BookBunnies

Caramel reviews Game of Pets Book 1: The Boy Who Knew Too Much by Aaron Blabey

Caramel enjoyed Aaron Blabey’s The Bad Guys series and has reviewed the first three books in it: The Bad Guys, The Bad Guys in Mission Unpluckable, and The Bad Guys in the Furball Strikes Back. Today he is reviewing the first book of a new series by Blabey: Game of Pets: The Boy Who Knew Too Much, which was published just last week! As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, today we are talking about a brand new book from an author you have really enjoyed before.

Caramel: Yep, we are, Aaron Blabey is the person who created The Bad Guys books. And I really enjoyed those.

S: This is a different kind of book though. Those are almost like graphic novels, more or less, right? This one is more like a regular chapter book.

C: Yes, this seems to have more words, but not that much more.

S: Hmm, apparently there have been a total of twenty Bad Guys books; we only reviewed three of them. But now this one is the first book of a totally new series. Can you tell us a bit about it?

C: Yeah, sure. The book starts out like a game show, with an announcer saying it is called the Game of Pets, where a bunch of competitors are in control of millions of animals on earth, such as cats, dogs and other ‘pets’. By controlling the pets the competitors’ goal is to make their humans destroy their homes and as much of the planet Earth as possible.

S: Okay, that sounds weird. But please go on.

C: Yeah. So then it cuts to a child, a boy named Griff, who is allergic to everything, except fish and scaled creatures, but he’s scared of those.

S: Okay, I am guessing he will get a pet nonetheless.

C: Yes, he does! He finds an axolotl named Bob in the back of a pet store, and he for some reason really likes it.

S: You really like axolotls too, no?

C: Yeah, I even reviewed a little book named Max, A Little Axolot.

S: So you can sympathize with Griff.

C: A bit, yes. Anyways, it turns out that this axolotl isn’t a part of the Game of Pets, and he wants to save the world, and so he chose Griff to save the Earth with him.

Caramel is reading Game of Pets Book 1: The Boy Who Knew Too Much by Aaron Blabey. — Caramel is reading *Game of Pets Book 1: The Boy Who Knew Too Much* by Aaron Blabey.

S: Hmm, from what you told me, Griff does not seem like a great savior, but we read a lot of other books with unlikely heroes.

C: Yeah, definitely. Ben Ripley in the Spy School series, for example, is kind of like that. He is not athletic at all, and kind of clumsy. But he is extremely intelligent. Griff is also like this. And now that I think of it, Artemis Fowl is also kind of like that. So yes, a lot of heroes who are kind of weak but figure out things and solve problems and save the world and such. Hmm.

S: I think authors of books using this kind of hero try to give kids hope that even if you are not the strongest or the fastest kid, you can still make a difference. But of course the moral of the story is not the point. The point is the books are also a lot of fun. At least Artemis Fowl and Spy School books were very much so. Did you like this book too?

C: This is just the first book, so I am not sure yet if I will like it as much as those other series. But it is also pretty good. Definitely very funny and weird.

S: So when you told me about a game show which uses pets and humans on our planet, I thought of the other book series you are reading and reviewing for the book bunnies blog. The Dungeon Crawler Carl series also has a galactic game show, and outsiders are just watching poor humans struggle for their own pleasure.

C: Yeah, I can see the parallel. But of course the Carl books have a lot more pages, and they have only a couple pictures in them. The Game of Pets book is a lot more visual. Lots of pictures on each page.

S: Which makes them more appropriate for and appealing to younger bunnies of course.

C: Of course. The Carl books are not so appropriate for very young bunnies. This book, on the other hand, is written for us kiddos. I guess if you are a young bunny who might be scared of the idea of aliens trying to use pets to destroy the planet, maybe it is not a good book for you. But otherwise it is a funny book and fun to read.

S: I saw the very last page says “To be continued…” Does that mean it ends in a cliffhanger?

C: Kind of. The main events of the book are kind of explained and resolved but the epilogue introduces a new problem. And it involves an axolotl!

S: Hmm, so you just might have to read the next book.

C: Yep, I just might.

S: We will see, Caramel. For now, I think this is a good place to wrap up this review.

C: Sure.

S: What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Game of Pets Book 1: The Boy Who Knew Too Much by Aaron Blabey and is eager to read the second book in the series. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Game of Pets Book 1: The Boy Who Knew Too Much* by Aaron Blabey and is eager to read the second book in the series.

