animals – Page 6 – BookBunnies

Caramel reviews The Menagerie by Tui Sutherland and Kari Sutherland

Readers of this blog know that Caramel is a big fan of Tui Sutherland and her Wings of Fire series. He has already read and reviewed all fifteen books! (He reviewed the fifteenth book, The Flames of Hope, only a couple weeks ago; check it out for links to his reviews of the earlier books.) Today he reviews the first book of another series from Tui Sutherland, cowritten by her sister Kari Sutherland: The Menagerie. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: I know you had been a bit reluctant to read this book Caramel. Can you explain why to our readers?

Caramel: I really would rather not. But I know you really want me to. So okay, I’ll tell. I felt that Tui Sutherland means Wings of Fire and dragons, and I did not want to read a different story by her that I would not really like too much and get disappointed.

S: I can totally understand that. That’s why I read this before you and I was quite convinced you would actually enjoy it.

C: I think you were right. Now I need to read the next book.

S: Wait, I know this is the first book of a trilogy, but then you did like it a lot! That makes me happy. So okay, I promise we will get our paws on the next two books soon, because I too want to know what will happen next. But before that, why don’t you tell our readers what the book is about?

C: It’s about this boy named Logan Wilde who has just moved to Xanadu, Wyoming. He discovers a griffin cub in his room and he realizes that he can hear the cub’s thoughts in his mind and communicate with him.

S: That must be so exciting, right? Finding your own magical mythical beast in your room?

C: Yeah. And being able to understand it when noone else can!

S: So Logan is special somehow?

C: Yes, but we don’t know for a long time why.

S: Alright, so tell us a bit more about the story. Where does this griffin cub come from?

C: The Menagerie.

S: Yes, that is the title of the book.

C: And it’s the name of the place where the cub was living with his five siblings and parents. And a whole lot of other mythical magical creatures, like a phoenix and a golden-egg-laying goose, and so on and so forth.

S: Hmm, so this Menagerie is kind of like a zoo for weird mythical animals, right?

C: Well, it is more like a nature reserve. Because it is not open to visitors. And most people do not know about the place because it is secret.

S: I can see why you would like to keep such a place a secret. Can you imagine what it would be like if people knew there was this place where you could find a golden-egg-laying goose? Or a phoenix? It could get really dangerous for the animals really fast.

C: Right. There is already only one phoenix left in the whole world, and it would be on the wish list of all sorts of people.

Caramel is reading The Menagerie by Tui Sutherland and Kari Sutherland. — Caramel is reading *The Menagerie* by Tui Sutherland and Kari Sutherland.

S: So this book is about Logan coming to learn about the Menagerie?

C: Practically. But the one cub in his room is not the only one which ran away. All six siblings escaped and the main story is all about Logan and his friends trying to find all the cubs.

S: And along the way, Logan becomes good friends with the girl and the boy who live in the Menagerie, right?

C: Yes, their names are Zoe and Blue. They are all in seventh grade, with Logan.

S: And then there is the mystery about Logan’s mom?

C: Yes. As it turns out Logan’s mom is —

S: Caramel! You can’t give it away!

C: I was not going to tell anyway. But so she is missing and Logan and his dad just moved to Wyoming to find her.

S: And Logan has no idea why Wyoming should be where his mom would be?

C: No, that is not true. She sent them a postcard from there saying she was not going to come back home. They were living in Chicago, and then they moved all the way out west to Wyoming.

S: Yes, I found that the authors blended the two stories together really well. Logan finding out about the Menagerie and finding out more about his missing mom.

C: Yes, but now we need to read the next book!

S: I agree. But before that, maybe you can tell our readers about the segment in the back of the book about mythical creatures?

C: Sure. It’s titled Camp Underpaw’s Guide to Mythical Creatures. And it lists and describes a lot of strange mythical creatures. Several of them show up in this book. And here is my favorite: Zaratan. It is apparently a “turtle the size of a small island, and yet shockingly difficult to track”.

S: That is really funny Caramel! I knew you would love that list of mythical creatures! You have created your own book of mythical creatures before. And both you and Marshmallow enjoyed the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

C: Well, I really liked the movie but I think only Marshmallow read the book.

S: No worries. You were so much smaller back then. Still, all in all, I am really glad you enjoyed this book. So what three words would you use to describe it?

C: Mysterious, funny, and cliff-hanging.

S: Okay, I guess we will claim that is a word now, because this is at least the second time you are using it. But you are right, the book does end with a resolution to the six escaped cubs problem but ends with a totally new problem which will tie in to the next book. So we do need to read the next book.

