Reviews – Page 55 – BookBunnies

Caramel reviews Easy Aircraft Origami by Jayson Merrill

Today Caramel reviews Easy Aircraft Origami, a book by Jayson Merrill first published in 2020. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

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

Caramel: So this book has fourteen different planes that you can make that are supposedly easier than some other possible origami.

S: I hear a “but” coming.

C: Yep, you do! So the book says the projects are easy and for “less experienced folders”, but some of them are actually hard. Marshmallow is the most experienced origamist in our home, but even she had difficulty with the Razorback, which looks really cool, but I don’t really know how it flies because I still have not been able to make one.

S: Hmm, I see. So some of them are really hard. But why are we reviewing this book then? Did you at least make some of the planes?

C: Well, I tried to make some of them. For example I tried to make Hex, but I failed several times on my own. Then we made it together, you and me, and then it worked!

S: Yes, we had to be a bit careful and so on, but we did make it in the end. And it flies really well, doesn’t it?

C: But it was hard to fold the paper that many times.

S: I think our paper was a bit thick. If we had used thinner paper, maybe it could have been easier.

C: I guess. But we used a pretty large paper, and it was thick, but it folded well. And the plane is big, too, so I am happy with the paper.

S: No problem then, as long as you are happy!

Caramel is reading Easy Aircraft Origami by Jayson Merrill. — Caramel is reading *Easy Aircraft Origami* by Jayson Merrill.

S: So it seems to me that even though some of the projects are hard, you are probably not giving up on the book any time soon.

C: No, I’m not. The Hex flies so well that I am thinking I want to make all of them. But I might need help.

S: I know. Marshmallow and I can help you if you want.

C: That would be good.

S: I saw that among the fourteen projects there are two which are circular; they do not look at all like paper planes.

C: Yes, they are called Stratus and Cirrus. They kind of look like frisbees.

S: I thought they looked like UFOs.

C: I guess that works too. If someone saw them flying and didn’t know what they were, they would really be UFOs. Unidentified Flying Objects, get it?

S: Yep. Do you know what Stratus and Cirrus are?

C: No.

S: They are types of clouds.

C: I did not know that.

S: This page describes the cirrus clouds as “wispy, feathery, and composed entirely of ice crystals”. Apparently they occur higher in the atmosphere and are often “the first sign of an approaching warm front or upper-level jet streak”.

C: That is interesting. What about stratus clouds?

S: The page says that stratus clouds show up in the lower levels of the atmosphere, closer to the ground, and they are “uniform and flat, producing a
gray layer of cloud cover which may be precipitation-free or may cause periods of light precipitation or drizzle”.

C: I knew that clouds looked different from one another but I did not know that the different kinds had names. That’s cool!

S: I agree! But so these two circular ones are named after clouds. Does that make sense to you?

C: Yes. Because maybe the names mean that they will go high as the clouds.

S: We can only hope! So it is about time to wrap up this review Caramel. What would you like to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel has enjoyed reading Easy Aircraft Origami by Jayson Merrill and is planning to make many of the aircraft projects in it in the coming weeks. — Caramel has enjoyed reading *Easy Aircraft Origami* by Jayson Merrill and is planning to make many of the aircraft projects in it in the coming weeks.

Marshmallow reviews The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds

A couple years ago, Caramel reviewed Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid, a 2005 book written by Megan McDonald and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. Soon after, Marshmallow reviewed Judy Moody Goes to College, yet another book written by McDonald and illustrated by Reynolds. But Peter Reynolds is not just an illustrator who works on other people’s books; he has his own books as well. Today Marshmallow reviews one of his most cherished books, The Dot, on its twentieth anniversary. Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Marshmallow, can you tell us a bit about this book?

Marshmallow: This is a book about creativity and artistic expression, even when you do not think you have it in you to be creative.

S: That is a neat recap of this book Marshmallow. So maybe let us go a bit into details. What exactly is the plot?

M: There is a little kid named Vashti and she thinks she cannot draw. So at the end of art class, her paper is still empty. And her teacher says, just make a mark and see where it takes you. And so she does. She stabs the paper and makes a dot.

S: Okay, then what happens?

M: Her teacher tells her to sign it.

S: Just a dot?

M: Yes.

S: Then what happens?

M: Well, I don’t want to give away the full story, but her teacher supports Vashti by showing that she values Vashti’s work even when Vashti does not think much of it. And then Vashti gets inspired to create more and more. And in the end, we see her encouraging another young person like her, who believes they are not creative at all, by telling them to “just make a mark and see where it takes you”.

S: So the idea is that you just get started, and then things go from there. Right?

M: Yep. You do not have to feel creative, you do not have to think you know what you are doing. But just get started, and just make your mark. The rest will follow.

Marshmallow is reading The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. — Marshmallow is reading *The Dot* by Peter H. Reynolds.

S: The author / illustrator dedicated this book to Mr. Matson, his seventh grade math teacher who “dared” him “to make [his] mark”. So even though the book is about art, it could be seen as a fable that is about any other thing we are not confident about, no?

M: Yes, I think so. I think the book is really inspiring.

S: I agree. What do you think of the illustrations and the visual aspects of the book?

M: I really like Peter Reynolds’ style. It is very simple, minimalistic, and sparse. But with the very few strokes of his pen, he draws really effective images.

S: Agreed.

M: I also like the way he uses color. Most of the book is in black and white but there are several well-placed splashes of color, which bring attention to specific items on the page. They add a lot to the feel of the whole book. By the way, the illustrations were apparently done with water color, ink, and tea. I wonder how he uses tea.

S: I have no idea!