Midnight reviews Augustus by John Williams

Today Midnight, the mysterious and reclusive black bunny of the family, decided that it was time for another appearance because he had read a good book and wanted to share his thoughts on it with the readers of the book bunnies blog. (Also Marshmallow is still working hard on her college applications.) Below is Midnight’s review of Augustus, a historical novel by John Williams, that was published originally in 1972 and that received the National Book Award for Fiction in 1973. Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: It is so neat to have you join us today Midnight!

Midnight: I am filling in because Marshmallow is busy working on college applications.

S: But you also have a good book you want to talk to us about, yes?

M: Indeed. A friend of mine recommended several books to me recently and this is the first one I have completed.

S: That sounds great! You seem to have enjoyed this a lot. Hopefully you will appreciate the other ones too.

M: One may hope.

S: Okay, so tell us a bit about Augustus.

M: It’s historical fiction. But it is written not in third person but rather through letters written between many characters, of greater or lesser importance, at the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Empire. The focus overall is on Octavius, later to be known as Augustus Caesar. We read letters from his friends, associates, and relatives, and toward the end, even from the man himself.

S: I didn’t know this was an epistolary novel, written in letters! That is really cool. And all of them are fictional, right? I know many of the main events should be historical, but the book has so many details, a lot should be the author’s creation.

M: That is my understanding. My memory of those events is hazy, since I was only a young rabbit at the time-

S: Wait, what do you mean? The events retold in the book are supposed to have happened at least two thousand years ago.

M: I can tell this makes you uncomfortable. Let’s move on.

S: Okay….

Midnight is reading Augustus by John Williams. — Midnight is reading *Augustus* by John Williams.

S: So tell us a bit more about the book. It is written in the form of a series of letters. But it is also split into three books, right?

M: Perhaps it is better to describe them as a series of letters, because we don’t get responses to letters. We read stories from one side sometimes. One of the great strengths of the book is that Williams gives each character their own distinct voice and style.

S: That is impressive.

M: And the letters are organized into three books, yes. The first book is about his childhood and his rise to power. The second is about him already an emperor, tackling the challenge of finding an appropriate successor. One issue that constantly arises is that Augustus lived so long that most of his friends passed away long before he did. His preferred successors predeceased him, leaving him to settle for Tiberius, whom he did not care for. The third book is really a single long letter, from Augustus to a friend, reflecting upon his life and his reign.

S: Then there is an epilogue.

M: Yes, that is supposedly written forty-one years later, by Philippus of Athens, Augustus’s last doctor, who was a young man back then. The letter is directed to Seneca. Philippus looks back on the long reign of Augustus, the subsequent harshness of Tiberius, the cruelty of his successor, Caligula, and the ineptness of Claudius. Having read Graves’s I Claudius and Claudius the God, I tend to have a softer view of Claudius than Williams’ Philippus.

S: Oh, maybe you will tell us about those books some day.

M: Maybe I will. In any case Philippus might not be the greatest judge of men, since he speaks hopefully about the newly crowned emperor Nero.

S: And we all know now that Nero did not turn out to be a great emperor!

M: Those were dark times. It is still difficult for me to talk about them.

S: Wait, are you implying that you were around during Nero’s time?

M: Let’s get back to the book, shall we?

S: Okay, sure. Whatever you say.

M: Much of the latter half of the book consists of journal entries of Julia, Augustus’s daughter, written in exile.

S: And Julia is a real person, right?

M: Yes, definitely. Let’s say he loved his daughter very much, but political realities in the circles that she frequented put him in a bad situation. I don’t want to spoil the book.

S: That is kind of interesting. All these people lived and died many centuries ago and their stories are actually all written down. But this book somehow manages to make them come alive so that you want to know what will happen next.

M: Right. But any student of history will know that Augustus’s story goes on for a long time and most of the people around at the start of the book are dead well before the end. While Augustus starts as a teenager, he ends up as an old man, who seems out of place, or maybe somebody whom time has passed by.

S: That is deep Midnight. I also noticed that the book has an introduction written by Daniel Mendelsohn. Did you read it too?

M: I have. It basically contextualizes the book, and says a bit about Williams and his other books.

S: But it seems one can definitely read the book without the introduction.

M: Sure.

S: So this was overall a good book and you seem to have enjoyed it. We can wrap up our review now, I think.

M: Yeah.

S: Okay, then. What would you like to tell our readers as we close this off?

M: I know that this little black bunny does not have quite the following that Marshmallow and Caramel do, and I’m sure their fans will be happy to know that Marshmallow will be back once she finishes some of her college applications.

