Book Bunnies

Marshmallow reviews The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

As her first review for the new season, Marshmallow chose to talk about the first book of Jeanne DuPrau’s Books of Ember series: The City of Ember (2008). Sprinkles also read the book and enjoyed it so much that she is asking questions and taking notes.

Sprinkles: Welcome back Marshmallow!

Marshmallow: It is good to be back!

S: So let us dive right in. Please tell us a bit about this book.

M: This book is about a girl named Lina and a boy named Doon who live in a city named Ember, which is lit by artificial means. There are no suns, stars, or moons. The city has city lights which go off at night, and so it becomes completely dark.

S: At the end of the book, we learn why this is so, of course.

M: Right, but we are not giving away any spoilers today!

S: Sure. So tell me about the girl and the boy.

M: They are eleven, and the book starts right about the time they are finishing school and being assigned their jobs for life.

S: So they go to school only till they are eleven or so and then they are assigned a job for life. Do you like that idea?

M: Well, not particularly. Plus you don’t even get to choose your job. You can switch around in a year or so, but it is still kind of limiting. But these people do not know anything different. So maybe they do not feel it is a bad thing.

S: Makes sense to me.

M: Unfortunately schooling is so short and everyone gets trained on the job. They also do not know a lot. I mean, the city has a system that generates electricity that works the lights and so on, but they do not know or understand fire, electricity, or the inner workings of the generator. So when the generator begins to malfunction, they are at a loss.

S: Reminds me of the Star Trek Next Generation episode When the Bough Breaks.

M: It does have similarities actually! There too you have a society that does not understand how their planetary computer system is sustaining them, and then the system starts to fail. Though in The City of Ember, there are no computers.

S: Sure. So Lina and Doon try to figure out how to solve their city’s big problem, right?

M: Well, Lina kind of stumbles into it, but Doon has been thinking of trying to save his city for a while now. But yes, they are trying to figure out things.

S: I think that is a good overview of the plot Marshmallow.

Marshmallow is reading The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau. — Marshmallow is reading *The City of Ember* by Jeanne DuPrau.

S: So now tell me a bit about the characters. Did you find them compelling?

M: Yes. I thought the most compelling character is Lina, and she tries to make sure her baby sister is safe. Lina’s life and that of her sister is more precarious than some of the other folks in town, and she is very caring of the little baby. They have been orphans for a while, but now their grandmother who is taking care of them is also starting to have health problems.

S: Doon also does not seem to have a mother, right?

M: True, both of the main characters are coming from families where at least one parent is missing. But they are both self-reliant and also want to help all the others.

S: Still they make some mistakes…

M: Yes, but unlike in all the Harry Potter books where Harry and Ron and Hermione make all kinds of mistakes, these two feel remorse that they did not consult with or confide in the caring adults in their lives. So in some sense, Lina and Doon are a lot more responsible.

S: I can see that. So overall, did you enjoy reading this book?

M: Yep.

S: I liked it too. I read it in one sitting.

M: And I want to read the next book in the series. Though it will likely be quite different.

S: For reasons we cannot quite divulge, of course.

M: Of course.

S: So let us wrap up this review then. How would you rate the book Marshmallow?

M: I’d rate it 100%.

S: Sounds fair to me. What do you want to tell our readers?

M: Stay tuned for more amazing reviews from the book bunnies!

Marshmallow rates The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau 100%. — Marshmallow rates *The City of Ember* by Jeanne DuPrau 100%.

Caramel reviews Animated Science: Periodic Table by Shiho Pate and John Farndon

For his first review back from his summer break, Caramel wanted to talk about Animated Science: Periodic Table, a 2021 book illustrated by Shiho Pate and written by John Farndon. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Caramel reviews Animated Science: Periodic Table, illustrated by Shiho Pate and written by John Farndon. — Caramel reviews *Animated Science: Periodic Table*, illustrated by Shiho Pate and written by John Farndon.

Sprinkles: Welcome back Caramel!

Caramel: It’s great to be back!

S: Yay! Are you ready to talk about books again?

C: Always!

S: So you chose a nonfiction book to talk about today. Can you tell us what it is about?

C: It is about the periodic table, as its title says.

S: So what is the periodic table?

C: The periodic table is a way to organize the elements and the atoms.

S: Yes, you actually talked about it before, when you were reviewing The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe by Theodore Gray. Do you remember that book?

C: Yes, of course I do.

S: So how is this book similar ot or different from that book?

C: Well, it is similar because it talks about many different elements and their uses. There are special pages for some of the elements and some of the elements are together on one page, but they talk about each of the elements.

S: That is cool!

C: Yes.

