animals – Page 4 – BookBunnies

Marshmallow reviews Solimar: The Sword of the Monarchs by Pam Muñoz Ryan

Marshmallow first read Pam Muñoz Ryan’s Esperanza Rising (2000) for school and liked the book so much that she wanted to review it for the book bunnies blog. About a year ago, she enjoyed reading and reviewing her Paint the Wind (2007). Today she talks about her most recent book, Solimar: The Sword of the Monarchs, published in 2022.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about magic and fantastical events, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Solimar, daughter of the king of the land of San Gregorio, has watched the monarch migration since she was a little girl. However, in previous years, she would go to the oyamel forests and watch the monarch butterflies come in to hibernate from a distance. This year, before her quinceañera, she crosses the creek and sits among the butterflies when they come home. But then something mystical happens, and she finds herself with a peculiar gift.

Solimar discovers that she can correctly answer questions about the future, but she soon figures out that this ability only functions in the sunlight. Additionally, her rebozo (her silk shawl, see Wikipedia for more) gains a peculiar, shiny side. Solimar tries to tell her best friend about her new gift, but the friend, Maria, dismisses it as a combination of great intuition and clever guessing. Then Solimar tells her abuela (grandmother), who takes her to the curandera, whom Solimar believes is a witch. This woman tells Solimar that the ancestors appointed her as a guardian to protect the monarch butterflies on their way home. She must protect the young and weak butterflies with her magical rebozo.

Then Solimar’s father and brother leave on an expedition. Taking advantage of their absence, a neighboring king invades their kingdom and holds everybody hostage. This invader king plans to cut down the oyamel forest in which the butterflies live. Solimar escapes, but now she has a tough mission. Can she save her kingdom, her family, and the monarch butterflies?

Marshmallow is reading Solimar: The Sword of the Monarchs by Pam Muñoz Ryan. — Marshmallow is reading *Solimar: The Sword of the Monarchs* by Pam Muñoz Ryan.

Marshmallow’s Review: I’ve read several books written by Pam Muñoz Ryan before and really liked them. I like her poetic writing style and the mystical aspects of her books. This book displays the same lyrical style and magic is threaded neatly into the story line.

The mission Solimar must embark upon was exciting to read about, and the descriptions throughout the book were lovely. The characters were all interesting and unique. They all stood out as separate individuals. I also liked how Pam Muñoz Ryan wove some parts of Mexican culture into the book. Some examples would include the usage of Spanish words and Solimar’s quinceañera.

I would recommend this book for bunnies of any age. There isn’t really anything that would make this book scary or inappropriate for younger bunnies.

I did feel like the book was a little short. I would have liked it a little more if the adventure was a little longer or more complicated. Also I think that the main character could have used a little bit more depth. However, Solimar: The Sword of the Monarchs is a beautiful story overall, and I appreciated reading another book from an author whose writing I really enjoy.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 90%.

Marshmallow rates Solimar: The Sword of the Monarchs by Pam Muñoz Ryan 90%. — Marshmallow rates *Solimar: The Sword of the Monarchs* by Pam Muñoz Ryan 90%.

Caramel reviews The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate

A few years ago, Marshmallow reviewed The One and Only Ivan, a beautiful book by Katherine Applegate. At that time the whole book bunny family watched the accompanying movie. A year or so later, Caramel was able to read the same book himself and enjoyed it a lot. This week, he was able to get his paws on the sequel, The One and Only Bob, published in 2020. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, I know you liked The One and Only Ivan. If I recall correctly, that one ended with gorilla Ivan’s dog friend Bob all alone, because most of the other animal friends went to a new zoo. So does this book start there?

Caramel: More or less. We see Ivan and Ruby in this book too, because Bob keeps visiting the zoo they are living in, even though probably he is not supposed to. But apparently the zoo keepers don’t care, so he manages to sneak in whenever he wants, with Julia.

S: So he is still hanging out with Julia then? This was the girl who gave Ivan the crayons, right?

C: Yes and yes.

S: Oh then Bob is not that alone after all if he sees Julia all the time.

C: No he is not really alone. He is actually living with Julia and her dad.

S: I see. That is cool too. So what is the main problem in this book? Bob is not completely alone then. And Ivan and Ruby are safe and happy, right? And Ruby was the baby elephant, right?

C: Yup. They are happy, but Bob is not completely happy. Because he is not used to living with humans because he had gotten very used to being a stray. And because he wants to find his sister Boss.

S: We did not hear about Boss in the first book, did we?

