Book Bunnies

Marshmallow reviews Matilda by Roald Dahl

A while back, as her second review, Marshmallow reviewed BFG by Roald Dahl. Today she wanted to write about the very first Dahl book she had read: Matilda. For this review she went back and reread it a couple times. Below is her review; enjoy!

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you liked some of Roald Dahl’s other books or if you like books about young people with supernatural powers, then this might the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with spoilers): Matilda Wormwood is an extremely amazing child with extremely dumb parents. She began to speak perfectly at age one and a half. She taught herself to read at age three, but her parents told her that she should stop talking because “small girls should be seen and not heard.” When her parents left home in the afternoon, she would walk to the library and read. Then she started school.

Matilda has a great teacher and she knows everything already, so school should have been easy for her, except that the principal, Miss Trunchbull, is a nightmare. Miss Trunchbull used to throw hammers in the Olympics and now throws little children instead to keep her right arm in practice. For example, there was a boy who was eating candy in class and Miss Trunchbull tossed him out of the window. After she threw him, she said that she had done a good job even though she hadn’t been practicing. (You’re probably wondering why the children wouldn’t just go home and tell their parents, but Miss Trunchbull makes sure that the stuff that she does is so ridiculous that no one would believe the children.)

Then one day, Miss Trunchbull comes into Matilda’s class in order to test them on what they have learned. But someone put a newt into Miss Trunchbull’s jug of water. Miss Trunchbull blames Matilda for the incident which makes Matilda mad. Matilda sits down but then something happens: she is able to magically push the glass that has the newt inside over on to Miss Trunchbull. Apparently Matilda somehow has the ability of telekinesis!

A lot more funny and strange things happen in the rest of the book. You will just have to read to find out how Matilda finally gets back on all the difficult and annoying people in her life.

Marshmallow is reading Matilda by Roald Dahl and enjoying the funny illustrations by Quentin Blake. — Marshmallow is reading *Matilda* by Roald Dahl and enjoying the funny illustrations by Quentin Blake.

Marshmallow’s Review: This is a great book for people who like to read about fantastic things. Matilda is now a classic and has been enjoyed by many people. Roald Dahl entertains the reader well and the plot comes together nicely. The way Matilda gets rid of Miss Trunchbull is a way that most people wouldn’t think of, a way only Matilda would. And I wouldn’t have suspected what happened at the end.

Dahl also makes the characters hated by the reader or pitied by the reader. Matilda’s parents Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood are really annoying and Miss. Trunchbull is really mean. My favorite character is Matilda because she is smart and takes matters into her own hands when they get to be too much. I also like her because we read the story from her perspective so it is easy to be on her side.

I think this book is good for all ages. I think that most readers will like it.

Matilda is also very funny. My two favorite chapters are The Ghost and The Platinum-Blond Man. The things Matilda does to the mean adults around her are not things that people should do though it is really fun to read.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 95%

Marshmallow rates Matilda by Roald Dahl 95%. — Marshmallow rates *Matilda* by Roald Dahl 95%.

Caramel reviews How Things Work by T. J. Resler

Caramel loves reading books about real things, and he especially loves learning about how things work. Today’s book, from National Geographic Kids, is just up his alley: How Things Work by T. J. Resler. As usual Sprinkles is asking questions and taking notes.

Sprinkles: So Caramel you got your nose into another big book about real things!

Caramel: Yes, exactly.

S: Tell me what this book is about.

C: It’s about how things work, as you can tell by the cover.

S: Yes. What kinds of things though?

C: Things like hoverbikes and hoverboards. Tablets, bionic arms, thermoses, and invisibility cloaks! Tractor beams…

S: Wait, invisibility cloaks? Tractor beams? Are those things real?

C: No, they are just theoretical. And they are not really invisibility cloaks but cloaking devices.

S: Hmm, so the book is about inventions, both real and fantastical, right?

C: Yes. They are really cool.

S: And I thought the chapter titles were quite fun. Can you tell us some of them?

C: There is one called “Beaming Up”. And another called “Home Where The Fridge Is”. There is “School of Cool”, and “Extreme Fun”, and some others.

S: Which is your favorite thing that you read about in this book?

