Caramel’s reviews – Page 12

Caramel reviews Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales #8: Lafayette! by Nathan Hale

Caramel loves history and he loves graphic novels. So Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales are perhaps the ultimate series for him. (Except there are no dragons or robots in these books! Oh well…) So as you might expect, he has already read several of these quirky books and reviewed them for the book bunnies blog. Today he is talking to Sprinkles about Lafayette, the eighth book in the series, first published in 2018.

Sprinkles: So here we are, with yet another Nathan Hale book. This is called Lafayette! And it is book eight, right?

Caramel: Yep, and what a good eighth book it is!y

S: Glad you have enjoyed this one too!

C: Yep, so am I.

S: So Lafayette is a French man from the American Revolution days. His full name was apparently Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, but in the United States people called him Lafayette. Wikipedia tells us that he volunteered to help the Continental Army led by George Washington and commanded the troops “in the decisive Siege of Yorktown in 1781, the Revolutionary War’s final major battle, which secured American independence.” And then he went back to France and got involved with the French Revolution. As a result he “continues to be celebrated as a hero in both France and the United States.”

C: Yeah, he was a really good fighter, wasn’t he?

S: It seems like it. What part of the story does Nathan Hale tell us?

C: The part of him helping the Americans by coming from France and fighting alongside the American colonists rebelling against the British Crown.

S: That’s cool! You remember the song from Hamilton about Lafayette and the Battle of Yorktown?

C: Yep, it was good. Marshmallow really liked it!

S: Yeah, it says “Everyone give it up for America’s favorite fighting Frenchman: Lafayette!” That’s where I first learned about the details of the role he played in the American Revolutionary War. But I bet you knew about Lafayette before that, no?

C: Well, not really. I was really small when Hamilton came out, remember?

S: That’s true. But at least you knew of him before you began to read this book.

C: Yep, and it helped a lot. Because, you know, a lot was happening in the book, and knowing a bit about who was who helped me keep track of things.

Caramel is reading Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #8: Lafayette! by Nathan Hale. — Caramel is reading *Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales #8: Lafayette!* by Nathan Hale.

S: Okay, so who besides Lafayette is in the book then?

C: All the other big names from those times. George Washington, of course. Then, Alexander Hamilton, William Howe, Benedict Arnold, and some others.

S: And you are right, there are so many things to remember about each of these people and each of the different battles and such, I can see how knowing a bit of something before you start reading could be helpful. But it is after all a graphic novel. You would probably still get something out of reading it even if you had known nothing about any of these people.

C: Yeah, it explains some of the lives of the other characters. And yes, I would have still learned a lot.

S: So given that you did know a bunch already, did you still learn something new?

C: Yep, some things about what Lafayette did came as new to me. For example, I did not know that he joined the war as a young man of around twenty. They were all really young men. Hamilton was in his early twenties too.

S: That sounds incredible.

C: Washington was in his forties though. Much older.

S: As the adult in this conversation, and of some considerable age, I should remind you that the forties are still not too old!

C: Don’t get touchy Sprinkles!! I know you are always young, at heart at least!!

S: Okay play, I know you are still so young… Anyways, the book worked! You liked it!

C: Yes! These books are good! And I am ready for book nine!

S: Okay, that sounds reasonable to me. But it will have to wait till next week.

C: I can still start reading it!

S: Sure you can! So this might be a good time to wrap this up then. What would you like to tell our readers Caramel?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading and talking about Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #8: Lafayette! by Nathan Hale, and is now ready for the next book! — Caramel enjoyed reading and talking about *Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales #8: Lafayette!* by Nathan Hale, and is now ready for the next book!

Caramel reviews Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales #7: Raid of No Return by Nathan Hale

Today Caramel is talking to Sprinkles about Raid of No Return by Nathan Hale, published first in 2017. This is the seventh book in Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales series.

For Caramel’s reviews of the six earlier books, please check out: One Dead Spy, Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood, The Underground Abductor, Big Bad Ironclad, Donner Dinner Party, and Alamo All-Stars.

Caramel reviews Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales #7: Raid of No Return by Nathan Hale. — Caramel reviews *Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales #7: Raid of No Return* by Nathan Hale.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, you are back this week with a new Nathan Hale book!

