bullying – BookBunnies

Caramel reviews The Red Balloon by Albert Lamorisse

Today Caramel reviews The Red Balloon by Albert Lamorisse, first published in 1956. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, tell us a bit about The Red Balloon.

Caramel: The Red Balloon is a friendly balloon and becomes friends with a boy named Pascal. Pascal is lonely. He does not have brothers or sisters, and his mom does not want him to have any pets. It also seems like he does not have friends at school. But the Red Balloon becomes his friend. They go to places together, and the Red Balloon waits for him when he has to go inside.

S: That sounds fantastical, but also very sweet.

C: I think so too. Pascal needs a friend, so the Red Balloon becomes his friend. But then there are some mean boys who try to take the Red Balloon from Pascal, and they chase him, and they try to blow it up. It is really sad, and I got really mad at those boys.

S: You are right, they are mean, and they are jealous I think. Pascal has a really magical friend, and they cannot have it so they want to destroy it. Pretty terrible.

C: But at least the end of the book is not unhappy.

S: I agree. The book has some sad moments, but there are lots of very happy and sweet parts, and the end is very sweet, too.

C: Yes.

Caramel is reading The Red Balloon by Albert Lamorisse. — Caramel is reading *The Red Balloon* by Albert Lamorisse.

S: The book has lots of pictures, and they are almost all black and white, except the balloon, which is bright red. What did you think of that?

C: I liked it. It made the balloon even more special.

S: I agree. We also watched together the film the book is based on. What did you think of the film?

C: It was good. But watching it made me even angrier at the boys. They were so mean!

S: Yes. Pascal is so alone at the beginning and he is so happy when he makes friends with the Red Balloon, and then the boys come and try to take it away from him.

C: I guess, like you said, they were really jealous. I mean, I’d love to be friends with a balloon like that!

S: But you have real friends, too, Caramel. Pascal does not seem to have any. So he needs it so much more.

C: Good point. Hey, Sprinkles, do you think we could put a link to the movie here so our readers can watch it too, if they want?

S: Sure.

https://youtu.be/VexKSRKoWQY

The Red Balloon – A boy makes friends with a seemingly sentient red balloon, and it begins to follow him. It follows him to the bus stop, to school, and to church. They play together in the streets of Paris and try to elude a gang of boys that wants to steal it. The Red Balloon (1956) Director: Albert Lamorisse. From YouTube.

C: Thank you. I think the movie is really nice too. It is not totally black and white, but the Red Balloon is the brightest thing in it, too.

S: Yes. I think it definitely adds to its magic. So all in all, did you like this book?

C: Yes. But now I am wondering what it would feel like to have my own balloon friends.

S: It would definitely be fun, I am sure. Especially if like in the end you had many many balloon friends!

C: Sprinkles, you are giving away the end!

S: Okay, you are right. I will not say more. Maybe this is a good time to wrap up this review anyways. What would you like to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel liked reading The Red Balloon by Albert Lamorisse and is now dreaming of traveling around the world hanging on a lot of friendly balloons. — Caramel liked reading *The Red Balloon* by Albert Lamorisse and is now dreaming of traveling around the world hanging on a lot of friendly balloons.

Caramel reviews Closet of Dreams by Mark Ukra and Tara Mesalik MacMahon

Today Caramel reviews Closet of Dreams, a 2024 book written by Mark Ukra and Tara Mesalik MacMahon and illustrated by Donna Dyer. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

The book bunnies received this book as a review copy.

Caramel reviews Closet of Dreams, written by Mark Ukra and Tara Mesalik MacMahon and illustrated by Donna Dyer. — Caramel reviews *Closet of Dreams*, written by Mark Ukra and Tara Mesalik MacMahon and illustrated by Donna Dyer.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, can you start by telling us a bit about this book?

Caramel: This book is about a kid named Child. Strange name, right?

S: Yes, quite.

C: But I guess the book Marshmallow reviewed this past Saturday has a main character who is a bunny named Funnybunny, so maybe it is not that weird.

S: Alright, then.

C: Okay, so there is this kid named Child, and he lives with his grandma. He calls her Gamma. I am not sure if that is her real name or if that is what Child used to call her when he was little and could not say Grandma.

S: Your conjecture makes sense to me Caramel.

C: Okay, so this Child loves baseball. And he wants to try out for little league. And he has some friends at school but there are also some bullies at school and he is really scared of them.

