On the second anniversary of the launch of the book bunnies blog (check out our Hello World post for memories!), Caramel is ready to share with our readers his thoughts on Poppy, the first book in the Tales from Dimwood Forest series by Avi. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.
Caramel reviews Poppy, written by Avi and illustrated by Brian Floca.
Sprinkles: So Caramel, this is your first review for 2021. And you picked Poppy for it. Why?
Caramel: Because it is the first book I read this year. I think.
S: Can you tell us a bit what this book is about?
C: It is about Poppy, as you can tell from the title. Poppy is a deer mouse. She lives with her big family (with about two hundred other deer mice) in the Gray House. The Gray House is a big old house, abandoned by its owner who was a farmer.
S: So is the story mainly about Poppy and her family?
C: No, but it is mostly about her and her adventures.
S: You had reviewed another book in this series before: Ragweed. Though it was written after this one, in terms of the story timeline, it is supposed to have happened before. But that was all about Ragweed and his adventures; Poppy was not in that book at all.
C: That is true. Ragweed met Poppy in the second book, Ragweed and Poppy, which we did not review because I read it on the Kindle.
S: Yes, I read that book too. Ragweed tried to save Poppy from a trap in that book. Do we see Ragweed in Poppy as well?
C: Only in the first chapter because he gets … oops, sorry, I should not spoil the plot.
S: Hmm, now I am curious. I might have to read this book.
C: That’s the point. You should read it. It’s a good book. All except the part where Ragweed gets … oops, sorry.
S: Okay, let us move away from the Ragweed topic. Tell me more about Poppy then.
C: The mouse or the book?
S: The mouse.
C: She goes on an adventure and gets into a lot of trouble.
S: That sounds like an exciting read. In fact I remember you not wanting to turn out the lights last night so you could read more.
C: Yeah. I picked up the book and had to finish it. But you made me go to sleep so I woke up in the morning and first thing, I got reading and finished it.
Caramel is reading Poppy, written by Avi and illustrated by Brian Floca.
S: So what are three words that you can use to describe the book?
C: Fun, adventurous, cliffhangers.
S: That is funny! In your review of Ragweed, you had also picked similar words: “Adventure, danger, cliffhangers”.
C: I think we can use those same words here too.
S: So what is next? Will you read the next book in the series?
C: Yes. And I will probably review it for the blog. But I can’t believe Ragweed got … oops…
S: Okay, maybe we should end this review before you spill the beans. What do you want to say to our readers?
C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!
Caramel enjoyed reading Poppy, written by Avi and illustrated by Brian Floca, and is looking forward to reading more about the creatures of Dimwood Forest.
Caramel has already reviewed the graphic novel versions of the first three books of Tui Sutherland’s Wings of Fire series. (See Caramel’s review of The Dragonet Prophecyhere; his review of The Lost Heir is here; and finally his review of The Hidden Kingdom is here.) Today, for his last review for 2020 (and the last review of the book bunnies until February 2021), he decided to review the fourth book in the series that appeared (just yesterday!) as a graphic novel: The Dark Secret (adapted by Barry Deutsch and Rachel Swirsky, art work by Mike Holmes, color by Maarta Laiho). As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions as needed.
Caramel reviews The Dark Secret (Book Four of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland and Mike Holmes.
Sprinkles: So Caramel, I saw you were so eager to get your paws on this book as soon as possible. Was it worth the wait?
Caramel: Yup. Most definitely.
S: So you have read it once so far. What happens in this book?
C: In the beginning Starflight finds himself in the Night Kingdom because some NightWings have kidnapped him.
S: Oh then, the rest of the book is him trying to get back?
C: Nope. There is that but there are a lot of other things happening, too. They run to the rain forest and have other adventures.
S: Do we learn more about the prophecy in this book?
C: Yes, apparently, it’s … oops, I should not spoil it for the readers. But yes, we learn a lot of new things that I didn’t know.
S: At least tell us: are they interesting and surprising?
C: Yep yep yep!
Caramel is reading The Dark Secret (Book Four of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland and Mike Holmes.
