Book Bunnies

Marshmallow reviews How to Find What You’re Not Looking For by Veera Hiranandani

Today Marshmallow reviews How to Find What You’re Not Looking For, a 2021 novel by Veera Hiranandani.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about family, friends, or historical fiction, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Ariel Goldberg’s life is drastically changed forever when her older sister Leah elopes with a man from India.

The book starts in the summer of 1967. Interracial marriage is now legal, however, stigma and bias remain, even in Ariel’s parents. Leah tells Ariel about her relationship with Raj, an Indian college student, and says that they have plans for the future, which greatly worries Ariel. When the girls’ parents meet Raj, they don’t like him. This is mainly because Ariel’s family is Jewish, and Raj is not; they don’t want their daughter to marry a person who is not Jewish. Ariel likes Raj, but she definitely doesn’t want her sister to marry anyone yet. But then one day, Leah and Raj elope, and Ariel’s life is forever changed.

Besides all that is going on in her home life, Ariel has been having problems at school. There seems to be a new rift between her and her best friend, Jane. Ariel is also bullied by a boy who hates Jewish people. On top of all this, Ariel also has trouble writing. Her new teacher, Miss Field, believes that she has dysgraphia. Miss Field brings a typewriter for her to use and asks Ariel to write short poems to practice writing.

Ever since Leah left, Ariel’s life seems to be falling apart. Can Ariel put it back together?

Marshmallow is reading How to Find What You're Not Looking For by Veera Hiranandani. — Marshmallow is reading *How to Find What You’re Not Looking For* by Veera Hiranandani.

Marshmallow’s Review: How to Find What You’re Not Looking For raises many complex issues such as racial and religious bias in a way that teaches but also gives hope. It shows that bias is not just in other people but everywhere. It also shows that there might be reasons for behavior that looks excluding, such as people wanting to sustain their family culture and identity, but it does clearly show that stigma and bias are not okay.

I found it interesting how the main character wrote poems to express what is happening in the book. I found it to be a good way for the author to tell the reader how the main character, Ariel, is feeling. The poems really add something to the book.

The story is set in 1967; the author uses words like “groovy” to show how the narrator is living in the past. The narrator is also always using the second person “you” and everything is told in the present tense. This gives the story a more urgent tone somehow and like everything is happening all at once, as you read the book.

This book includes information about the Loving vs. Virginia case from 1967 and the ideas around interracial marriage play a significant role in its plot. Martin Luther Jr.’s murder from 1968 is also mentioned. In other words, How to Find What You’re Not Looking For talks about racial and religious injustice very openly. This makes me think that this book would be more appropriate for older bunnies, from 10 and up. There isn’t really any inappropriate content for younger bunnies, so younger readers could also enjoy it, but I think 10 and up would be able to understand the context better and so get the most out of this book.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 95%.

Marshmallow rates How to Find What You're Not Looking For by Veera Hiranandani 95%. — Marshmallow rates *How to Find What You’re Not Looking For* by Veera Hiranandani 95%.

Caramel reviews Paper Flying Dragons by Pat Murphy

Readers of the book bunnies blog are probably well aware that Caramel is a fan of everything dragon. Today he talks about a book he recently got his paws on that allowed him to build his own paper dragons! Below he talks to Sprinkles about Paper Flying Dragons by Pat Murphy and the Scientists at Klutz Labs.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, as usual, I will ask you to tell us a bit about this book.

Caramel: How about I read the introduction to you?

S: Okay go for it!

C: Here you go:

Dragons make terrible pets. For one thing, they can be a nasty fire hazard. For another, the airspace that a full-grown dragon needs for proper exercise is impossible to provide if you live within 120 miles of an airport. So this book provides the next best thing to a pet dragon: flying models of amazing dragons that you make from paper.

S: You are right Caramel, that does give us a pretty good explanation of what is in the book. So you get to make some paper dragons yourself using the pages of the book, right?

C: Yes, there are pages to make the Aoraki ice dragon, the Scarlet Patagonian Dragon, hatchlings of various mountain dragons, Cook’s Sea Dragon, and the Kalahari sun dragon, and the Huo Jien Thunder Dragon, which is a battle dragon. And finally there is a robo-dragon.

S: Wait, what is a battle dragon?

C: A dragon that is meant for battle. The book says they were domesticated more than two thousand years ago in China.

S: Um, I am not sure that is exactly true.

C: Yeah, I know they probably don’t exist. But when I am dreaming of having my own pet dragon and all I get instead is a paper flying thingie, I want to think of it as real.

S: I can understand that of course.

Caramel and his new friend Battle Dragon are reading about other battle dragons in Paper Flying Dragons by Pat Murphy. — Caramel and his new friend Battle Dragon are reading about other battle dragons in *Paper Flying Dragons* by Pat Murphy.

S: So which dragons did you end up making so far?

C: I made both of the mountain dragons, the sea dragon, the battle dragon, the sun dragon, and two of the baby hatchling dragons.