C: I don’t think so, but she is Bob’s main goal in this book. And as he looks for her, he has a lot of adventures. A hurricane hits the town and the zoo that Ivan and Ruby were at is destroyed and Bob is separated from his humans. And a lot of other things happen too. It is a very adventure-full book.

S: I can see that.

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

S: So One and Only Ivan was written in first person, through the eyes of the gorilla Ivan. Is this written in Bob’s voice?

C: Yes. And Bob’s voice is very different from Ivan’s. I mean, he is a dog, but also he is not very trusting. He is different.

S: I see. It is neat that the author was able to create another fully alive animal voice. So overall, did you like the book?

C: Yes. I don’t think I could say it is better than the story of Ivan, but it is just as good, I think.

S: So maybe they should make a movie out of this one, too?

C: Yes! I loved the Ivan movie! That was cool. It would be good to have a Bob movie too!

S: Well, maybe there will be one. Did you know that the author has written a third book, about the elephant Ruby this time?

C: I didn’t know that! I have to read it too! And soon! Please!

S: Well, it won’t come out till May, it seems like, but sure, we can read it when it comes out.

C: Yes, that will be great! I really like Ruby too!

S: Okay, so let us start wrapping things up then. How would you describe this book in three words?

C: Adventurous Animal Fun, but it is not always fun, because sometimes sad things happen too.

S: Still, I think your description works well Caramel. Okay, what do you want to tell our readers as we wrap this up?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate and thinks it would make a good movie! — Caramel enjoyed reading *The One and Only Bob* by Katherine Applegate and thinks it would make a good movie!

Caramel reviews 5000 Awesome Facts (About Animals) by National Geographic Kids

Caramel loves facts about robots, space ships, and science. He also loves facts about animals. Today he reviews a beautiful book published by National Geographic Kids: 5000 Awesome Facts (About Animals). As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, I see you are rereading 5000 Awesome Facts (About Animals).

Caramel: Yes. You know five thousand is a big number.

S: So are there really that many facts in the book?

C: Yes.

S: And have you really read them all already?

C: Yes.

S: So why are you rereading then?

C: Because I like rereading. These are all really cool facts.

S: Really? So tell me one from that page you are looking at now.

C: This page is called “75 Facts about Coral Reef Animals”. And here is a neat fact: Sea horses don’t have stomachs! It’s so weird!

S: How do they eat then?

C: I don’t know. The book doesn’t tell.

S: Well, let’s see. This National Geographic for Kids website says “Seahorses use their tube-shaped snouts like powerful vacuums to scoop up hundreds of tiny meals in a single day. These fish don’t have true stomachs, just a digestive tube, so they need to eat all day to get their nutrients.”

C: Oh, that explains it, very interesting!

S: So I guess the book tells you neat tidbits, but you might need to look elsewhere for more explanations.

C: Yes, but these are really cool tidbits. Here is another one: some moray eels have two sets of jaws. The second one is hidden inside their throats.

S: That is weird!

C: Yes. It’s kind of like they have a second mouth in their throats.

S: So it seems like the facts are organized into groups. And each two-page spread is about a particular group of animals. Right?

C: More or less. But the groups are not always types of animals. Sometimes it is about where they live, like those 75 facts about coral reef animals. And then there are 35 facts about gorillas, and you took my photo when I was looking at that page.

S: Yes, let me post that photo right here:

Caramel is reading 5000 Awesome Facts (About Animals) by National Geographic Kids. — Caramel is reading *5000 Awesome Facts (About Animals)* by National Geographic Kids.

C: There are fact collections about animals living in the Himalayas, about dogs, about animals in books and movies. And so on. It is all pretty awesome!

S: I guess the title makes sense then.

C: Yes.

S: Did you see on the back cover that there are a couple other volumes in this same series called 5000 Awesome Facts?

C: Yes, there is a book called 5000 Awesome Facts About Everything, another called 5000 Awesome Facts About Everything 2, and there is a third one: 5000 Awesome Facts About Everything 3.

S: Those sound neat too. But I know you really like animals and books about animal facts.

C: Yep. And I already reviewed many such books. Maybe you can put a link to some of them?

S: Sure. Here are some: The Magnificent Book of Animals by Val Walerczuk and Tom Jackson, The Magnificent Book of Ocean Creatures by Val Walerczuk and Tom Jackson, Pangolins by Lisa Fanton, Sea Bunnies by Kelly Hargrave, Glow Animals by K.C. Kelley. And then there are a couple books you reviewed about dinosaurs. But then you already know quite a lot about animals. I’m surprised you found new things in this book.

C: Yes. Actually almost all of them were things I did not know.

S: That makes sense Caramel. You know a lot, but the world is so much bigger, so there is always more to learn.

