animals – BookBunnies

Caramel reviews The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate

Marshmallow was the first one who read and reviewed The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, but Caramel followed her soon after. Then he read and reviewed the sequel, The One and Only Bob. This week he finally got his paws on the third book in the series: The One and Only Ruby, published in 2023. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, here we are, talking about yet another book about the gorilla Ivan and his friends.

Caramel: Yes, but this one is not so much about Ivan. It’s more about Ruby, the baby elephant that we met in The One and Only Ivan.

S: Oh, is she still a baby in this book?

C: Yes. Or maybe she is a bit older, she is acting like seven or eight, but that would be still quite young for an elephant. Or maybe she is only two years old, because apparently that is around the time elephants start getting their tusks, and that is what is happening in this book.

S: That is interesting!

C: And what is also interesting is that apparently some female elephants lost their tusks by evolution in the second half of the twentieth century due to ivory poaching. It is very interesting but also very sad and angry-making. Why do people have to kill elephants for their tusks? It is theirs! Let them keep their own tusks!

S: I know Caramel, and I totally agree with you. It is not fair. But let us come back to Ruby and the book. So what is the book about? Is it all about her tusks?

C: Not quite. It is more generally about her story. She does not like tusks, and there is a sad reason for that.

S: Hmm, I am getting some ideas because of what we just talked about.

C: Yep. And that’s why I am glad we are not elephants. But I won’t tell you more.

Caramel is reading The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate. — Caramel is reading *The One and Only Ruby* by Katherine Applegate.

S: Okay, then, maybe we can move on. Tell me about the book in other ways. Is Ruby the narrator this time? The Ivan book was narrated by Ivan and the Bob book was narrated by Bob.

C: Yes, this is from Ruby’s voice though Ivan and Bob are still around.

S: Does she sound different from them?

C: A little. So it is the same style in some way but different enough to be convincing.

S: Okay. Is the book funny? Or just sad?

C: Both. So it is sometimes sad and sometimes funny.

S: I understand you are itching to read the next book, which just came out. So you must have liked this one.

C: Yes, I did. Very much.

S: Alright, so if you were to describe the book in three to five words–

C: I’d say: emotionally complicated, important topics with sweet old friends.

S: That is more than five words but I think they will work. I knew you had missed Ivan and Bob.

C: I did!

S: Okay, Caramel. Then let us wrap up this review so you can read the next book. What would you like to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate and is keen to read and review the fourth book in the series; stay tuned! — Caramel loved reading *The One and Only Ruby* by Katherine Applegate and is keen to read and review the fourth book in the series; stay tuned!

Marshmallow reviews Whale Done by Stuart Gibbs

This past week, author Stuart Gibbs visited Caramel’s school, and the book bunnies were able to receive two autographed books. One of these was Whale Done, the eighth book in the FunJungle series, published earlier this year. Marshmallow is a big fan of the FunJungle books, and she has already read and reviewed all of the previous seven for the book bunnies blog. So it was natural that she would be the one to jump on this book when it first arrived at the book bunnies’ home and dive right in. Below she shares some of her thoughts about the book.

Before moving on, you might want to check out Marshmallow’s reviews of the first seven books of FunJungle: Belly Up, Poached, Big Game, Panda-monium, Lion Down, Tyrannosaurus Wrecks, and Bear Bottom.

Marshmallow reviews Whale Done by Stuart Gibbs. — Marshmallow reviews *Whale Done* by Stuart Gibbs.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about animals and mysteries, or if you have enjoyed other books by Stuart Gibbs, then this might be the book for you. Of course, it would be best if you have also read some of the other FunJungle books before reading this one.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Teddy Fitzroy, who is now fourteen years old, lives with his parents at FunJungle (a huge zoo, similar to a hybrid of Disneyland and the San Diego Zoo) until a kangaroo burns down their home. This leads to Teddy eventually accepting an invitation to go to Malibu Beach in California with his girlfriend, her mother, and Doc, FunJungle’s vet. (Meanwhile, his mom is staying in her office and his father is traveling for work).

Teddy’s girlfriend, Summer McCracken, is the daughter of J.J. McCracken, the billionaire who owns FunJungle, and Kandace McCracken, a famous model. While in Malibu, they learn about a beached whale in front of a neighborhood of mansions owned by rich aristocrats, celebrities, and athletes. Teddy, Summer, and Doc are staying in this area in a house with a friend of Kandace, who also happens to be a model.

While on the beach, they meet Cass, who works for the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). Cass is preparing to perform an autopsy on the beached whale to find the cause of its death, when all of a sudden, the whale is blown up with dynamite. Two delinquents (who have extremely rich parents) are found to be guilty. But Teddy, Summer, and Doc think there is more to the story. Sand appears to be stolen from the beaches, but officials don’t believe the concerned surfers who report this, leaving Teddy and Summer to play detectives once more and try to unravel the complicated mystery about the whale’s death as well as the missing sand.

On top of all this, Teddy and Summer’s relationship becomes strained as events unfold.

Marshmallow is looking happily at the autographed title page of Whale Done by Stuart Gibbs. — Marshmallow is looking happily at the autographed title page of *Whale Done* by Stuart Gibbs.

Marshmallow’s Review: I have really liked all of the other FunJungle books and find Whale Done to be a meaningful and thoughtful addition to the series. I liked how the author brings up serious issues like plastic pollution and manages to keep the mystery, suspense, and humor (his trademarks in the other books of this series) sharp and on point. The characters go through some interesting changes and moments, but I can’t go into too much detail without spoiling all of it.

This book is appropriate for all ages, but I would recommend reading the previous books in the FunJungle series before reading this one because otherwise the characters and some of the references to past events will not be as meaningful. But in summary, I really enjoyed Whale Done, I would recommend it to anyone and everyone, and I hope Stuart Gibbs will write another FunJungle book some day!

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates Whale Done by Stuart Gibbs 100%. — Marshmallow rates *Whale Done* by Stuart Gibbs 100%.

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.

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.