S: Tell me more about Starflight. Did we meet him before in one of the earlier books?
C: Yes, of course. He is one of the five dragons the prophecy says will save the world. Remember, he is a NightWing but cannot tell the future or read minds like most others can.
S: So each of the books tells the adventures of one of these five dragons, right?
C: Right. The first one was about Clay, the MudWing. The second was about Tsunami, the SeaWing. The third was about Glory, the RainWing. And this is about Starflight, the NightWing. Then of course the fifth one should be about Sunny, who is a SandWing.
S: That seems to me to be a good narrative strategy for series. I do hope you will some day read the books these graphic novels are based upon, too. I expect those will have a lot more details about these characters and their world.
C: Yes, I think I will some day. But for now I want to read the graphic novels over and over again.
S: Okay then. We can wrap up this review so you can read it again.
C: Sure.
S: We should also remind our readers that we will be off for January 2021, and we will be back in February 2021.
C: Yes! Happy new year everyone! And stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!
Caramel has very much enjoyed reading The Dark Secret (Book Four of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland and Mike Holmes, and is looking forward to rereading it over and over through the holidays. .
Marshmallow reviews The Hidden Oracle (Book 1 of the Trials of Apollo Series) by Rick Riordan.
Sprinkles: So Marshmallow, you finally got your paws on Rick Riordan’s third series on Greek and Roman mythology. How did you like this one?
Marshmallow: Well, I have only read the first two books so far, but I think that they are really successful. The previous series were written by demigods, but this one is narrated by Apollo, the sun god. Except that he is no longer a god: he has become mortal because Zeus got mad at him for something he did in the Heroes of Olympus series and turned him into a mortal as a punishment.
S: That sounds like an interesting premise for a new story line.
M: Yes! Apparently he had been made mortal before and he knows what he is supposed to do to become a god again. He has to find a demigod who will claim him and he has to serve this demigod as they together attempt a quest.
S: So there is again a quest in this series? Or a series of quests, one per book?
M: Sort of. There is one big quest, involving oracles, but there are smaller things Apollo has to do in each of the books.
S: So you said this book is narrated by Apollo, or—what is his mortal name?
M: His name is now Lester Papadopoulos. And yes, he is narrating the story.
S: How do you like that?
M: He is a fun narrator to read. He is funny and likes to glorify himself. As the god of sun and poetry and such, Apollo is a bit full of himself. When he becomes mortal, he is still full of himself. Listen:
“The only thing I knew for certain: my punishment was unfair. Zeus needed someone to blame, so of course he’d picked the handsomest, most talented, most popular god in the pantheon: me.”
pages 2-3
S: That does sound hilarious! I thought that in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, Riordan really seemed to enjoy narrating through Percy’s perspective. And in the Heroes of Olympus series, I had the sense that he most enjoyed being Leo, even though the narration was in the third person, listening to him go on and on as Leo, I felt that he was at his best. So here we now read through Apollo / Lester’s voice, and it sounds like it is once again pretty good.
M: I think Riordan likes humorous narrators. Making them goofy and making us laugh with and at the narrator. Apollo is really fun to read. He puts haikus at the beginning of each chapter.
Marshmallow is reading The Hidden Oracle (Book 1 of the Trials of Apollo Series) by Rick Riordan. Here she is showing us how each chapter starts with a haiku.
S: It sounds really like I might have to read this book Marshmallow! So tell me a bit more about this first book. This is when Apollo is coming to terms with being mortal and figuring out how to get back, right?
M: Yeah. We see him try and find a demigod to serve. And it seems like he wanted Percy Jackson to be the one but he was claimed first by a girl named Meg.
S: Ooo, so we meet a new demigod! Meg.
M: Yes. Meg is yet undetermined. We do not know her godly parent at the beginning. There are some clues already in the first few chapters, and we figure things out by the end of this first volume.
S: That is intriguing. Hmm, so Percy is still around in this book, too?
M: Yes. And later on in the other books, some of the other demigods we know from the earlier series begin to show up too.