S: Aw, we love having you over, too, Midnight!

M: To that, and to the readers, I say: Vale! as we used to say…

Midnight enjoyed reading Augustus by John Williams, and bids readers farewell, until such a time as he deems it fit to grace the world with his august presence. — Midnight enjoyed reading *Augustus* by John Williams, and bids readers farewell, until such a time as he deems it fit to grace the world with his august presence.

Caramel reviews Guapo’s Great Rescue: Clay Finds a Forever Home by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins

Last week Caramel reviewed Guapo’s Giant Heart: The True Story of The Calf Who Kept Growing, a picture book written by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins, and illustrated by Lara Calleja. Today he is talking about a second book about Guapo and his friends: Guapo’s Great Rescue: Clay Finds a Forever Home, written and illustrated by the same team and published originally in 2023. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

The book bunnies were sent a review copy of the book.

Caramel reviews Guapo’s Great Rescue: Clay Finds a Forever Home, written by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins, and illustrated by Lara Calleja. — Caramel reviews *Guapo’s Great Rescue: Clay Finds a Forever Home*, written by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins, and illustrated by Lara Calleja.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, we have a second Guapo story today.

Caramel: Yes we do. This is about a new animal joining the farm: a horse named Clay.

S: Let’s step back a bit. This book is about Guapo, a big steer in a rescue farm. We read and talked about the first book about his arrival to the farm.

C: Yes. In this book Guapo is all settled in but this time there is this new animal, Clay, who is joining them. But he is kind of distant and doesn’t want to play with the other animals. Guapo seems to understand that he is feeling lonely and scared, just like he did when he first arrived. So, eventually they make Clay realize they are friends, and the horse joins them.

S: That is nice, isn’t it?

C: Yep. Kind of like Clay is rescued twice. And kind of like “and they lived happily ever after!”

S: Yes. But did you know that the real-life Guapo has moved to Wyoming? At least this article that is a couple years old is saying that they were planning to move him and his friends at the farm to a new ranch in Wyoming, because California is kind of hot for him.

C: No, I didn’t know that! It is true that California can get warm sometimes.

S: Then again there used to be all those neat cheese commercials about great cheese coming from happy cows and happy cows coming from California!

C: Yeah, I love those! They are really funny! Especially the one which says “Ooh, foot massage!”

Caramel is reading Guapo’s Great Rescue: Clay Finds a Forever Home, written by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins, and illustrated by Lara Calleja. — Caramel is reading *Guapo’s Great Rescue: Clay Finds a Forever Home*, written by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins, and illustrated by Lara Calleja.

S: Okay, let us look at the book a bit more. So this one was written and illustrated by the same people from the first book. Did you notice that?

C: Yes! Guapo and his friends look exactly like they did in the first book.

S: What did you think about the pictures?

C: As before they are colorful and realistic. And there are a lot of children in this book, they come and play with the animals at the farm. They also have a chicken, a rooster, a few other horses, a pig and so on.

S: True. There are a lot of different animals on this farm!

C: And there is a bunny in this story too!

S: Yes, you are right!

C: So there is this bunny who jumps out of a bush and scares Clay. As we all know, bunnies can be fierce!

S: Really? Do you think so?

C: Of course! So this is a much better book than the first one!

S: Alright! We do like bunnies of course.

C: I mean, steers and chickens and goats are fine too. But of course, dragons are better. Then again, we have some time till we can review another book about dragons.

S: I think that is correct, Caramel. Maybe this is a good time to wrap up this review?

C: Why not?

S: So what do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Guapo’s Great Rescue: Clay Finds a Forever Home, written by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins, and illustrated by Lara Calleja, and recommends it to all young bunnies who enjoy stories about other animals. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Guapo’s Great Rescue: Clay Finds a Forever Home*, written by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins, and illustrated by Lara Calleja, and recommends it to all young bunnies who enjoy stories about other animals.

Marshmallow reviews Contentment: A Way to True Happiness by Robert A. Johnson and Jerry M. Ruhl

Today Marshmallow is reviewing Contentment: A Way to True Happiness by Robert A. Johnson and Jerry M. Ruhl, published originally in 1999. Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Marshmallow, I am excited to chat with you about a book again. We have not done that for a while.

Marshmallow: Yes! I’m excited to discuss this book with you; reading it was a fascinating experience that requires some unpacking.

