Book Bunnies

Caramel reviews The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown

Last year Caramel reviewed The Wild Robot and The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown, and ended his review of the second book wishing that “maybe there will be more stories about Roz or other friendly robots”. His hopes have come true, and today Caramel talks about The Wild Robot Protects, the third book about the Wild Robot, Roz, and her friends, published just this past week. As usual, Sprinkles is asking questions and taking notes.

Sprinkles: So you were surprised when you got this book in the mail, right, Caramel?

Caramel: Yes. Very happily surprised. I did not know there would be a third book about Roz, but I definitely very much wanted there to be.

S: So it was a good surprise. I like those! So let us talk about it then. Can you tell us a bit about what this book is about?

C: This book is about Roz, the Wild Robot.

S: Why is she called that? Can you remind our readers?

C: Because she speaks with animals and is friends with them.

S: Does she communicate with humans too?

C: She can, but she tends to hang out with animals more than humans. Because the humans called her defective and wanted to destroy her.

S: So she ran away?

C: No. In the beginning, in The Wild Robot, she had been on a boat that crashed and the box she was in floated to an island. Otters activated her by mistake, and then she began to communicate and make friends with the animals on the island.

S: I see. I think I remember now. So what happens in this book?

C: A seal comes to land and warns them about a “poison tide”.

S: So a tide is coming that will be carrying poison?

C: That is what everyone ends up believing so all birds leave the island except the flock of geese, an owl, and a vulture.

S: Hmm, it sounds like we are going into a lot of detail here. So let us move up a bit in perspective. So the book is about the Wild Robot trying to protect her animal friends from this tide?

C: Yep.

Caramel is reading The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown. — Caramel is reading *The Wild Robot Protects* by Peter Brown.

S: I think you really liked the first two books about Roz and her friends, and it was not only because you love robots and animals but also because the books were happy, right?

C: Yup, and they made me happy.

S: So how about this one? Would you say that The Wild Robot Protects is a happy book? Did it also make you happy?

C: It made me happy, yes, but it is not a totally happy book actually. It makes a good point about climate change.

S: Hmm, So I am guessing the poison tide is related to climate change.

C: Not quite, but at some point, Roz says “Can you believe that I have to convince humans why their own environment is important?”

S: I see. So the book is not directly about climate change, but it makes the case that environment is important to our well-being.

C: Yes. I think I said that too.

S: Yes, I just rephrased what you said. So all in all, you loved the chance to read more about Roz and her friends, right?

C: Yes. And while we were looking up the publication date of the book, we saw that there might be an animated movie about Roz some day. I was very very excited! I said, this I gotta see!

S: Yes, I would like to see it too. So let us wrap things up. Can you describe the book in about three words?

C: Amazing robot friend.

S: I like that! Okay, thank you Caramel for sharing your thoughts on this book. What would you like to tell our readers as we end this review?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown and hopes once more that there will be more adventures for Roz and her friends to come. — Caramel loved reading *The Wild Robot Protects* by Peter Brown and hopes once more that there will be more adventures for Roz and her friends to come.

Marshmallow reviews The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan

Marshmallow already reviewed the first three books of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series for the book bunnies blog. Then Caramel took over and reviewed the graphic novel versions of the full series. The two little bunnies through the years reviewed many many more books by Riordan. This week, The Chalice of the Gods, the much awaited new Percy Jackson book, hit the bookstores around the country, and Marshmallow managed to get her paws on a copy. Today she writes about her thoughts on this book and on revisiting the world of Percy Jackson.

[Through the years, the book bunnies have reviewed several of Rick Riordan’s series, such as Heroes of Olympus, Trials of Apollo, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, and Kane Chronicles. Here are Marshmallow’s three reviews from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series: The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, and The Titan’s Curse. And here are Caramel’s five The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan’s Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, and The Last Olympian.]

Marshmallow reviews The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan. — Marshmallow reviews *The Chalice of the Gods* by Rick Riordan.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about Greek mythology or have enjoyed reading other books by Rick Riordan, then this might be the book for you. Just make sure you have read at least some of the Percy Jackson books before.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Percy Jackson is now a senior in high school. We meet him in this book just when he is trying to survive his first day of school. (So in terms of chronology, this book is happening after all the books of Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus but I believe it is before the events of Trials of Apollo.) But as any Rick Riordan fan would know, things never go according to plan for Percy Jackson. Being called to the office, Percy finds out that his guidance counselor happens to be a Nereid, or (sort of) a spirit of the sea.

