Book Bunnies

Marshmallow reviews Kids Knitting by Melanie Falick

Marshmallow likes to make crafty things with her little paws. She already reviewed a beautiful book about origami for the book bunnies blog. Today she talks about a book about knitting: Kids Knitting: Projects for Kids of All Ages, by Melanie Falick. Sprinkles, who (recently re)started knitting with Marshmallow, is taking notes and asking questions.

Marshmallow reviews Kids Knitting: Projects for Kids of All Ages, by Melanie Falick. — Marshmallow reviews *Kids Knitting: Projects for Kids of All Ages*, by Melanie Falick.

Sprinkles: Tell me a bit about this book Marshmallow.

Marshmallow: This is a really good book for bunnies who like knitting or those who don’t know how to do it yet.

S: So is it a book teaching one how to knit?

M: Yes. It starts from telling you what you will need: yarn, straight knitting needles, and scissors. And we have those already! Then it tells you what other tools you might eventually need once you get going and know a bit about what you are doing. We already have some of those too. Like circular needles.

S: Yes, I know you have some circular needles and have already made some projects with them!

M: Yes.

S: Then what happens in the book? Do they teach you how to do different stitches?

M: Yes. But before that they tell you about other things. Like finger knitting, dying your own yarn, and rolling yarn into a ball, and so on. Then they start teaching the standard knitting stitches. They begin with teaching the reader how to cast on stitches–

S: That is, putting the number of stitch loops on the knitting needle that you will need to get started.

M: Yes. Then the book teaches the knit stitch, that is the easiest one. And there is even a poem to remember the moves by.

S: Oh, why don’t you share that poem with us then?

M: Okay:

Under the fence
Catch the sheep
Back we come
Off we leap

S: That sounds like a good way to remember the moves making the knit stitch!

M: This poem is on page 30. So the book is going really slowly to teach you really well everything you need. Then you learn about binding off–

S: That is, finishing the piece and getting it off your needles.

M: Yes. Then the first project starts. It is a bean bag. You can make it using only the knit stitch and the casting-on / binding-off techniques you already learned.

S: That’s good. So you get to practice along as you are reading and learning.

Marshmallow is reading Kids Knitting: Projects for Kids of All Ages, by Melanie Falick. Here she is looking at the directions to make a pen case. — Marshmallow is reading *Kids Knitting: Projects for Kids of All Ages*, by Melanie Falick. Here she is looking at the directions to make a pen case.

S: You have already made some of the projects from this book, right Marshmallow?

M: I made the bag for pencils or glasses.

S: Are there some others you are looking forward to working on?

M: I want to try the scarf with pockets.

S: That sounds like it could be fun and useful. What other types of projects are there in the book?

M: There are hats, scarves, backpacks, sweaters, dolls, all sorts of fun things you can make.

S: That sounds great! There seem to be projects that will interest all sorts of bunnies that will be doable for those who know little about knitting.

M: Yes, but also you learn a lot of new techniques along the way. For example you can learn how to use a circular needle or how to do the perl stitch, which I think should be called the tink stitch because it is the reverse of knit stitch.

S: I think that would be a great idea. But looking it up in a dictionary, apparently “tink” already has a knitting meaning: “undo a row of knitting one stitch at a time, in order to correct a mistake”.

M: Oh that makes sense too. Undoing is backwards! That’s kind of cool!

S: Yes, I agree! So before we wrap up, tell me how many other projects there are in the book.

M: There are a lot! Maybe around twenty or so.

S: So this is going to keep you busy for a while longer, right?

M: Yes.

S: I think so too. This is a useful book, and young bunnies and perhaps their parents, too, can learn from it. And it is a lot of fun to look at, too, because the pictures are bright as well as instructive. I say we can wrap up this review now. So what would your rating be for it?

M: I rate it 95%. And now I will go and start my new scarf.

Marshmallow rates Kids Knitting: Projects for Kids of All Ages by Melanie Falick 95%. — Marshmallow rates *Kids Knitting: Projects for Kids of All Ages* by Melanie Falick 95%.

Caramel reviews I Want to Sleep Under the Stars! by Mo Willems

Caramel has always enjoyed books by Mo Willems. He has already reviewed a book from his Pigeon series and another from his Elephant and Piggie series for the book bunnies blog. Today he reviews I Want to Sleep Under the Stars!, the third book in Willems’s more recent Unlimited Squirrels series. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: Hey Caramel, I saw you with a new Mo Willems book!

Caramel: Peace. Peace. Peace. Quiet. Quiet. Quiet.

S: What are you talking about?

C: Sorry, I was just reading the book.

S: So what is going on?

C: Right now I’m reading the part where three squirrels are yelling “Peace!” and another three are whispering “Quiet!”