C: Yep.

S: So how would you describe this book in three words?

C: Colorful, factful, animalful.

S: Hmm, not sure that last one is a real word, but I’ll let it be. What do you want to tell our readers as we wrap this review up?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loves reading 5000 Awesome Facts (About Animals) by National Geographic Kids and will continue to enjoy this beautiful book for many years to come. — Caramel loves reading *5000 Awesome Facts (About Animals)* by National Geographic Kids and will continue to enjoy this beautiful book for many years to come.

Caramel reviews Glow Animals by K.C. Kelley

A few weeks ago, Caramel visited the book fair held in his school campus and picked a handful of nonfiction books for himself. A couple weeks ago, he reviewed two of them: Sea Bunnies by Kelly Hargrave and Hot Lava! Fiery Facts About Volcanoes by Alice Fewery. Today he talks about the third book he got from the book fair: Glow Animals by K.C. Kelley. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: Okay, Caramel. This is the third book from the book fair. Are you still happy you managed to get your paws in this one?

Caramel: Yes.

S: So tell us a bit about this book.

C: This book is about all sorts of animals that glow.

S: What does that mean?

C: It’s called bioluminescence.

S: That’s a big word for a little bunny.

C: Yep. I have all the words!

S: Okay, so tell me what bioluminescence means.

C: It’s animals and other living beings creating light somehow.

S: That is pretty fascinating stuff.

C: It is.

S: So what kinds of animals do we meet in this book?

C: For one, my new amazing squishy friend Jellyfish. He is bioluminescent. Like about 50% of all jellyfish. I learned that from this website of a lab at the University of California San Diego.

S: That’s interesting! Do you know how jellyfish make their light?

C: Bioluminescence.

S: I get that, but what is the mechanism?

C: There is a segment in their body that holds a bunch of chemicals and the jellyfish mixes them to make light. Well, actually I am making that up because the book does not really talk about how they make their light.

S: Okay, I thought your explanation was plausible, you could have fooled me. But so the book did not tell you about the mechanism of how a jellyfish can make light? I’m thinking they should have!

C: Well, they do explain things more generally. Most animals which glow have some chemical, luciferin, in a part of their body, and when they mix it with oxygen, it glows.

S: Hmm, I did not know that! And I did not know what luciferin was till now. So Wikipedia tells me that “luciferin (from the Latin lucifer, “light-bearer”) is a generic term for the light-emitting compound found in organisms that generate bioluminescence”. So some mechanisms are explained then.

C: Yes.

S: And fireflies and jellyfish are pretty different animals! What other animals do we meet in this book?

C: Lantern fish, click beetle, dragon fish, lantern shark. Which is different from the lantern fish.

S: Hmm, I did not know there were sharks that could make light!

C: Yes, there are!

S: Apparently they are rather small. At most three feet or so.

C: Well, for a bunny, that is not really small. I’d not want to meet one if I could help it.

S: I understand Caramel.

C: At least the dwarf lantern shark is really small. It is about four inches. Now I would not mind meeting one of those.

S: Makes sense to me.

Caramel and his new squishy friend Jellyfish are reading Glow Animals by K.C. Kelley. — Caramel and his new squishy friend Jellyfish are reading *Glow Animals* by K.C. Kelley.

S: What else is in the book?

C: There are more animals with bioluminescence. And then there are other animals which don’t make their own light, but their skin or fur reacts to UV light. That is called fluorescence.

S: Oh that’s cool too. What are some examples of fluorescent animals?

C: Glowing sea slug and pyrosome.

S: Hmm, I know about sea slugs because you told me all about them when you were reviewing that book Sea Bunnies, but what are pyrosome?

C: According to the book, they are actually colonies of tiny animals called zooids, and they look like purple fuzzy cucumbers.

S: Wikipedia says they are also called sea pickles. That’s interesting too, Caramel. I learned a lot today. So did you like this book then? It seems to have a lot of facts.

C: Yes. And it has lots of colorful pictures of weird animals. So I like the book. And my new friend Jellyfish, of course.

S: Of course. So how about describing the book to me in three words?

C: Colorful weird animal facts. Well, that’s four words.

S: It will do, Caramel. Let us wrap this up then. What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading Glow Animals by K.C. Kelley and playing with his new squishy friend Jellyfish (who eventually went back to his little room to rest). He expects he will look over these pages many times in the coming weeks and months. — Caramel loved reading *Glow Animals* by K.C. Kelley and playing with his new squishy friend Jellyfish (who eventually went back to his little room to rest). He expects he will look over these pages many times in the coming weeks and months.