C: YES! We do! We have to!

S: Okay Caramel, and we will. But let us finish this post first. What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunnies reviews!

After some reluctance to begin, Caramel devoured The Menagerie by Tui Sutherland and Kari Sutherland, and now is itching to read the next two books in the series. — After some reluctance to begin, Caramel devoured *The Menagerie* by Tui Sutherland and Kari Sutherland, and now is itching to read the next two books in the series.

Marshmallow reviews Bear Bottom by Stuart Gibbs

Marshmallow has already read and reviewed all of Stuart Gibbs’s FunJungle books for the book bunnies blog. You can check out her review of the first book, Belly Up, here, while her review of the second book, Poached, is here. Her review of the third book Big Game is here, her review of the fourth book, Panda-monium, is available here, and her review of the fifth book in the series, Lion Down, is here. She reviewed the sixth book Tyrannosaurus Wrecks last, and you can find the review here. Today she reviews the seventh book of this series: Bear Bottom.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like realistic fiction books about animals and mystery, or if you have enjoyed any of Stuart Gibbs’s earlier books, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Teddy Fitzroy generally lives in FunJungle, in the mobile housing section for employees (his parents both work for FunJungle). FunJungle is the world’s largest zoo, described in the first book of the series as a combination of Disneyworld and the San Diego Zoo. The zoo was created by billionaire J.J. McCracken. During his time living in FunJungle, Teddy solved many crimes there and became friends with and eventually began to date J.J.’s daughter, Summer McCracken.

But in this book, Teddy is off to Montana with his parents to accompany J.J., Summer, and several other people. (Summer’s mother, Kandace, comes shortly after too.) This is because J.J. is planning on purchasing a ranch located close to Yellowstone (Oy Vey Corral) to create a FunJungle-approved safari park.

Teddy plans on having a relaxing trip. However, his plans go askew when a giant grizzly bear named Sasquatch breaks into the ranch house and Kandace’s very expensive necklace is stolen. Once again, Teddy finds himself stuck in complicated mysteries that have many suspects, lots of danger, and (so it seems) no answers.

Marshmallow is reading Bear Bottom by Stuart Gibbs. — Marshmallow is reading *Bear Bottom* by Stuart Gibbs.

Marshmallow’s Review: I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved all of the books in this series, and I think that this is a great addition. (And I hope it isn’t the last one!) I like that in all of the books there is always more than one mystery; as far I remember, there are almost always two mysteries and they intertwine in very interesting ways.

I liked how we see more than just FunJungle in this book, because it does seem like the series is getting more detached from FunJungle itself. The main setting is Yellowstone and it was a refreshing change. I also appreciated how we have been introduced to so many new characters.

All in all, the main storyline of Bear Bottom was not an easy mystery to solve; I never would have guessed the real culprits. (I already gave away enough spoilers, but I won’t spoil that for you!)

I did like however that the author, Stuart Gibbs, had information about animals and history slipped into the story. It also taught me a lot more about some parts of history not often spoken about. Also he touched on important issues, like how Native Americans are treated unfairly and unjustly for their lands.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 95%.

Marshmallow rates Bear Bottom by Stuart Gibbs 95%. — Marshmallow rates *Bear Bottom* by Stuart Gibbs 95%.

Caramel reviews The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

Caramel has always found robots fascinating. Today he talks about The Wild Robot, a 2016 book by Peter Brown with a robot main character. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel I know you like robots, but I don’t remember you reading many novels about them. Is this the first one?

Caramel: I think so.

S: So can you tell us what the book is about?

C: In the beginning there is a ship in the sea. The ship sinks in a hurricane or some type of storm. And thousands of robots are lost to the sea. Six of them land on an island. One box survives totally unharmed.

S: What happens to the other five?

C: They are destroyed. The only survivor is the robot who is the main character of the book.

S: So this robot is all alone in an island. Is the island inhabited by humans?

C: No. There are other animals though. Forest animals, like deer.

S: Does the robot interact with them?

C: Yes. At first they are scared of her. But seriously, wouldn’t you be scared if a giant robot appeared out of nowhere?

S: Wait, so the robot is a ‘she” and she is huge!

C: No she is not too big, she is human-sized, but the animals are not used to seeing humans either. Some say that the island was a mountain that had contact with the mainland but not anymore.

S: Hmm, so the robot is wild because it is in the wilderness?

C: Yes, and also because she also learns to speak with the animals.

S: Wait I am sorry. The robot is a ‘she”. How do we know that?