C: My favorite is in the chapter called “Caught in the Tractor!” There is a picture of an alien ship in a section called “Think Big”.

Caramel is reading "Caught in the tractor!" in How Things Work by T. J. Resler. — Caramel is reading “Caught in the tractor!” in *How Things Work* by T. J. Resler.

S: Is that a real alien ship? I did not know we had alien visitors!

C: No it’s just a picture. An artist’s imagination.

S: Hmm, so what do you like about this particular page?

C: The picture of the alien ship is cool. But the section is about tractor beams, something we see a lot in Star Trek. Apparently a gigawatt in laser energy would totally vaporize a baseball. That’s basically a phaser, like in Star Trek.

S: Okay, how is that related to tractor beams?

C: It would be able to move the thing, but then it would also totally vaporize it too.

S: So there is a lot in this book about Star Trek science?

C: Not exactly, but I like Star Trek so I am telling you things about Star Trek in the book. There are also a lot of real things.

S: Like what?

C: Like fridges, space ships, microwave ovens, thermoses, and photocopy machines. And we learn about Elon Musk. He is an engineer and apparently he read a whole encyclopedia when he was a child.

S: Hmm, do you ever read an encyclopedia Caramel?

C: No, not really.

S: Well, we do often check out Wikipedia, and that is kind of like an encyclopedia, right?

C: I guess so. But I like reading real books with pictures, and learning about how things work.

S: And this book has a lot of pictures. Every one of its two hundred pages has at least one picture and there are pages which have only pictures. So it is a great book to read if you like to see what you are reading about.

C: Yes, there is a full-page picture of a dog drinking from the toilet bowl. The dog says “hmm, that’s the stuff!”

S: So the book is also quite funny, it sounds like.

C: Well kind of, but I like it more for the facts.

S: Okay, so tell me three words or phrases to describe this book.

C: Full of facts, colorful pictures, useful.

S: Great! This is a good place to wrap up this review. What do you want to tell our readers Caramel?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny adventures!

Caramel loved reading and looking at the pictures in How Things Work by T. J. Resler. — Caramel loved reading and looking at the pictures in *How Things Work* by T. J. Resler.

Marshmallow reviews Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes by Rick Riordan

Last week Marshmallow described Rick Riordan’s introductory book on Greek gods: Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods. This week she wanted to talk about a related book, again by Rick Riordan: Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes. Sprinkles decided to join her and will be asking questions.

Sprinkles: So this week we will be talking about Rick Riordan’s book about Greek heroes. This is another 500-page book and you have been reading it over and over again.

Marshmallow: Yes, I think it is a pretty good book.

S: So what is this book about really?

M: It’s about Greek heroes like Hercules and Perseus and Theseus. And Perseus is apparently who Percy Jackson was named after.

S: I think we had learned that in one of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books. It was at least in one of the movies.

M: Oh yes, I remember that scene.

S: So just like in his Greek gods book, in this one, too Percy Jackson is narrating and telling us stories about these famous heroes of ancient Greek mythology.

M: Yes.

Marshmallow is reading Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes by Rick Riordan. — Marshmallow is reading *Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes* by Rick Riordan.

S: I know you knew about some of the Greek gods before. But did you know about any of the heroes in this book before reading it?

M: Yes, I knew a little bit about Theseus and Perseus, and Atalanta, and Orpheus, and Hercules.

S: Oh, I didn’t know you knew that much about all these characters. Then did you learn anything new when reading this book?

M: Yes. I didn’t know about Otrera who started the Amazons. It is kind of a sad story really. And most of them are kind of sad stories anyways. But the chapter names are really funny.

S: Tell me some of your favorites then.

M: There is one called “Phaethon Fails Driver’s Ed”. And there is “Otrera Invents the Amazons (with Free Two-Day Shipping!)”. I also like “Atalanta vs. Three Pieces of Fruit: The Ultimate Death Match”.

S: I get the point. It seems like Rick Riordan always finds amusing chapter titles.

M: Yes, in his other books, the chapter titles are funny, too.