S: Cool! I have read the book, too, and would love to talk with you about it. But it has been a while. So maybe it will be good for everyone if you give us a brief introduction to what it is all about.

M: Sure! Contentment is a book of approximately one hundred pages that describes the meaning of finding acceptance within yourself as a way of creating a sense of peace that is impenetrable by outside conditions. Essentially, through analyzing different stories (everything from Shakespeare to Buddhist teachings), the authors determine how the modern individual can regain the sense of calm that we imagine the premodern human to have.

S: So the book is really about what the title says it is about: how to be content. And the two authors base their argument on multiple sources. Somehow I remembered the book as focused on a Buddhist approach. But you are telling me that it is a bit wider scoped than that. That is neat!

M: Definitely! I particularly liked the authors’ analysis of King Lear. At the start, they mention that King Lear can be applied as a general metaphor for every individual in our discontented society. Allegedly, he models the mistakes that lead many to this unhappiness. I was initially a little skeptical of this claim because almost any wide, sweeping analogy has several misalignments. However, they did an excellent job of drawing the parallels between his actions and the minute decisions we make today that – in the long term – cause dissatisfaction.

S: That sounds interesting. So the authors first diagnose a problem: many people are unhappy and unsatisfied. Then they work to determine the root causes, and possible explanations. And then they suggest remedies. Does that sound like the outline of the book, more or less?

M: Well-said! They start by defining the problem, like you said. But they frame it as a mostly modern issue caused by ideas our society has developed over time. These include beliefs about productivity, success, ambition, social validation, etc. I find it a little simplistic to say that none of these issues / desires existed before modern day, but they are convincing in their argument: we are busier and ever in-motion nowadays and our souls are suffering as a result. They argue that there is the ego and the subconscious, which both exist as parts of the whole human. There is also a larger connectivity between all humans that should be channeled more frequently than the self. After explaining these more nebulous aspects, they follow King Lear’s story and point out the modern manifestations of his struggles. Then they show the steps that can be taken to avoid his mistakes.

Marshmallow is reading Contentment: A Way to True Happiness by Robert A. Johnson and Jerry M. Ruhl. — Marshmallow is reading *Contentment: A Way to True Happiness* by Robert A. Johnson and Jerry M. Ruhl.

S: So King Lear is not a one-off example; it is quite central to the book.

M: I would say that it is the most repeatedly-used story the authors incorporated. However, they also mention numerous other past and present-day anecdotes that add another layer of depth to the book.

S: I can see that the book is organized into four parts. Part I is “The Tragedy of Modern Disconent”. Part II is about King Lear and is called “ A Story for our Time”. Part III is “The Psychology of Contentment”. And the last part, “Simple Gifts of Contentment”, is a whole list of gifts. Can you help open that up a bit?

M: Yes, that can sound a little confusing. The last section is a list of concepts (forgiveness, care, etc.) – constants that already exist in daily life – that are actually gifts from the “divine” when you look closer. To specify what I mean by “divine,” the authors frequently reference the universe as a whole as being divine in a way. They do not clarify personal beliefs or argue for a certain religious worldview, but they assert that there is a sense of divinity in “what is.”

S: I see. I wonder if the way they are approaching the “divine” is in any way similar to the way Hubert Dreyfus and Sean Dorrance Kelly approach it in All Things Shining. But I know you have not read that book. Maybe you will, and maybe we will talk about that some time too.

M: Maybe.

S: But maybe in the meantime I should reread this book. You make a good case for it.

M: Yes, I found it really meaningful. I particularly liked how the authors described life as a partner dance between you and everything around you. You can either flow with changes or try to move against the choreography. I found that a very interesting perspective. Of course, I feel that not everything should be accepted, but it is worth being more accepting of everyday life in order to find true contentment.

S: Yes, I agree. So maybe this is a good place to wrap up this review. You often end your reviews with a rating. How would you rate Contentment?

M: I would give it a 100.5% because it was a very unique book that deserves a unique rating! I would highly recommend that every bunny takes some time out of their day to pause and read a text like this that reminds the reader of the value in accepting and really embracing all aspects of life.

S: That sounds great Marshmallow! Thank you for sharing this book with us. Finally what do you want to tell our readers as we wrap up this review?

M: Stay tuned for more amazing book reviews from the book bunnies!

Marshmallow rates Contentment: A Way to True Happiness by Robert A. Johnson and Jerry M. Ruhl 100.5%. — Marshmallow rates *Contentment: A Way to True Happiness* by Robert A. Johnson and Jerry M. Ruhl 100.5%.