S: That is a lot of dragons! Do they fly?

C: Some of them fly much better than others. I probably did not make the others very well. But the robo-dragon flies really well. And the battle dragon also flies pretty well.

S: So which is your favorite among the dragons you made?

C: I like them all equally. You say that to me and Marshmallow all the time. It would not be nice if I picked favorites.

S: I see. So I won’t push you further in this direction then. Here is another question for you: you have been playing with these dragons for a few days now. Are they sturdy enough for your bunny paws to be played with that many days in a row?

C: Yes! I did give them a day off today, so they could rest. All the flying must tire their wings.

S: You are a thoughtful bunny!

C: What can I say except you’re welcome?

S: I recognize that phrase, and the melody you sang it with! It’s Maui from Moana.

C: Yes, you got me.

Caramel and his new friend Sea Dragon are reading about other sea dragons in Paper Flying Dragons by Pat Murphy. — Caramel and his new friend Sea Dragon are reading about other sea dragons in *Paper Flying Dragons* by Pat Murphy.

S: So would you recommend this book to other bunnies?

C: Oh, yes, of course. Especially if they want to have flying dragons! There are twelve of them you can make, and then there is some text about each type of dragon. Apparently people all around the world have stories about different types of dragons. They are not like the dragons I read in the Wings of Fire or How to Train Your Dragon series, but they are a bit more real, more like the stories of dragons you’d hear before those books.

S: And you like that too, right?

C: Yes, I like those series, but I like these dragons a lot, too. They are from all over the world, there are dragons from China, from New Zealand, from the Kalahari desert, all around. It’s so awesome! And they can fly! That is even cooler!

S: So I can see you still have a couple more dragons to build, and you are keen to play with the ones you already have built. So let us wrap up this review. What would you like to tell our readers?

C: Get yourself a copy of this book and build your own dragons! And of course, stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel and his new friend Battle Dragon enjoyed reading Paper Flying Dragons by Pat Murphy and are now ready for some flying. — Caramel and his new friend Battle Dragon enjoyed reading *Paper Flying Dragons* by Pat Murphy and are now ready for some flying.

Marshmallow reviews The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

Marshmallow has reviewed two books by Kate DiCamillo before: Flora and Ulysses and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Today she reviews a third book of hers, The Magician’s Elephant.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about family, animals, or magic, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Peter Augustus Duchene lives in Baltese with his guardian, an elderly soldier named Vilna Lutz. Vilna Lutz is not particularly bad, but he is extremely obsessed with making Peter into a good soldier. Thus, Vilna Lutz is extremely strict. One day, when Vilna Lutz sends Peter to buy fish and bread, Peter meets a fortune teller. Instead of buying the fish and bread he was supposed to, he uses the money to ask the fortune teller a single question. (Since he is honorable, he decides that he will tell Vilna what he has done, which is very honorable.) Peter knows exactly what he will ask. His little sister, Adele, according to Vilna, was stillborn but Peter has his doubts. When he starts to ask the fortune teller his question, the fortune teller tells him that his sister is still alive. Extremely excited, Peter asks how to find her. The fortune teller mysteriously says, “Follow the elephant.” Puzzled over these words, Peter realizes that this means that Vilna or the fortune teller is lying, which shakes his foundations, because Lutz is a soldier, “good and true”.

Not very far away, a magician is performing at the Bliffendorf Opera House. He intends to summon a bouquet of lilies. Instead, this magician performs his greatest trick yet: he summons an elephant that crashes through the ceiling. This elephant lands on the legs of the woman the magician was trying to present the lilies to. She is crippled from that and the magician is arrested. The elephant is placed in a cage and then later bought by a rich noble woman to be displayed at her house.

The elephant is the talk of the town, and Peter hears about it and believes that it will lead him to his sister, Adele. When Peter questions Vilna about his sister’s supposed death, Vilna admits that she didn’t die. Vilna was a good friend of Peter’s father. Adele was not placed in his care because she was just a newborn when she was orphaned. This makes Peter more determined to find her.

Marshmallow is reading The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo. — Marshmallow is reading *The Magician’s Elephant* by Kate DiCamillo.

Marshmallow’s Review: I think that The Magician’s Elephant is an amazing book. I always enjoy reading Kate DiCamillo’s books; all of her books are touching and elegant. And this one is especially good. I specifically like how DiCamillo goes into the backstories of all the characters and ties them all together at the end.

The Magician’s Elephant is also a great family book. The main message is simple and perhaps not surprising: even during hard times, family should stick together. But the way DiCamillo tells the story makes all the difference. I listened to this book with my family as an audiobook, besides reading the paper version, too. In both versions, I really enjoyed reading this book. All in all, I think it is a necessary addition to the library of anyone who likes reading children’s literature.

Kate DiCamillo also inserts a bit of a magical touch into this book. The summoning of the elephant and the fortuneteller’s ability to see are both interesting additions of inserting magic into an otherwise realistic storyline, and they make up a major part of this book. All together these make The Magician’s Elephant a touching book that is both realistic and magical, somewhere between fairy tales and realistic fiction.

