is very real, you can hear her drafting her letters, see her crouched over the page in the dead of night, feel her conflicting emotions. She is a sincere, knowing and endearing character.

  

   I'd recommend this for fans of Pitcher but also for anyone who has enjoyed the likes of "Solace of the Road", "What I Was" and "The Sky is Everywhere". Hers is a powerful new voice with versatility and passion, and most importantly a talent for telling original stories.

   Thanks for reading,

          LJ