The Book Bunnies review the books of 2023

At the end of last year, we decided to try something new and New-Year-ish and talk about all the books we had read through 2022. This year, we continue this new tradition and take a look at our reviews for 2023.

[2023 saw the bunnies read and review many books, both new and classic. You can find a full list here.]

Sprinkles: Again, it is probably easiest for me to go over my reviews first, because as usual, I reviewed much fewer books than the two of you. I did enjoy all the books I reviewed though.

First, in October, I reviewed two children’s books about the mathematician Emmy Noether. This was right after the time I saw the one-woman play about her life, so I was very excited to talk about Noether and her life. I think my favorite among the two was Emmy Noether: The Most Important Mathematician You’ve Never Heard Of, written by Helaine Becker and illustrated by Kari Rust, and published in 2020. Rust’s illustrations are cute and sharp at the same time, and the cartoonish detractors of Noether are shown humorously while the severity of Noether’s challenges is not minimized. The math and physics connections of her work are explained with precise terms in what is still a totally comprehensible language, and the illustrations support these descriptions. All in all, I thought this was a neat book to introduce young people to Noether and her life.

Then in November, I reviewed Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost and Susan Jeffers, a beautiful picture book that takes the reader along for a ride through the woods of Robert Frost’s famous poem. I love this book and I love the poem, so it all worked out.

By the way I’d love to review more poetry books for young bunnies, so if any of our readers know of any, please send us your suggestions.

Finally in late 2023, I also reviewed a book called My Unfurling by Lisa May Bennett. This was a different kind of book, engaging with rather adult themes, so I felt it would not necessarily fit our blog, but Nicole Pyles was kind enough to have me write a guest post for her blog, World of My Imagination.

Marshmallow: I also reviewed a book with some mature content this year. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel is a graphic novel, a growing-up story of sorts, but it deals with a lot of challenging issues, more so than your average growing-up story.

S: True. I also just finished reading this book, and you are right, I agree, the book has a lot of mature content. You also read a handful of books directed at students older than yourself.

M: Yes, true. I reread How to Be a High School Superstar and How to Become a Straight-A Student, both by Cal Newport. I thought maybe I could get some good ideas as the new school year got going.

S: Makes sense to me. Caramel, you also read about school this year.

Caramel: Well, but mine is all fiction. I began to read the Spy School books.

M: Those are great books!

C: Yes, they are.

S: You have gone through the series rather fast, haven’t you?

C: Yep.

S: I know there are two more books in the series that you need to review, but so far, you reviewed all of the first nine books. Which one is your favorite?

C: It is hard to say. They are all so good!

S: Say you were traveling and needed to take only one with you. Which one would you take?

C: I’m not sure. Can Marshmallow take one too?

S: Sure.

C: Then I’d take Evil Spy School and Spy School At Sea. Wait, no. I’d take Spy School: British Invasion and Spy School Revolution.

S: I can see it is not easy to decide.

C: No, it is not.

S: So was Spy School the most fun series you read this year?

C: Well, I did not really read a lot of other series this year. But I did read the Wayside School books, and those were fun too. Still Spy School books might be more fun.

S: I see. What else did you read this year that you liked?

C: I also read the new Wild Robot book, The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown, and the The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate. I liked both of those very much.

S: Among the books you read this year, I think my favorite was Robot Dreams by Sara Varon.

C: I liked that book a lot, too. Though it was kind of a sad book. I wish it had been happier.

S: I know Caramel. How about you Marshmallow? What were some of your favorites from this year?

M: Probably my favorite for this year was Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng. I thought it was very moving and all around a great book. I also really enjoyed reading And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. I mean, I did not find it very comfortable as I was reading it because it got very tense, but once I was done, I could see that it was extremely well constructed.

S: She is good, isn’t she?

M: Yep. She is a classic, you could say!

S: You also read a few other classics this year, right?

M: Yes. I read Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and Lord of the Flies by William Golding. They were both very good. I can see why they became classics.

S: Agreed!

M: I also read The Adventures of Tintin: The Calculus Affair by Hergé, Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories by Agatha Christie, The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton, and Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume, which are also classics to an extent.

S: How did you like those books?

M: I liked them alright, but they were not my favorites. I mean, I was glad to have read them, but there were other books I liked more this year.

S: I see. You did read mostly fiction again this year. But you did read a few works of nonfiction. Which ones of those did you like?

M: Well, besides Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, I read another autobiographical graphic novel, Dare to Disappoint by Özge Samancı. I also read The Murder of Emmett Till by Karlos K. Hill and David Dodson and Victory. Stand! Raising My Fist for Justice by Tommie Smith, which were both historical graphic novels. Last but not the least, I read and reviewed Doctor Who: The Encyclopedia by Gary Russell and The Secret Life of a Snowflake by Kenneth Libbrecht.

S: This might be the most fiction you have ever reviewed till now!

M: It really might. And I liked all of these books.

S: That sounds like a good year to me!

S: How about you Caramel? Which nonfiction books did you like most?

C: Well, this year I read and reviewed The Cult of LEGO by John Baichtal and Joe Meno, Star Wars: Complete Vehicles – New Edition, Easy Aircraft Origami by Jayson Merrill, Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles by Landry Q. Walker, Animated Science: Periodic Table by Shiho Pate and John Farndon, Invented by Animals by Christiane Dorion and Gosia Herba, Make Your Own Press-Out Spaceships by David Hawcock, Weird But True! 350 Outrageous Facts (Book 6) by National Geographic Kids, and The Big Book of Amazing LEGO Creations With Bricks You Already Have by Sarah Dees. And they were all really really good.

S: I can see your pattern. Star Wars books, books about making planes and spaceships, books about animals and other facts, and books about LEGOs.

C: Yep. I guess I am that transparent.

S: It is not a bad idea to know what you like. But you also read two books that were sort of borderline between fiction and nonfiction. I am referring to How to Survive a Robot Uprising: Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion by Daniel H. Wilson and Oliver’s Great Big Universe by Jorge Cham.

C: Yes, those are also very factful books. But if we are looking at factful books, we have to include Narwhalicorn and Jelly and A Super Scary Narwhalloween by Ben Clanton, too.

S: You are right. How could I forget the Narwhal and Jelly books!

C: I don’t know Sprinkles. Maybe you are getting tired.

S: Maybe I am. We have been talking about books for a while now. And it is getting late. So shall we wrap up this wrap-up of the year?

M: Yes. I am getting really hungry!

S: Okay, let us do that then. All in all, this was a really good year with lots and lots of good books, wasn’t it?

C: Yep.

M: Definitely! And we will continue to read and review many many more in the new year!

S: But we are taking off for January, like we have been doing every year. We should definitely mention that.

C: But we will be back!

M: In February. With many more great book reviews!

S: So happy new year!

C: And stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!