Percy wants to go to New Rome University (in Camp Jupiter) with his girlfriend Annabeth. Unfortunately, he learns that, since he was not supposed to be born (his father was not supposed to sire any more demigod children), he is ineligible for it. It turns out, however, that if he goes on three quests for the gods and acquires three letters of recommendation in return from those gods, he may apply to New Rome University.

Luckily the Greek gods never tire of finding new things to have the heroes take care of. And in no time, Ganymede, cup bearer to the gods, seeks Percy’s help in finding the stolen Chalice of the Gods. This chalice is extremely valuable, because if a mortal drinks from it, they become immortal.

Percy and Annabeth want to fulfill their college plans, so together with their friend Grover, they set out to complete this first quest. Ganymede needs Percy, Annabeth, and Grover to find the chalice quickly, before Zeus calls for “a toast!” or hosts a feast in which case Ganymede’s cup bearing skills, as well as the special chalice, will be needed. In order to find the thief, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover must question several suspects and investigate to find out where the chalice is.

Marshmallow is reading The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan. — Marshmallow is reading *The Chalice of the Gods* by Rick Riordan.

Marshmallow’s Review: I really liked reading this book and found it to be a very nice visit back to the world of Percy Jackson, from Percy Jackson’s perspective. I enjoyed reading about these familiar characters again. Riordan’s writing style was again hilarious and touching.

That said, I don’t recommend reading this book before reading the previous Percy Jackson books or some other book written by Rick Riordan. If you’ve never read about the world of Percy Jackson before, many references and the overall experience will be lost and possibly confusing.

I felt like The Chalice of the Gods is aimed for older readers. Maybe Riordan wants his readers to grow up along with Percy and his friends. That said, there is nothing inappropriate or violent (there is just one bad word: c@$p). But the book grappled with coming to terms with change (e.g. going to college, big life changes, etc.) and had a lot of deep topics.

I really enjoyed The Chalice of the Gods and found it to be a worthy addition to my Rick Riordan book series collection! Fans of Percy Jackson will be very much satisfied.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan 100%. — Marshmallow rates *The Chalice of the Gods* by Rick Riordan 100%.

Caramel reviews Star Wars: Complete Vehicles – New Edition

As it must be obvious by now, Caramel loves the Star Wars universe. And he has already reviewed a few related books for the book bunnies blog. (You might enjoy his reviews of Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles by Landry Q. Walker, Ultimate Star Wars: New Edition, and 5-Minute Star Wars Stories by LucasFilm Press, if you have the time.) Today he reviews a 2021 book he received this week as a gift: Star Wars: Complete Vehicles, written by Kerrie Dougherty, Jason Fry, Pablo Hidalgo, David West Reynolds, Curtis Saxton, and Ryder Windham, and illustrated by Richard Chasemore, Hans Jenssen, John Mullaney, Kemp Remillard, and Jon Hall. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, you seem to have found yet another book about Star Wars, and also about spaceships!

Caramel: Yep, I have. I am a lucky bunny!

S: I can see you are happy. So tell me a bit about this book.

C: Sure. It is a book about the ships in the Star Wars universe. So they have one or two pages about every single spaceship that appears in all the movies and each of the series, animated or not. Most of them are spread over two pages actually, and for each vehicle, there is a big cross sectional sketch of the inside of the vehicle, and then some text that gives a lot of facts about it, too.

S: I can see why you would love this book!

C: Yes, I guess I am a simple bunny with simple taste. I just like everything with Star Wars or spaceships or robots in it.

S: So tell me about your favorite ships then.

C: I think my favorite is the vulture droid, no question. Wait, no that is my second favorite. My real very first favorite is the Treadspeeder. It is a First Order ship, and it is a speeder, which means it goes on land.

S: Hmm, I can see it has a tank-like appearance but is for individual use.

C: Yes. And so I posed with that page open, so our readers can see it too.

Caramel is reading Star Wars: Complete Vehicles - New Edition, written by Kerrie Dougherty, Jason Fry, Pablo Hidalgo, David West Reynolds, Curtis Saxton, and Ryder Windham, and illustrated by Richard Chasemore, Hans Jenssen, John Mullaney, Kemp Remillard, and Jon Hall. He is looking at the page on the treadspeeder, his favorite Star Wars vehicle. — Caramel is reading *Star Wars: Complete Vehicles – New Edition*, written by Kerrie Dougherty, Jason Fry, Pablo Hidalgo, David West Reynolds, Curtis Saxton, and Ryder Windham, and illustrated by Richard Chasemore, Hans Jenssen, John Mullaney, Kemp Remillard, and Jon Hall. He is looking at the page on the treadspeeder, his favorite Star Wars vehicle.

S: Hmm, so what about the vulture droid?

C: Well it is a flying object, but it is also a droid …

S: So more like a robot.