S: Well, bullying is serious so I can understand why he would be scared.

C: So whenever Child is scared, he goes into the closet in their house and can calm down and feel safe.

S: And that is the Closet of Dreams from the title of the book?

C: Yes. And he sleeps there sometimes and has some good dreams that comfort and encourage him.

S: I see.

Caramel is reading Closet of Dreams, written by Mark Ukra and Tara Mesalik MacMahon and illustrated by Donna Dyer. — Caramel is reading *Closet of Dreams*, written by Mark Ukra and Tara Mesalik MacMahon and illustrated by Donna Dyer.

S: So I will admit that I read this book too. And it was quite interesting, but also kind of unexpected.

C: You mean, the book sounds like it is all about real things, but then some really unreal things also happen, right?

S: Exactly. There is a quote at the back cover of the book: “a charming mix of both the everyday and the fantastical.” I think that description fits the book well.

C: I think so. But I did like the fantastical part a lot.

S: I know you would. You love talking animals!

C: Well, that is what we are, so of course! And by the way, you are giving away some of the plot!

S: Okay, okay, you are right. I think I will stop talking about the plot now. So tell me about how the reading went.

C: I read it quite quickly. It is for younger bunnies, so the writing is easy to read. There are almost thirty chapters, and each is only a couple pages long. And there are lots of pictures in the book too.

S: What did you think of the pictures?

C: I liked them. They were not in color, but they were still good.

S. The authors are working on a sequel, apparently. Are you curious about reading that too?

C: Yes. They talk about some baby elephant in the book but it goes nowhere in this book. But apparently that will come up in the next book. So I want to read that. And by the way, we still did not read or review The One and Only Ruby, which is also about a baby elephant, and it is supposed to be a sequel to The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate. So we also need to read that.

S: Yep. You are right. So this is probably a good time to wrap up this review. What would you like to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Closet of Dreams, written by Mark Ukra and Tara Mesalik MacMahon and illustrated by Donna Dyer, and is curious about the second book the authors are writing about Child and Gamma. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Closet of Dreams*, written by Mark Ukra and Tara Mesalik MacMahon and illustrated by Donna Dyer, and is curious about the second book the authors are writing about Child and Gamma.

Caramel reviews Last Gamer Standing by Katie Zhao

Caramel has been reviewing book after book of the Wings of Fire series. Today he takes a break from the dragons and talks about a book about gaming: Last Gamer Standing by Katie Zhao, published in 2021. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel this book just appeared one day in your paws.

Caramel: Yes, I got it from my classroom library.

S: That is cool, that you have a classroom library and that there are books there that you find interesting.

C: Yep. I often find books there that I like to read.

S: Okay, so why did you pick up this one?

C: Because it looked interesting.

S: And did it turn out to be interesting?

C: Yes, why else would I be reviewing it?

S: Well, that is good. Tell us about it then.

C: This book is about Reyna Cheng, who is a Chinese-American gamer.

S: What does that mean?

C: She plays virtual reality video games.

S: What kinds of games?

C: The one she is playing is called Dayhold and she is very good at it.

S: Does Dayhold exist? Did you ever play it?

C: No, this is supposed to be in the future, it is 2064 or 2067 or something like that, and the video game is in virtual reality. And she is competing against other people as well as some artificial intelligence players. And people who are very good at gaming are like celebrities and there is a lot of money in gaming. So Reyna is not just playing, she wants to become a professional gamer.

S: I see. So she is young though, right?

C: Yes, she is twelve and just finished sixth grade. But most of the other people in the game don’t know who she is and she wants to keep it that way.

S: Why?

C: Because most gamers are boys or men and Reyna knows from experience that as a girl gamer, she will not be treated well.

S: Oh, that’s so not fair!

C: You’re right, and she is so much better than the other players.

S: Well, even if she weren’t, it would be better if people did not mistreat her just because she is a girl.

C: I agree.

Caramel is reading Last Gamer Standing by Katie Zhao. — Caramel is reading *Last Gamer Standing* by Katie Zhao.

C: She is very good though. She beats one of the best players and he was cheating and she still beat him.

S: Wait, I am worried you might be going into spoiler territory.

C: Possibly. but there is a lot more that happens in the book. So there is a troll for example who wants to dox her. And doxing we looked that up, it means that people make your identity public despite your wishes to remain anonymous. And a troll is “a person who intentionally antagonizes others online by posting inflammatory, irrelevant, or offensive comments or other disruptive content” according to a dictionary.