The version of the book I read was illustrated by Yoko Tanaka. Tanaka’s full-page illustrations were black and white and simple, but contributed to the general magical atmosphere of the story.

I will read this book again.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo 100%. — Marshmallow rates *The Magician’s Elephant* by Kate DiCamillo 100%.

Caramel reviews Talons of Power (Book Nine of the Wings of Fire series) by Tui Sutherland

Today Caramel reviews the ninth book of Tui Sutherland’s Wings of Fire series: Talons of Power. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking followup questions.

Before reading this review you might wish to check out Caramel’s reviews of the graphic novel versions of the first five books (The Dragonet Prophecy, The Lost Heir, The Hidden Kingdom, The Dark Secret, and The Brightest Night), as well as his review of the very first book (The Dragonet Prophecy, the sixth book (Moon Rising), the seventh (Winter Turning) and the eighth (Escaping Peril).

Caramel reviews Talons of Power (Book Nine of the Wings of Fire series) by Tui Sutherland. — Caramel reviews *Talons of Power* (Book Nine of the Wings of Fire series) by Tui Sutherland.

Sprinkles: So we are in book nine. Tell us about it!

Caramel: This one is about Turtle, who is a SeaWing. He has a secret power which he does not want others to know about. He is an animus, that means he has magic.

S: What kind of magic?

C: He can enchant things. For example he made a bowl that multiplies things, kind of like a Star Trek replicator. But he doesn’t want others to know he can do this.

S: Do his friends know?

C: Yes actually all his friends know. But he does not want other dragons to know. Because he is afraid. And then Darkstalker, the evil dragon we met before, comes and tries to convince others that he has become a good dragon. And this is a lie, of course.

S: And Turtle knows this?

C: Yes, and he even made himself invisible to Darkstalker. Darkstalker cannot see him or remember him. He can’t even hear him.

S: Why?

C: Because he is scared. He is a scaredy cat, but for a good reason. Because Darkstalker is actually still evil and has terrible plans to take over the whole continent.

S: That sounds serious.

C: It is! And all the other dragons believe Darkstalker, so Turtle has to save the day himself.

S: Hmm, that is a good synopsis Caramel so let us leave the plot here before we go into spoiler territory.

C: Okay.

Caramel is reading Talons of Power (Book Nine of the Wings of Fire series) by Tui Sutherland. — Caramel is reading *Talons of Power* (Book Nine of the Wings of Fire series) by Tui Sutherland.

S: So let us think more generally about the book. Turtle was a character we met before, but this is the book where he becomes the central character, right?

C: Yes.

S: Do you like him?

C: Yes. And actually I like him more now that I understand what is going on in his mind. And he is a good dragon, and his super secret power is really cool.

S: What would you do with that power if you had it Caramel?

C: Well, I am not sure I’d use it, because each time you use your super powers, it drains a part of your soul. It makes you less of yourself somehow.

S: Ooh, I did not know that! So maybe it makes sense that Turtle doesn’t want others to know he has super powers.

C: Yes I think so, too.

S: Okay, is that why Darkstalker is bad, because he keeps using his power?

C: No, he actually protected his soul because he learned how to. But his soul is not so nice, he was originally evil, so there is that.

S: Hmm, why can’t Turtle protect his soul?

C: Well, I guess he could, too, but he is still scared of using his powers.

S: I see. Then how about we move on? So what three words would you use to describe this book? How about we try to think of what distinguishes this book from the earlier ones?

C: There is more treachery in this one, so how about “treacherous”?

S: That is a good word! What else? You need two more ideas or ways to distinguish this one from the earlier eight books.

C: We knew the inner thoughts of almost everyone from the sixth book because Moonwatcher could read their thoughts. Everyone except Peril and Turtle. But Peril we learned about her thoughts in Escaping Peril, so only Turtle’s inner thoughts were unknown. Till this book.

S: Hmm, so is there a word that could help you capture this?

C: Revelation! This one reveals Turtle’s thoughts!

S: Yes! That is a neat word Caramel. I think a related descriptive adjective would be “revelatory”.

C: Okay, so my second word is “revelatory”.

S: How about your third word?

C: Well, I found it interesting that Turtle was afraid of becoming a hero.

S: Hmm, how about calling him a “reluctant hero” then?

C: Yes. I think that describes him well. Would that count?

S: Well, it is not quite a descriptor for the book, but let’s say it will do.

C: Yes, so can we wrap this up so I can move on to the tenth book?

S: I think we can Caramel.

C: Yay!

S: But before that, what will you tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading Talons of Power (Book Nine of the Wings of Fire series) by Tui Sutherland, and can't wait to dive next into the tenth book. — Caramel loved reading *Talons of Power* (Book Nine of the Wings of Fire series) by Tui Sutherland, and can’t wait to dive next into the tenth book.