S: So who is your favorite character in this book then?
M: There is a peach spirit, named Peaches. I think that he is my favorite character because he is really loyal. He is kind of a demon baby, but he is nice to the good people in the story. But back to Percy and Apollo and Meg. Here is a dialog Apollo has with Meg about Percy that can give you more of a sense of what Lester / Apollo is like:
“Meg,” I said, “I realize some demigods are not good. I could tell you stories of all the ones I’ve had to kill or transform into herbs–” “Herbs?” “But Percy Jackson has always been reliable. You have nothing to fear. Besides, he likes me. I taught him everything he knows.” She frowned. “You did?” I found her innocence somewhat charming. So many obvious things she did not know.
pages 24-25
S: That sounds like a book I want to read! So let us wrap this up so you can give me the book! How do you want to rate The Hidden Oracle?
M: I rate it 95% only because one has to have read the earlier books to get all the jokes and really appreciate this book. (You might also benefit from knowing some things about the Beatles…)
S: That is perfect Marshmallow! Let us now wrap up your last review of the year. Do you want to say something to our readers?
M: Yes. Happy holidays and happy new year to everyone! I will have more book reviews for you in February 2021!
Marshmallow rates The Hidden Oracle (Book 1 of the Trials of Apollo Series) by Rick Riordan 95%.
For his penultimate post for 2020, Caramel chose to review a neat picture book about penguins learning about marshmallows (and sharing) called The Trouble with Penguins, written and illustrated by Rebecca Jordan-Glum. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.
Caramel reviews The Trouble with Penguins, written and illustrated by Rebecca Jordan-Glum.
Sprinkles: So Caramel, what do you want to tell us about this book?
Caramel: It is a cute book about penguins. They apparently have some troubles. But I think penguins are perfectly fine.
S: I think the author uses the phrase “the trouble with penguins” a couple times. Can you find those in the book?
C: “You see the trouble with penguins is that they don’t always like to share.” And then there is this one: “Everyone knows that the trouble with penguins is that they aren’t very good at admitting when they are wrong.”
S: Hmm. Those troubles sound very familiar to me. I know some little bunnies who don’t always like to share…
C: I have no idea what you’re talking about.
S: Hmm, and I know some little bunnies who don’t always like to admit when they are wrong.
C: I still don’t know what you’re talking about.
S: Hmm, then let us say that it is quite challenging sometimes to admit when one makes a mistake. Isn’t that true?
C: I don’t know.
S: Well, sometimes I have trouble admitting when I am wrong.
C: I don’t.
S: Well, sometimes it does take a while, but eventually you do realize that you made a mistake and try to figure things out. Which is not a bad thing at all. But in these kinds of ways, these penguins seem like typical little bunnies to me.
C: Yes I guess so. And they love marshmallows! I love them too! Maybe we can have some with hot chocolate tonight?
S: That sounds good to me!
Caramel is reading The Trouble with Penguins, written and illustrated by Rebecca Jordan-Glum. These are the pages where the first penguin teaches the others about marshmallows.
S: Okay, back to the book. What happens to the penguins in the book?
C: One of these little penguins learns how to roast marshmallows over a campfire, and teaches all his friends. But in the Antarctic ice, it is probably not a very good idea to have campfires because there isn’t any wood to use! And they all want their own sticks and their own fires and so on.
S: Yes, so then they get into some troubles, right?
C: Yes. But they eventually figure things out.
S: Yes, that’s right. It is a really sweet story. What three words would you use to describe it Caramel?
C: Warm, and fuzzy, and cute.
S: Those are good descriptors for this book Caramel! Reading the book made me want to have that hot chocolate with you!
C: That’s good because I’ve been ready for that hot chocolate, since yesterday.
S: Okay, maybe after dinner. But first we need to wrap up this review. What do you want to tell our readers Caramel?
C: Stay tuned for more book bunny adventures!
Caramel really enjoyed reading The Trouble with Penguins, written and illustrated by Rebecca Jordan-Glum, and thinks all other little bunnies who love penguins and marshmallows will enjoy it, too.
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