A few weeks ago Caramel reviewed Guapo’s Giant Heart: The True Story of The Calf Who Kept Growing, a book by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins, about a rescue calf who grows too big for his first rescue farm and then is moved to another place and finds new friends. Then he reviewed Guapo’s Great Rescue: Clay Finds a Forever Home, a second story about Guapo and his friends in this new home of theirs. Today he is reviewing a third book about Guapo: Guapo and the Mystery of Goodness, which just came out yesterday! As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.
The book bunnies were sent a review copy of the book.
Sprinkles: So Caramel, today we have a story about Guapo again.
Caramel: Yes we are! This one is about Guapo and his friends finding a magical tree.
S: Tell me more.
C: So yes, there is this grove, a collection of trees near where Guapo and his friends are living. And there is a sad tree in the grove which is not doing too well. Guapo wants to help of course, because you know he likes to help. But he does not know how to help.
S: Okay. Is the tree sick?
C: I’m not really sure. It is not ever made clear. But at some point Guapo and his friends realize that if someone does something nice to someone else near it, the tree gets happier and looks a lot healthier.
S: So it likes people being good to one another.
C: Yes. So they call it the Tree of Kindness. They think it is encouraging them to be kind to one another.
S: That is nice!
C: Yeah so they treat each other well and so the tree is happy. And they play and play. And then something else magical happens.
S: Okay, I am curious, tell me.
C: Well, maybe not. Because that is almost the end of the book and it could count as a spoiler. But in any case it is not totally resolved. So maybe there will be more Guapo books.
S: Hmm, okay, I can understand not wanting to give spoilers. But what you are saying is that there is kind of a cliffhanger at the end of the book.
C: Yeah. Kind of.
S: That is not that typical of picture books that we have read before.
C: True. But I think the book works on its own too. So that is alright.
S: Okay, so maybe we can talk about other things about the book then.
C: Yup, let’s do that.
S: From what you are telling me, this book does not really connect with Guapo and his friends living in a rescue farm, does it?
C: Well, kind of. There are children who visit the farm at some point. And there are many different animals at this farm, a lot of them one of their kind. So it is not quite a typical farm. But you are also right. This story did not need its main characters to be rescue animals.
S: That’s alright though, right? Because we are reading about some friends we have met before. We know their backstories, and now they are experiencing new things. So it is fun to read about them.
C: Yes. And this story is a lot more fantastical than the first two books about Guapo and his friends. The tree is magical and then there is the big magic that happens at the end, which I am not talking about. So it almost feels like a different kind of story.
S: Yes, I can see that. That’s an interesting thought, Caramel.
C: Yes. I am an interesting bunny with many interesting thoughts.
S: I know! Thank you for sharing your thoughts about this book!
C: No problem.
S: Okay, so maybe this is a good place to wrap up our review.
C: Sure.
S: What do you want to tell our readers?
C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!