C: She calls herself a “she”. And her name is Roz.

S: That’s enough for me.

Caramel is reading The Wild Robot by Peter Brown. — Caramel is reading *The Wild Robot* by Peter Brown.

S: So is the whole book about the robot and her adventures in this island with these animals?

C: Yes, more or less. Eventually she finds a baby goose, a gosling, and she raises it as her own child.

S: That’s interesting. Does she not need fuel or energy or something? How does she charge herself?

C: I don’t know really. Maybe she is solar powered. She does have solar packs.

S: I see. This is a very interesting premise for a story Caramel.

C: Yes, she likes the island and gets so used to it that she calls it home.

S: That is cool. So did you enjoy reading this book?

C: Yes. And it ends with a big cliffhanger. So I have to read the second book!

S: Oh, so there is a second book. But this story does have some sort of a resolution, right?

C: Yes, I guess. But the end makes you curious about what will happen next. We learn a lot more about Roz and her past. There are three other robots! They are called the Recos I, II and III. And so I want to read the next book. Can I be done here so I can start reading that one?

S: Okay, then why don’t you tell me three words you would use to describe the book before we wrap this review up?

C: It’s exciting, it is funny. There is adventure, and lots of curious things happening. And cliff-hanging.

S: Hmm, not sure that last one is a word, but I know what you mean. Let us not keep you hanging any longer. So what do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading The Wild Robot by Peter Brown and is eager to read about the next adventures of Roz. — Caramel loved reading *The Wild Robot* by Peter Brown and is eager to read about the next adventures of Roz.

Marshmallow reviews Willodeen by Katherine Applegate

Today Marshmallow reviews Willodeen, a 2021 novel by Katherine Applegate.

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

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Willodeen loves all animals. Every single one, no matter how gross, or scary, or smelly, Willodeen adores them all. Especially the screechers. Screechers are scary animals, beasts that release a disgusting smell when frightened.

Screechers are about the polar opposites of hummingbears, which are the main claim to fame of Perchance, Willodeen’s village. Hummingbears are small with wings and they nest every year in Perchance because of the trees there. Tourists flock to Perchance to see the adorable creatures. Unfortunately, over the years, fewer and fewer hummingbears have graced Perchance, and the townspeople find it harder and harder to make a living. However, no one wants to see screechers, so the city councilors of Perchance put a bounty on screechers. Hunters immediately start to kill screechers, because no one is very rich.

Willodeen loves screechers: she observes them, names them, and likes to watch them. But slowly, the number of screechers dwindles, until the last one is killed by a hunter with a bow and arrow. That’s when something miraculous happens. Willodeen receives a hand-made model of a screecher from her new friend Connor, and the model seems to become a real baby screecher. Willodeen suddenly finds herself with the challenge of feeding, living with, and raising a baby screecher, which is no easy task, especially with the bounty.

Eventually Willodeen finds that the lessening of hummingbears is related to the screechers. Can Willodeen bring the hummingbears back to Perchance?

Marshmallow is reading Willodeen by Katherine Applegate. — Marshmallow is reading *Willodeen* by Katherine Applegate.

Marshmallow’s Review: Willodeen is set in a fantastic setting, with the people using bows and arrows instead of guns. The story is set in a small town called Perchance where magical animals roam. However, despite Perchance’s magical beasts, the author speaks about how the world and nature is changing, and not always for the better. So in some ways, I thought the author was thinking of our world where a lot has been changing.

I found it interesting that the main character and narrator, Willodeen, is very antisocial. After suffering from a terrible tragedy, she interacts very little with other people. Slowly however, she opens up towards new friends. It was neat to witness her opening up and finding other people to trust and love. I kind of wished to know more about her family, too, but that part kind of went too fast.

I liked the magical animals in this book. In the edition I have read, there were illustrations (by Charles Santoso) of some of the events in the book, which I really liked. The small creatures reminded me a bit of Newt Scamander and his love of all magical beasts in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Willodeen was written by Katherine Applegate, who also wrote The One and Only Ivan. I liked that both books showed animals as creatures that think, feel, and need love, as much as humans do. The One and Only Ivan was written completely in the voice of Ivan the gorilla. In Willodeen, there are some chapters where we see events from, I believe, the perspective of the baby screecher. I found that those chapters were interesting to read, because we could see the main human characters from the perspective of an animal.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 90%.

Marshmallow rates Willodeen by Katherine Applegate 90%. — Marshmallow rates *Willodeen* by Katherine Applegate 90%.