S: Back then, you told me your two favorite elements were titanium and uranium. If you were to pick two new ones now, which ones would you pick?

C: That’s a tough question. But I found some new interesting facts. Can I tell you about them?

S: Sure.

C: For example, Gallium is a metal that melts very quickly, only at 86 degrees Fahrenheit.

S: That is a reasonably warm day in California, no?

C: Yep.

S: That sounds interesting, a metal that can melt at a temperature that we can survive in. Is that what you found interesting about Gallium?

C: Yes. Also the book has very cute drawings, and I like the one for Gallium. It is a melted gray blob and it is very cute!

Caramel is reading about Gallium in Animated Science: Periodic Table, illustrated by Shiho Pate and written by John Farndon. — Caramel is reading about Gallium in *Animated Science: Periodic Table*, illustrated by Shiho Pate and written by John Farndon.

S: So tell me more about the drawings then.

C: They make them very cute. All the elements have faces and they are different colors and some are wearing clothes.

S: That is funny!

C: Yep. Then there is a green cube that is silicon and he is being sliced up so people can make chips with it. It could be sad or scary, but the cube is looking very serious but not in pain. So maybe he is concentrating.

S: That could be!

C: Also I learned from this book that the Latin name for lead is plumbum, and that is why its abbreviation is Pb.

S: I did not know that!

C: Neither did I.

S: So the book is full of lots of new facts then, right?

C: Yes. So “factful” is one of my three words.

S: Okay, so what are your other words then?

C: Incredibly cute pictures.

S: Hmm, that is three words on its own. But alright, I think we can let it slip by. So do you think other little bunnies would enjoy this book?

C: Yep. Especially if they like cute pictures.

S: Okay, that sounds good Caramel. Let us wrap this up then. What would you like to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading Animated Science: Periodic Table, illustrated by Shiho Pate and written by John Farndon and recommends it to all curious little bunnies looking to learn more about the world around us. — Caramel loved reading *Animated Science: Periodic Table*, illustrated by Shiho Pate and written by John Farndon and recommends it to all curious little bunnies looking to learn more about the world around us.

Caramel reviews Invented by Animals by Christiane Dorion and Gosia Herba

Every summer the book bunnies take the month of July off. For his last review before the summer break, Caramel chose to talk today about a fun book he read recently: Invented by Animals, written by Christiane Dorion, illustrated by Gosia Herba, and published in 2021. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Caramel reviews Invented by Animals, written by Christiane Dorion and illustrated by Gosia Herba. — Caramel reviews *Invented by Animals*, written by Christiane Dorion and illustrated by Gosia Herba.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, tell me a bit about Invented by Animals. It has an inviting subtitle: “Meet the creatures who inspired our everyday technologies.”

Caramel: This book has a lot of different animals telling us about what inventions or ideas for inventions they gave to humans.

S: What is that supposed to mean? Can you give me an example?

C: My favorite is an eagle telling us how his eyeballs work. And how well he sees.

S: Hmm, so it is not that the eagle itself has invented neat eyes, but humans have been inspired by how his eyes work.

C: Yes.

S: That makes sense. Are there any examples of the other kind, where some animal is doing something interesting or has invented something intentionally to solve a problem and the humans are inspired by it to do something themselves?

C: Yes. For example, the paper wasp chews up bark and mixes it with its saliva to create paper. That is one of the ways humans figured out how to make paper themselves. In fact today’s paper is made more or less in that same way.

S: I don’t think humans chew bark to make paper.

C: Nor do bunnies, Sprinkles, I know. But the idea is about the same.

S: I see.

Caramel is reading Invented by Animals, written by Christiane Dorion and illustrated by Gosia Herba. — Caramel is reading *Invented by Animals*, written by Christiane Dorion and illustrated by Gosia Herba.

S: I know you love your facts, Caramel. Did you learn new facts from this book?

C: Yes, a ton! Almost all of the book was new to me.

S: That is awesome, so you must have enjoyed the book immensely.

C: Yes, I did.

S: So give the a three-word description of the book then.

C: Colorful, factful, and nature-ful.

S: Hmm, why don’t we rephrase that and say, full of color, facts, and cool nature?

C: I can work with that!

S: Okay. What else can you tell us about the book?

C: I love the pictures! They are not quite anatomically correct; all animals have mouths on the front of their heads, and eyes and so on, and they are wearing clothes. Some even have shoes.

S: Hmm, so they are anthropomorphized, I suppose.

C: Exactly.

S: So how did that make you feel as a bunny?

C: Well, I have eyes and a mouth in the front of my head, too, so that works for me.

S: I guess those features make the illustrations more friendly and fun, right?