M: I would like to know. But anyways, all in all I think this is a really neat book.

S: I agree. But Marshmallow, this is a picture book, and you do not review picture books much anymore. Do you perhaps not think this is for young bunnies only?

M: No, I think it can be inspirational for any bunny. Everyone needs some encouragement now and then.

S: Alright, that works for me. Maybe it is time to wrap up this review. What do you want to tell our readers?

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

Marshmallow enjoyed reading The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds and recommends it to all bunnies little and big who need a little bit of courage to get started. — Marshmallow enjoyed reading *The Dot* by Peter H. Reynolds and recommends it to all bunnies little and big who need a little bit of courage to get started.

Caramel reviews The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau

Marshmallow reviewed The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau a few weeks ago. Soon after, Caramel reviewed the second book in the series, The People of Sparks. Today, he talks to Sprinkles about The Diamond of Darkhold, the 2008 sequel to The People of Sparks.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, you began reading this book recently, right?

Caramel: Right. I finished The People of Sparks and moved onto this one.

S: Does the story simply continue on from where that book left off?

C: Yes. It is now winter and the people of Sparks and the people of Ember are all people of Sparks now. It is actually quite cool.

S: I agree. I really liked the end of that book. So what happens in this book?

C: Lina and Doon meet a roamer who comes to Sparks and they get a few pages of a book from him that is dedicated to the people of Em. The rest of the word is gone but Lina and Doon are sure it means Ember. So they try to figure out what was in the book. And they start traveling because they think that there is something valuable in Ember that they should bring to the surface.

S: I see. So there is a puzzle that they need to solve like there was in the first book, right?

C: Yes. And I like puzzles. So that was cool.

S: Do we learn what the valuable thing is?

C: Not immediately. It takes more or less the whole book. So I won’t tell.

S: Okay. We don’t want too many spoilers.

Caramel is reading The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau. — Caramel is reading *The Diamond of Darkhold* by Jeanne DuPrau.

S: So how did you like the book?

C: I think it was fun to read. It reads like an adventure book. The second book was more about how it is difficult for different people to live together and such big things. but this is more like the first book and there is a lot of adventure and excitement and I liked it.

S: That sounds like fun. I liked both of the first two books and I agree with you that the second was a bit more philosophical, in a way, and the first one felt more like an adventure. So you are saying this feels more like the first than the second.

C: Yes. And Lina and Doon are trying to figure things out together again, which is also good. They were always separated in the second book. I didn’t really like that too much.

S: They do make a good team.

C: Well, it seems they will make more than that but I won’t say more.

S: Hmm, I’m intrigued. Maybe I should read this book, too.

C: Yes, Sprinkles, you definitely should.

S: Alright. Let us wrap up this review this book then. What would you like to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau and recommends it to all the bunnies who enjoyed the first two books in the series. — Caramel enjoyed reading *The Diamond of Darkhold* by Jeanne DuPrau and recommends it to all the bunnies who enjoyed the first two books in the series.

Marshmallow reviews How to Be a High School Superstar by Cal Newport

Last week Marshmallow reviewed How to Become a Straight-A Student by Cal Newport. This week, as we dive into the new school year, she is continuing with a similar book, How to Be a High School Superstar, first published in 2010. Sprinkles is asking questions and taking notes.

Sprinkles: So Marshmallow, it is back to school time, and you are reading all these books about how to be a good student. You just reviewed How to Become a Straight-A Student by Cal Newport last week. And now we are looking at How to Be a High School Superstar, which was written later but is meant for a younger audience.

Marshmallow: Yes, this one is for bunnies who are beginning high school and want to know about how to make the best of it. The other book was mainly intended for college bunnies.

S: I see. So what kinds of advice do you find in this book?

M: The main ides is to be an interesting student so that you can get into college.

S: What does that mean?

M: So Cal Newport thinks that it is not how many As you get in your classes and how many activities you are involved in that matters. He thinks that college admissions folks look at the whole package and want to admit students who look interesting.

S: So what does interesting mean?

M: He suggests that you should leave yourself a lot of free time to explore new directions and find a thing or two that you are really into and you can really advance in, so you can be more than just a good student.

S: So I am assuming he takes it for granted that you will be a good student, or at least a good enough student, and then he tells the reader what else to do to round out one’s college application package. Right?

M: Yes, I think so.

S: So the book is very much directed towards high school students who are looking to get into college.

M: Yep.

Marshmallow is reading How to Be a High School Superstar by Cal Newport. — Marshmallow is reading *How to Be a High School Superstar* by Cal Newport.

S: Okay, so tell me how one can become a more interesting person.

M: According to Cal Newport, doing less is more, so focus on one thing and do that really well. Like, he thinks that doing a sport and doing some volunteering and doing theatre and doing band and so on all at once without really paying any special attention to any one of them makes you dilute your efforts, and while trying to be well rounded you end up being mediocre in all things.

S: That reminds me of something I had heard from a college faculty member I know. He said something like, “while people are looking for well roundedness, I want to find all the sharp knives.”

M: I think I can see what he means by that! I think Cal Newport would agree.

S: Besides this big idea, what other recommendations does he make in this book?

M: Well, I think that is really the main point of the book. He uses the phrase “relaxed superstar”. He thinks that is what one should aspire to be.

S: I see. That sounds nice.

M: I think so, too.

S: So how would you rate this book then?

M: I’d rate it 100%. I think it makes a good point about being intentional about how one goes about doing high school. Wow! I managed to make one sentence with three “about”s!

S: Yes, I give you 100% for that! So this is a good place to wrap up this review, I think. What would you like to tell our readers?

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