S: Oh that can be very dangerous!

C: Yes she could be in real danger, but she tries to save herself and the book is about that too.

S: I see. Does it also describe the game itself?

C: Yes a little. It seems interesting; you fight people with swords, spears and so on.

S: You did finish the book rather quickly. Was it an easy read for you?

C: Not always. I did not know about doxing and so I had to figure that out. By asking you, my very trustable source. But the book is written in Reyna’s voice and in first person, so that was good, it made it easier to read.

S: I see. If you were to try and find three words to describe the book, what would they be?

C: Descriptive, because there are a lot of descriptions of the game, funny sometimes, and exciting because I wanted to know what would happen to Reyna so I kept reading. It is attention-snatching, it kept my attention.

S: I can see that! Would you recommend the book to other bunnies like yourself?

C: Yup. Some boys think girls can’t be good gamers, so maybe it would be good for them to read this book. Because Reyna is a very good gamer but also it is not nice to mistreat people just because they are a girl.

S: Thank you Caramel, I totally agree. So let us wrap up this review then. What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Last Gamer Standing by Katie Zhao and recommends it to all other little bunnies. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Last Gamer Standing* by Katie Zhao and recommends it to all other little bunnies.

Marshmallow reviews Save Me A Seat by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan

Today Marshmallow chose to review Save Me A Seat, a 2016 novel by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan.

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

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Joey’s friends move away at the same time that a new kid moves into town. The new kid Ravi has just moved to America from India. Joey hopes that the school bully Dillon (who calls Joey Puddy Tat and whom Joey suspects to be a kleptomaniac) will pick on the new kid. However, Dillon is also of Indian heritage, so Ravi wants to be friends with him.

Ravi does not know that Dillon is a bully. After Ravi answers a math problem on the board, Dillon trips Ravi, but pegs it on Joey. Also, when Ravi’s school materials fall to the ground, Joey and Ravi hit their heads when trying to pick them up. Joey considers befriending Ravi, but Ravi thinks that Joey has it in for him, and believes that Dillon is his friend.

Ravi has an accent so his teacher, Mrs. Beam, thinks that he should go visit a special education teacher named Miss Frost. Joey has also been seeing Miss Frost, as he has Auditory Processing Disorder (APD). Ravi is angry that he is being sent to Miss Frost. He was top of his class in his previous school, and he has an IQ of 135, according to him. He believes that he is “not like” Joey.

However, Ravi soon learns that Dillon is a bully when Dillon tricks him into trying meat, even though Ravi is a vegetarian. Dillon starts calling Ravi “Curryhead”. When this starts happening, Ravi realizes that at his school in India, he was like Dillon. He had bullied a student who had issues with reading. Ravi realizes that he is getting a taste of his own medicine.

Marshmallow is reading Save Me A Seat by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan. — Marshmallow is reading *Save Me A Seat* by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan.

Marshmallow’s Review: I think that an interesting feature of Save Me A Seat is that it is written in the perspective of two people. The chapters alternate between Ravi’s perspective and Joey’s. I believe that Sarah Weeks wrote the chapters for Joey, and Gita Varadarajan wrote the chapters for Ravi. This is similar to another book that I read, To Night Owl From Dogfish, where one author wrote the emails for one character, and the other author wrote the emails for the other.

I think that the author for Ravi made an interesting choice. In Ravi’s chapter, the author tends to write lists like:

“I want to say:
1. My English is fine.
2. I don’t need Miss Frost.
3. I was top of my class at Vidya Mandir.
But here is what I do instead:
1. Push up my glasses.
2. Rub my nose.
3. Sit down and fold my hands.”

(Vidya Mandir was his school in India.) It is interesting to see the events from the perspectives of both characters. For example, when Dillon trips Ravi, both Joey and Ravi retell the event differently.

Another interesting feature of the book is that all events take place in the course of one school week. The authors split the book into sections, one for every school day in the first week of school. The section titles tell the reader the day of the week and the school lunch that day (like Wednesday, Chili and Friday, Pizza). It gets you in the mood for school!

Marshmallow’s Rating: 95%.

Marshmallow rates Save Me A Seat by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan 95%. — Marshmallow rates *Save Me A Seat* by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan 95%.