BookBunnies

Caramel reviews Aggie and the Ghost by Matthew Forsythe

Today to honor this last week of October and therefore the week of Halloween, Caramel chose to review a book about a ghost and a girl who tried hard to get rid of him: Aggie and the Ghost by Matthew Forsythe, published originally in 2025. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, today we are talking about a book with ghosts because it is almost Halloween.

Caramel: Correction: One ghost! I mean at some point there are others, but the book is really about one ghost.

S: True. Okay, let us begin at the beginning. Tell us a bit about the book.

C: So this book is about a girl named Aggie, believe it or not.

S: Oh, I believe it. So then there should also be a ghost.

C: Yes. So Aggie somehow just gets herself a new home where she is living alone. But no, she is actually not alone. There is a ghost in the house.

S: Hmm, so Aggie is a little kid but is living alone. That’s kind of strange, right?

C: Yeah, I mean, I know there are kids in the world who do not have anyone, but they also do not usually have their own homes. Anyways, this is fiction, so we don’t ask too many such questions.

S: Right. So let us not ask those questions.

C: Anyways, so Aggie’s house is haunted. And Aggie gets annoyed that the ghost is stealing her socks and eating all the cheese, so she tries to make rules, but the ghost always breaks the rules.

S: So he is kind of a bad roommate.

C: Yeah, and Aggie did not even want a roommate! So, one day she gets fed up with him and goes out and the ghost follows her, and so she challenges the ghost to a tic-tac-toe game. And if he loses he has to leave the house, and if he wins and she loses, she has to leave the house.

S: That is one stressful game! And you know tic-tac-toe really well, right, Caramel? You even did a project on it!

C: Yeah, I know that it is really hard to win. If both of you know how to play right, and neither side messes up, you can’t win.

S: True. So anyways who wins the game?

C: Maybe I should not spoil the whole book.

S: But does it end happily? Like do they get to be friends?

C: Not quite. It does end happily, but I won’t say more.

Caramel is reading Aggie and the Ghost by Matthew Forsythe. — Caramel is reading *Aggie and the Ghost* by Matthew Forsythe.

S: Alright. Then maybe tell me this. You have read and reviewed another book by Matthew Forsythe before: Pokko and the Drum. Do you remember that book? Is this one similar to that other book at all?

C: Not really, but the pictures remind me of one another. So if you did not tell me that these two books were illustrated by the same person, I might still have guessed.

S: Yeah, there are some intangible similarities in style somehow…

C: Also both books have the weird not-making-sense factor, like a friendly ghost who steals socks and eats all the cheese, or a fox that won’t immediately eat a rabbit that is right next to it.

S: So this particular author creates really fun and interesting and impossible worlds, right? The other book was about a frog who played a drum, really loudly, and that on its own also did not make too much sense. But it was a lot of fun to read. Did you think this book was fun to read?

C: Yeah, it would especially be a good book for younger bunnies, and especially around this time, you know, with Halloween coming up! This is always a fun time to think about ghosts and this particular ghost is not scary at all. He is a bit annoying though. But he is kind of funny. He likes to wear Aggie’s socks and eats up all her cheese, and cannot follow any house rules Aggie sets up.

S: Yeah, I can see reading this book as a humorous way to celebrate Halloween!

C: Yeah, totally.

S: Okay, maybe this is a good time to wrap up this review.

C: Sure!

S: What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews! And happy Halloween!

Caramel enjoyed reading Aggie and the Ghost by Matthew Forsythe and wishes all the little bunnies a happy Halloween! — Caramel enjoyed reading *Aggie and the Ghost* by Matthew Forsythe and wishes all the little bunnies a happy Halloween!

Marshmallow reviews No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies by Julian Aguon

Today Marshmallow reviews a little book with a big message: No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies by Julian Aguon, published first in 2022.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books that make you realize how horrible the world is while simultaneously teaching you how to stay hopeful, then this is the book for you!

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Julian Aguon is an Indigenous human rights lawyer and defender from Guam. He founded Blue Ocean Law to serve at the intersection of Indigenous rights and environmental justice, which will tell you what the main focus of this book is.

Through poems, speeches, and articles, Aguon shows the continual impacts of colonialism in Guam, the Marshall Islands, and so many other territories and sovereign states in similar situations. Specifically, he starts by showing how the U.S. government completely ignored protestors in Guam who were advocating to protect acres of beautiful limestone forest. In order to build yet another military base, the U.S. army bulldozed away the land home to the dying eight-spot butterfly. This is where the titular phrase “no country for eight-spot butterflies” comes from.