Marshmallow is looking at the colorful insert in Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes by Rick Riordan. The first page displays artwork by John Rocco of Perseus defeating a monster. — Marshmallow is looking at the colorful insert in *Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes* by Rick Riordan. The first page displays artwork by John Rocco of Perseus defeating a monster.

S: There is once again an artwork insert in this book, right?

M: Yes. There are eight full-page illustrations by John Rocco in full color, in the middle of the book.

S: Is there a picture for each chapter?

M: No, there are more than eight chapters. Okay, let me count them. Twelve chapters.

S: I’m guessing folks who enjoyed other Percy Jackson books will like this book, too, right?

M: Yes. But maybe it might be better for older readers (9 and up). There are some words that some parents might not approve. But actually Percy Jackson always uses that kind of language. He does not always use bad words, but sometimes a few less savory words slip in.

S: Then again maybe this is almost always the case for middle-grade books. You told me before that the FunJungle books also have somewhat similar language.

M: That may be true.

S: Okay Marshmallow, I am guessing this is a good time to wrap up this review. Do you want to rate this book?

M: Yes! I rate it 95%.

Marshmallow rates Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes by Rick Riordan 95%. — Marshmallow rates *Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes* by Rick Riordan 95%.

Caramel reviews Survive! Inside the Human Body: The Nervous System by Hyun-Dong Han

In the past two weeks Caramel reviewed Survive: The Digestive System and Survive: The Circulatory System, the first two books in the Survive: Inside the Human Body series illustrated by Hyun-Dong Han. This week he is reviewing the third and last book in this series of graphic novels: Survive: The Nervous System. Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So after traveling through their friend Phoebe’s digestive system and then her circulatory system, Geo and Doctor Brain are back again! And what are they doing this time?

Caramel: They are in her brain this time. They figure out that there is a tumor in her brain. In her optic nerves.

S: That is scary! But how do they get from the circulatory system to the brain?

C: They went into the ear through the blood system, and then they went to the brain.

S: Okay, I don’t quite get it; I guess I will have to read this book too…

Caramel is reading Survive! Inside the Human Body: The Nervous System by Hyun-Dong Han. — Caramel is reading *Survive! Inside the Human Body: The Nervous System* by Hyun-Dong Han.

S: Anyways, so Phoebe has a tumor, then?

C: Yes.

S: Is it malignant?

C: No it is benign. That means it is not cancerous and it does not spread fast. It grows slowly.

S: Good, so they have some time. Then do they try to get out or fight the tumor somehow?

C: They get out. They take a sample with them, and then they get out. That is how they find out that it is benign.

S: How do they get out?

C: They go to the eye, and then she cries, and they come out with her tears.

S: That is an adventure!

C: Really weird one!

S: So what did you learn in this book?

C: That there are two different types of tumors. And I learned about REM sleep. That is when you are having dreams and your eyes move. Rapidly. So Rapid Eye Movement = REM.

Caramel is reading about why we sleep in Survive! Inside the Human Body: The Nervous System by Hyun-Dong Han. — Caramel is reading about why we sleep in *Survive! Inside the Human Body: The Nervous System* by Hyun-Dong Han.

S: I see you read some of the fact pages! Did you read all of them? I know you like facts.

C: Yes but I did not read all of them this time. I wanted to read the story first.

S: I get that. Maybe you will go back and read the fact pages the next time.

C: Yes, probably.

S: So overall, did you enjoy reading this series?

C: Yes. I really enjoyed it. And I’m glad they got out!

S: Would you like to shrink and travel inside a living body?

C: I don’t think so. I don’t want to face parasites or tumors. And I also like being a normal-size bunny, and bouncing around is fun.

S: Maybe you could bounce around inside someone’s body.

C: Still, I don’t think I would like it.

S: I know. It can be scary. So let us wrap our review up with your three words for this book.

C: Funny, action, and color.

S: Those are good words to describe this book!

C: Yes! And stay tuned or more book bunny reviews!

Caramel has really enjoyed Survive! Inside the Human Body: The Nervous System by Hyun-Dong Han, and recommends the whole series to all little bunnies. — Caramel has really enjoyed *Survive! Inside the Human Body: The Nervous System* by Hyun-Dong Han, and recommends the whole series to all little bunnies.