S: But why?

C: Because Zoom Squirrel said he wants some peace and quiet to sleep so his friends break into two teams, one team for peace and another for quiet. And then they come and yell at Zoom: “Peace!” “Peace!” “Peace!” and the others whisper: “Quiet!” “Quiet!” “Quiet!”

S: Hmm, do you think that could help you go to sleep?

C: No, probably not. But they are trying.

S: So the story is that Zoom wants to sleep and his friends are really trying to help, and not really doing a great job with it. Did I get the story right?

C: Yes!

S: So all throughout, Zoom is trying to sleep and his friends’ help doesn’t help.

C: But they never give up trying to help. They want to be good friends. And they in the end help him to sleep under the stars in a way. But I won’t give away the ending!

S: Yes, let us not.

Caramel is reading I Want to Sleep Under the Stars! by Mo Willems. In these two pages, Zoom Squirrel is trying to sleep while her friends are trying to "encourage" her to sleep. — Caramel is reading *I Want to Sleep Under the Stars!* by Mo Willems. In these two pages, Zoom Squirrel is trying to sleep while the other squirrels are trying to “encourage” Zoom to sleep.

S: This sounds like a really sweet story. But this book has 96 pages! Is the story about Zoom trying to sleep under the stars the whole story of the book?

C: Most of it. But there are other things in the book too. There are some pages with facts about animals and stars, and three two-page parts where there are joking acorns telling jokes. They are weird jokes.

S: I thought a few of the jokes were fine, some were sillier than others.

C: The acorns tell only three jokes. But there are other animals asking questions too. There is a squirrel, the Quiz Squirrel, that asks a question about sleeping animals. They ask which of three animals sleeps longest every day.

S: Yes, that was interesting. Did you guess the answer?

C: No, I was wrong. It was interesting!

S: Yes, I agree. I thought that you might also enjoy the facts in this book. There are quite a few!

C: Yep. My favorite is about the sleeping animals, but I can’t give it away. Bunnies should figure it out on their own.

S: Yes, I agree. Okay then Caramel, before we wrap this up, what three words would you like to use to describe this book?

C: Colorful, squirrel-ly, funny.

S: I don’t think squirrel-ly is a word, but there are a lot of squirrels in this book so let’s keep it. So how do you want to end the review?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunnies reviews!

Caramel really enjoyed reading I Want to Sleep Under the Stars! by Mo Willems and is keen to read more about the Unlimited Squirrels! — Caramel really enjoyed reading *I Want to Sleep Under the Stars!* by Mo Willems and is keen to read more about the Unlimited Squirrels!

Marshmallow reviews Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

Today Marshmallow reviews the epistolary novel Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel of Letters by Mark Dunn, a book recommended to her by her school teacher.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about free speech or books about fighting against suppression, or alternatively if you like playing with letters and thinking about language, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Ella Minnow Pea lives on the fictional island of Nollop, which is home to Nevin Nollop, who is the supposed creator of the famous sentence, “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog”, a sentence that contains all letters of the English alphabet. This sentence is on a memorial statue of Nevin Nollop in the island.

The people of Nollop think very highly of Mr. Nollop, so when the letters of the sentence on the memorial statue start to fall off, the Council says that it is Mr. Nollop who has spoken from beyond the grave. They claim that it is Mr. Nollop’s will that people stop using the letters that have fallen. So you can’t use words, or read books, or write words that have the letters that have fallen. Even if you use them by mistake, you are still punished. For the first offense, you are scolded publicly. For your second offense, you get lashing or stocks, the violator can choose. A third offense is punished by banishment, and if the violator refuses, death. You can see how this would make things difficult! As the story progresses, things get more and more complicated.

Marshmallow is reading Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn. — Marshmallow is reading *Ella Minnow Pea* by Mark Dunn.

Marshmallow’s Review: I think that Ella Minnow Pea is a great book for kids eight and up because it has a well-written plot and developed characters. I say eight and up, because the plot is a bit complicated, so younger bunnies might have a harder time trying to understand what is happening.

This is especially true since Ella Minnow Pea is written in letters, like the book To Night Owl From Dogfish, which I reviewed before for this blog. It is interesting to read a book written in letters, because then you can see multiple people’s views, especially if they write in different styles.

Still if little bunnies want to read Ella Minnow Pea, they can read with their parents. This way if the younger ones don’t understand something, they can ask their parents. This can also help open up some of the important themes of the book.

The main theme in Ella Minnow Pea is freedom of speech because the Council is trying to have everyone stop using the words that fell from the statue. Once they lose the letter “D” they even change the names of the days, with Sunday becoming “Satto-gatto” for example. The book is about the importance of speech and language and how important it is for these to be free. In the end it is language (and people’s determination of course!) that saves the world.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn 100%. — Marshmallow rates *Ella Minnow Pea* by Mark Dunn 100%.