Citing the works of other great authors (he admits to particularly revering Arundhati Roy in a fashion similar to how one would adore a celebrity crush), Aguon presents the modern dilemma before the people facing the worst and most immediate impacts of climate change. Small island nations are not the ones contributing to the climate crisis, yet they are the ones already feeling its wrath.

Through this book, Aguon captures how truly horrific human nature can be and how violence and pain are running rampant everywhere around the world. He argues that one must learn to overcome speechlessness: the phenomenon of being left silent by atrocities because verbalizing them is simply too terrifying or graphic or painful.

No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies is Aguon’s way of verbalizing the pain of his people and all those who are in a similarly hopeless situation. Global superpowers, he points out, do not care about the little guys who wield no weapons and have no power to stop them. He still has hope though and argues that the most dangerous thing in the world would be a generation of young people who have lost hope. In line with his ideals, I would suggest reading this book to each and every person who is ready to understand the scale of global suffering and is ready to accept our shared responsibility of alleviating it.

Marshmallow is reading No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies by Julian Aguon. — Marshmallow is reading *No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies* by Julian Aguon.

Marshmallow’s Review: I want to preface this by saying that No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies is not a good book for young children. I was not expecting it to be as graphic and somewhat disturbing as it got to be at certain points. Because he has tasked himself with telling the story of our global circumstances accurately, Aguon must also show our worst demons. I cannot describe how purely evil some of these events reveal humans to be. Whether clothed in suits, surrounded by smooth, slimy words or brutishly, maliciously armed with machetes, human evil has never been as visible to me as it was in this book. I must admit I was not prepared, and I am infinitely grateful to be a bunny who has had no comparable experiences.

The fact that the author still has hope though should tell you something. As someone who has seen so much evidence that could convince even the most optimistic that hope is rather useless, the author somehow still believes that there are things worth fighting for and that hope has to survive.

This testimony of experiences shows another side of humanity that many have likely never heard of before. Reading No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies reveals just how deeply humans are and have been suffering. But at the same time, despite it all, Aguon begs us to believe in goodness. I believe that if he still has faith in humanity, we all must too.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 111%.

Marshmallow rates No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies by Julian Aguon 111%. — Marshmallow rates *No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies* by Julian Aguon 111%.

Caramel reviews The Little Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak

Both Caramel and Marshmallow loved reading B.J. Novak’s The Book With No Pictures; Caramel even reviewed it way back in 2019. Today Caramel reviews what he calls the little baby brother of that very same book: The Little Book With No Pictures, which just came out yesterday. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, today we have a board book for our readers!

Caramel: Yes! This is the little baby brother of a book we reviewed before: The Book With No Pictures.

S: I remember that one! It was hilarious!

C: Yes, but a tiny correction: having you read it out loud to me was hilarious!

S: That’s true, that book is kind of like a setup for parents: it makes them say really ridiculous things.

C: But rightfully so. Adults are sometimes too serious. That book forces them to not take themselves so seriously.

S: Yes, you are definitely correct. But okay, let us come back to this book.

C: Sure. As I said, this is the little baby brother of the other book. It is meant for younger bunnies, I think. For starters, it is a board book like you said. So a really little bunny can hold it in their paws and maybe even nibble on it.

S: In fact the book tells them to do that, no?

C: Kind of. It says, “EAT the book, yum yum yum. EAT the book?!!, we do not eat books.”

Caramel is reading The Little Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak. — Caramel is reading *The Little Book With No Pictures* by B.J. Novak.

S: I see. It sounds like a funny book, like the other one.

C: It is a funny book! But it is a lot cuter than the other one. I mean, the other one keeps getting the parent who is reading the book into trouble by making them say silly things like robot monkey and boo boo butt and so on. It is really funny. But this one is only saying things like, now tickle or give a kiss or something like that. That is why it is probably more appropriate for babies.

S: Yeah, I can see that.

C: So it does have many signs of being a book for younger bunnies. And I am getting to be a bigger bunny every day. So I do not really read board books or even too many picture books anymore. But it was still fun to read this book.

S: I thought you might appreciate it. I know how much you enjoyed the original book.

C: Yeah I did. And this was fun too. So yes, it was a good choice.

S: And it can be a good choice for parents of young bunnies who are looking for a fun book for their little ones. There are no pictures, like it says in the title, but there are a lot of colors used in the book, and the words are sometimes small and sometimes large, so it is visually still interesting. And reading together and trying to do the things it says to do could be a lot of fun with a little one.