C: Yes.

S: And you love robots, so I can see why you would love a droid, but why this one?

C: It’s a ship and a walker, so essentially a two-in-one thing, and it is just cool, you know?

S: I can see that. Okay. So if you were to summarize this book in three words, what would you say?

C: Blueprint-full, Star Wars-y, hmm…

S: I think you are just making up words now.

C: Yes.

S: Okay, how about a phrase or something that describes the book?

C: Amazing! Cool space ships and cool speeders, and cool other Star Wars stuff.

S: I see. All around cool then.

C: Yep.

S: I can see you really enjoyed this book Caramel. I am glad. Okay, let us wrap up this review. What would you like to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loves reading Star Wars: Complete Vehicles - New Edition, written by Kerrie Dougherty, Jason Fry, Pablo Hidalgo, David West Reynolds, Curtis Saxton, and Ryder Windham, and illustrated by Richard Chasemore, Hans Jenssen, John Mullaney, Kemp Remillard, and Jon Hall, and recommends it strongly to any other hard-core Star Wars fans, as well as any other bunnies who like to think about spaceships. — Caramel loves reading *Star Wars: Complete Vehicles – New Edition*, written by Kerrie Dougherty, Jason Fry, Pablo Hidalgo, David West Reynolds, Curtis Saxton, and Ryder Windham, and illustrated by Richard Chasemore, Hans Jenssen, John Mullaney, Kemp Remillard, and Jon Hall, and recommends it strongly to any other hard-core Star Wars fans, as well as any other bunnies who like to think about spaceships.

Marshmallow reviews Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

Marshmallow read Laurie Halse Anderson’s 2008 book Chains at school a few years ago. Today she revisits it for the book bunnies blog.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about history and life in the past, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Isabel Finch is a thirteen-year-old slave in America during the Revolutionary War. Since their parents died, Isabel has been the sole guardian and protector of her little sister Ruth, who has epilepsy and is deemed as “simple”.

Upon the death of their “owner” Mary Finch, Mary’s nephew Robert Finch claims Isabel and Ruth to be his property. Isabel knows for a fact that Mary’s will included setting the two sisters free. However, as a slave, she has no autonomy, and her voice is completely ignored.

Robert Finch sells the sisters to Mr. and Mrs. Lockton, who are absolutely horrid people. Mrs. Lockton in particular turns out to be physically and mentally abusive; she beats and berates Isabel. Mrs. Lockton is probably the worst character in the book. However, almost everyone treats Isabel as less than human.

The Locktons are Loyalists (people who are loyal to Britain) and discuss their beliefs and plans (with fellow Loyalists) openly in front of Isabel because they view her as something similar to furniture. Curzon, the slave of a Patriot, offers her a deal; the Patriots will help her get her freedom if she spies on the Locktons and reports to them. Initially, Isabel wants to stay out of the political unrest, but later decides to assist the Patriots.

Even though Isabel tries her best and is stronger than possibly imaginable, Ruth is sold away by Mrs. Lockton after she has a seizure (which makes Mrs. Lockton think she is possessed by the devil). And even though Isabel tries to help the Patriots, she learns that no one is truly on her side and struggles to find her sister again.

Marshmallow is reading Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. — Marshmallow is reading *Chains* by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Marshmallow’s Review: This beautiful, heartbreaking story is the beginning of the author’s Seeds of America (or Chains) trilogy. In Chains, Laurie Halse Anderson, through the eyes and the words of Isabel, shows the horrific, repulsive nature and effects of slavery, and the story represents the struggles that a slave during the Revolution may have faced.

I think Chains is a very important book to read because everyone must be able to comprehend how and why slavery was such a terrible thing. This book shows the truth of this part of American history and does so without glossing over anything. In particular, we see the American Revolution in a new light, one where slaves are fighting to survive and get their freedom in a whole war of their own. This book should probably be required reading for students learning about the Revolutionary War, American history, or slavery.

The harshness of the world Isabel is living in and the sheer weight of all that she has to endure makes her one of the strongest characters I’ve ever read about. The love and care she has for her sister makes the plot particularly heart wrenching and the book an emotional roller coaster.

This book is appropriate for ages 7 and up. There are moments of violence depicting the physical abuse that is inflicted upon Isabel and gruesome descriptions (like worms in food), but all of it is needed to properly represent the time period and the nature of slavery. I think a mature elementary school student would benefit from this book, giving them a deeper understanding of what this time period was like for slaves.

As I said above, this book is part of a trilogy, and even though the ending is somewhat satisfying, I definitely want to read the next two books in the series now.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson 100%. — Marshmallow rates *Chains* by Laurie Halse Anderson 100%.