Caramel reviews The Sea of Monsters: The Graphic Novel by Rick Riordan

A couple weeks ago Caramel reviewed the graphic novel version of the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series: The Lightning Thief, adapted by Robert Venditti, with Attila Futaki, Jose Villarrubia, Orpheus Collar, and Chris Dickey. This week he talks about the second book in the series: The Sea of Monsters: The Graphic Novel, adapted by Robert Venditti, with Attila Futaki, Tamas Gaspar, and Chris Dickey. As usual Sprinkles is asking questions and taking notes.

(Marshmallow has already reviewed the original; see here for her review.)

Caramel reviews The Sea of Monsters: The Graphic Novel by Rick Riordan, adapted by Robert Venditti, with Attila Futaki, Tamas Gaspar, and Chris Dickey. — Caramel reviews *The Sea of Monsters: The Graphic Novel* by Rick Riordan, adapted by Robert Venditti, with Attila Futaki, Tamas Gaspar, and Chris Dickey.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, let us hear what you have to say about this book.

Caramel: If you already read the graphic novel version of The Lightning Thief, then this is a good book to read next.

S: So readers need to have read the first book of the series, right?

C: Yes.

S: Would it be enough to have read the original book or the graphic novel?

C: I think reading the originals first makes it easier to follow the graphic novels too.

S: But I am guessing that someone who only reads the graphic novel versions will still get a good story, is that correct?

C: Yes, definitely.

S: Then tell us that story a bit.

C: Percy Jackson, and his friend Annabeth (who eventually becomes his girlfriend) go on a quest that they are not even supposed to go on! Percy Jackson never listens to instructions.

S: Wait, so there is a quest and someone else is supposed to go ..

C: Yes, Clarisse La Rue, a daughter of war god Ares, is the one who is chosen but Percy and Annabeth don’t let go.

S: It is interesting how a lot of main characters in books don’t listen to instructions, right?

C: Yes, Harry Potter never listens to Professor Dumbledore, or Hermione, who is almost always right.

S: That’s true. But maybe through their mistakes we the readers learn some things, like listening to those who are older or wiser than us might actually be a good idea.

C: I agree with that! I do get mad at Harry or Percy when they don’t listen!

Caramel is reading The Sea of Monsters: The Graphic Novel by Rick Riordan, adapted by Robert Venditti, with Attila Futaki, Tamas Gaspar, and Chris Dickey. — Caramel is reading *The Sea of Monsters: The Graphic Novel* by Rick Riordan, adapted by Robert Venditti, with Attila Futaki, Tamas Gaspar, and Chris Dickey.

S: Okay, yes, let us get back to the book. What is this quest about?

C: They need to get the golden fleece. The golden fleece is a mythical object that heals anything.

S: Like that little scab on your knee?

C: Yes, I think if we had the golden fleece, my knee would get better much faster.

S: I think your body is doing really well healing on its own though? I think you will not even see it in a couple weeks.

C: I guess. But the golden fleece heals things much worse than a scarred knee. And it is hidden far far away.

S: And so our heroes have to face many new challenges to get to it, right?

C: Yes, and many new monsters!

S: Which monster was the most interesting one for you in this book?

C: I thought the monsters that wait in the sea of monsters to swallow up ships and heroes are the most interesting ones. Let me see… they are called Scylla and Charybdis. Together they destroy many ships.

S: And that is how in this story world we explain the Bermuda Triangle myth, right? Many people believed that in this region of the North Atlantic ocean, there was some mystery that led to disaster for many ships.

C: Yes. They talk about this in the book too, at least in the original book. And this is the book where Percy meets his half-brother Tyson, who is a cyclops.

S: So half-brother means Tyson is also a son of Poseidon, right?

C: Yep.

S: But aren’t we supposed to dislike and fear cyclops?

C: Some might not be nice, but Tyson is a really good cyclops, and he is a good brother to Percy.

S: I see. Okay, then, maybe we should tie this review up here before we give away more details. What three words would you use to describe this book Caramel?

C: Colorful, Greek mythology, and Percy Jackson.

S: Well, some of those are not descriptive words, but I’ll let it slide this time. What else do you want to say to our readers as we wrap things up?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading The Sea of Monsters: The Graphic Novel by Rick Riordan, adapted by Robert Venditti, with Attila Futaki, Tamas Gaspar, and Chris Dickey. — Caramel enjoyed reading *The Sea of Monsters: The Graphic Novel* by Rick Riordan, adapted by Robert Venditti, with Attila Futaki, Tamas Gaspar, and Chris Dickey.