C: Yeah, it tells you to shake your pants for example.

S: Yeah, it does. Okay, Caramel, maybe this is a good time to wrap up this review. What do you think?

C: I think it is a good idea. I have school tomorrow.

S: Okay, then. Let’s wrap up. What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading The Little Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak and recommends it to all parents of little bunnies: he promises it will be so much fun to read it with their little ones. — Caramel loved reading *The Little Book With No Pictures* by B.J. Novak and recommends it to all parents of little bunnies: he promises it will be so much fun to read it with their little ones.

Marshmallow reviews Mr. Distinctive by Olga Tokarczuk

Today Marshmallow is reviewing a neat book which looks like a standard picture book for young readers but should likely be classified as something different: maybe a picture book for not-so-young readers. Mr. Distinctive was originally written in Polish by Olga Tokarczuk, illustrated by Joanna Concejo, and published in 2023. The English translation by Antonia Lloyd-Jones was published in 2025.

Marshmallow reviews Mr. Distinctive, written in Polish by Olga Tokarczuk, illustrated by Joanna Concejo, and translated into English by Antonia Lloyd-Jones. — Marshmallow reviews *Mr. Distinctive*, written in Polish by Olga Tokarczuk, illustrated by Joanna Concejo, and translated into English by Antonia Lloyd-Jones.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books with beautiful artwork or books that make you reevaluate the way all of society is set up, then this is the book for you!

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Mr. Distinctive is a rather beautiful individual. His facial features are all unique and striking such that his smile instantly wins over any individual who sees it. He is gregarious, sociable, and one of the most popular people in his neighborhood.

Unfortunately, he is a little bit narcissistic. This mainly manifests itself through his tendency of taking an excessive number of selfies. Once he gets his first phone as an adult (it is to be presumed that he grew up in a time without them), he snaps photos everywhere—of course, with himself in the center of the screen.

Eventually, he notices that his features begin to blur more and more every time he takes and posts another photo. Eventually, things get to the point where his entire face is nothing more than a smudge of what used to be his perfect, distinctive face. Seeking to restore his beauty and uniqueness, he purchases a new face from a shady dealer for an extraordinary price he can barely afford. With his new face, he is once again perfect, yet the ending is still heartbreaking.

Marshmallow is reading Mr. Distinctive, written in Polish by Olga Tokarczuk, illustrated by Joanna Concejo, and translated into English by Antonia Lloyd-Jones. — Marshmallow is reading *Mr. Distinctive*, written in Polish by Olga Tokarczuk, illustrated by Joanna Concejo, and translated into English by Antonia Lloyd-Jones.

Marshmallow’s Review: The book begins with a series of pages filled with highly-detailed drawings of photos (presumably from Mr. Distinctive’s childhood). The book then begins, with some sparse text sprinkled throughout. Each page has beautiful illustrations that show a window into Mr. Distinctive’s world. In almost every aspect, it is the same as ours. Except that you can literally purchase a new face. I suppose plastic surgery achieves the same effect though.

To me, this book conveyed a very poignant, relevant message about the death of individuality in the modern world. Photo after photo, post after post, Mr. Distinctive showcases himself to the world online but loses himself in the process, forgetting to be distinctive in the real world.

SPOILER ALERT: At the end, he finds out that the new face he purchased in desperation is the same as everyone else around him. I believe this represents the idea that—as a result of social media—everyone begins to lose their own distinctiveness in favor of the creation of a duplication of everyone else. I found this to be deeply saddening, but I think the message is unfortunately true.

The photos (mostly Polaroids and physical photographs) from before the start of the text show what his life was when it was untouched by digital influences like social media. They show his youth in bright colors, each frame filled with bright smiles. Afterwards, the photos are much darker and more mature in a muted way which shows the transition from his previous, unedited life to a more manipulated, artificial world.

I think this message is relevant to many given the expansive effects of social media on almost every person in the world. Reading this book makes you reconsider the value of social media and losing your authentic self and your authentic life versus the superficial validation to be gained from posting picture after picture to get “likes”.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates Mr. Distinctive, written in Polish by Olga Tokarczuk, illustrated by Joanna Concejo, and translated into English by Antonia Lloyd-Jones 100%. — Marshmallow rates *Mr. Distinctive*, written in Polish by Olga Tokarczuk, illustrated by Joanna Concejo, and translated into English by Antonia Lloyd-Jones 100%.