C: Yep. But I wished that they had some things about bunnies. It made me feel kind of excluded.

S: I see. But they could not have something from all animals. The book would be too long.

C: That’s true. But I still kind of wanted a bunny invention there.

S: I can totally sympathize.

C: They had an albatross even. Come on!

S: I understand Caramel. But other than that, you did enjoy the book, right?

C: Yep, very much so. Maybe they can write a second volume, and they can include a bunny or two in that one.

S: We can always hope. Okay, Caramel, this is a good time to wrap up this review. Is there something you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews! We will be back in August!

Caramel loved reading Invented by Animals, written by Christiane Dorion and illustrated by Gosia Herba, and recommends it to all young bunnies interested in learning more about the amazing creativity of nature. — Caramel loved reading *Invented by Animals*, written by Christiane Dorion and illustrated by Gosia Herba, and recommends it to all young bunnies interested in learning more about the amazing creativity of nature.

Marshmallow reviews The Serpent’s Shadow (Book Three of The Kane Chronicles series) by Rick Riordan

Marshmallow has already reviewed The Red Pyramid and The Throne of Fire, the first two books of Rick Riordan‘s Kane Chronicles series. Today she reviews the third and last book, The Serpent’s Shadow, first published in 2012. Having read the first two books herself, Sprinkles was curious about this third one, and so she is asking questions and taking notes.

Sprinkles: So Marshmallow, tell us a bit about this book.

Marshmallow: Well, things end conveniently for Sadie! Though it is a bit unrealistic…

S: I’m guessing you are talking about her romantic pursuits.

M: Yes. Oh and the world does not get destroyed.

S: Well, I could guess that because the author wrote several more books after this one, and in some, the Kane siblings themselves show up.

M: Yes. And some of those stories are published along with these books. In the first book, The Red Pyramid, there was a story titled “The Son of Sobek”, which featured Carter Kane and Percy Jackson. In the second book, The Throne of Fire, there was a story titled “The Staff of Serapis”with Annabeth and Sadie. In this third book, there is a story titled “The Crown of Ptolemy” and all four of these characters work together. These three stories all apparently happen after the three books of the Kane Chronicles. So yes, there were some clues about the world not ending.

S: And I thought the stories were really neat, but the first one told me a bit more than I knew about, for example, about the kids training with Carter and Sadie, and the second one kind of gave away the resolution of Sadie’s love triangle dilemma. So maybe people should not read the stories if they do not want any spoilers.

M: You are right. The spoilers are not terribly explicit, and they just give you some hints. But they are there, and if you want no spoilers, then you should hold off on them. But maybe we should talk about the actual book itself.

S: Yes, I am quite eager to learn more about what is going to happen, but you need to promise me: no spoilers!

M: I’ll try.

Marshmallow is reading The Serpent's Shadow (Book Three of The Kane Chronicles series) by Rick Riordan. — Marshmallow is reading *The Serpent’s Shadow* (Book Three of The Kane Chronicles series) by Rick Riordan.

S: So, how would you describe the plot without giving away too much?

M: Hmm, well, the serpent in the title is Apophis, as you could imagine, the snake of Chaos, who has been trying to take over the world.

S: Okay.

M: Carter and Sadie need to find a way to stop him, and remember in the previous book, they had already woken up Ra, but he was old and more or less senile. So in this book, they have to figure out how to handle that situation, too. And the solution involves souls and magic and deep Egyptian mythology stuff like that.

S: Okay, maybe this is enough, because I can see you struggling not to give away anything.

M: Yes. I want to tell you everything and talk about them. But I know you don’t want to just yet. You just have to read the book Sprinkles.

S: Okay, I will read the book, I want to, but I am curious, did you like how Riordan tied things up in the end?

M: Yes. I think he is very good at this. I’m not a huge fan of the very last sentence but the resolution is very good.

S: And of course, there is an open door for more adventures, I am assuming?

M: Yes, some minor plots are unresolved, but the ending still feels pretty complete. And yet you want to know more about these characters and their worlds. All in all a very satisfying reading experience.

S: So let us wrap this up so I can get the book and start reading.

M: Sure.

S: So how would you rate this book then?

M: I’d rate it 100%. It is a satisfying finish to a really neat trilogy.

S: Sounds good. So what do you want to tell our readers?

M: Stay tuned for more amazing reviews from the book bunnies! We will be back in August!

Marshmallow rates The Serpent's Shadow (Book Three of The Kane Chronicles series) by Rick Riordan 100%. — Marshmallow rates *The Serpent’s Shadow* (Book Three of The Kane Chronicles series) by Rick Riordan 100%.