Caramel: Yep! This one is a WW2 one.

S: It is about the second world war, you mean?

C: Yep, it is about the U.S. bombing campaign on Tokyo, which is apparently called the Doolittle Raid today. It starts with a summary of how the second world war began and then the Pearl Harbor attack.

S: That is interesting. Most of the earlier books in the series were about earlier parts of American history. So this is getting a bit closer to today.

C: Sprinkles, it is not that close! The Pearl Harbor attack was in 1941. That is still the last century.

S: You are right of course. It is also the last millennium!

C: Yeah, see, I was right! It is still quite ancient history, especially for a little bunny like me.

S: True, for older bunnies like me who were born in the last century, maybe it feels closer. Anyways, so the book is about the battle in the Pacific Ocean then.

C: It is even more specific than that. There is a little bit about how people viewed the Pearl Harbor attack, from both sides (American and Japanese), and then the rest of the book, we focus on the experiences of the pilots who flew the U.S. bombers over Tokyo.

S: I see. I had of course heard about the Pearl Harbor event, but I had not read about this retaliation. From the Wikipedia article it looks like this was a very outrageous plan, not terribly likely to succeed–

C: Yes, but it somehow worked. They did manage to bomb some important military targets, I think.

S: And the war escalated from then on of course.

C: Yes.

Caramel is reading Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales #7: Raid of No Return by Nathan Hale. — Caramel is reading *Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales #7: Raid of No Return* by Nathan Hale.

S: Okay, so I am guessing that you were excited to read this book. It has been a few months since you last read a new Nathan Hale book.

C: Yeah! And this one came in a box of three, like the other books I read from this series, and I loved all three!

S: Hmm, maybe you will review the others in the coming weeks.

C: Maybe. If I do that, can we get the next three books? These were really good!

S: Sounds like a good deal to me.

C: Okay, good. I know what I will be reviewing next week then!

S: Alright. Let us get back to this week though. So this is the seventh book in the series. Does the same framing story continue? I mean, the other books are all narrated by Nathan Hale, that famous spy who is about to get hanged. Is this one continuing the same thing?

C: Yeah, it is.

S: I am a bit curious about how they will finish the series. I mean Hale did get hanged in the end. But maybe since this is for young bunnies, and there are so many other interesting historical tales to tell, maybe we will not ever get to those bits.

C: Yeah, I hope that it never ends.

S: I know you love graphic novels and you love history and you love facts. This is just the right book series for you!

C: Yep, it is.

S: So then is it fair to say that you would recommend it to other young bunnies?

C: Yes! Any bunny who loves books or history or graphic novels would like these too! And you know, they don’t have to read them in order, so they can just jump right into any of them after the first one.

S: Great! Maybe this is a good place to wrap up this review. What do you think?

C: Sure. Then I can go back to reading and rereading the next book!

S: Sounds good to me. What do you want to tell our readers then?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales #7: Raid of No Return by Nathan Hale and is eager to read the next book in the series. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales #7: Raid of No Return* by Nathan Hale and is eager to read the next book in the series.

Caramel reviews Will the Pigeon Graduate? by Mo Willems

All the book bunnies love Mo Willems and his books about the Pigeon. Caramel even reviewed a couple of them for the book bunnies blog. See, for example, his reviews of The Pigeon HAS To Go To School and Be the Bus. Today he talks to Sprinkles about a brand new Pigeon book: Will the Pigeon Graduate? As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, today we are talking about a new book about the Pigeon!

Caramel: Yep, the best pigeon in the world is back!

S: You have read quite a lot of the other books about the Pigeon. You also reviewed two of them. What is this one about?

C: This one is about how the pigeon is growing up, and he is scared about the future after finishing school.

S: He is already graduating? How exciting!

C: Well, he had to go to school back in 2019 so I suppose it is time.

S: You are right of course. At some point school ends and the rest of life begins.

C: Yep, but I don’t like that idea.

S: Why not?

C: I like being a young bunny going to school. I like it too much.

S: Why do you like it so much? I know you learn a lot of things at school every day and I know you like learning. But you can continue to learn outside of school. too.

C: True, I guess you are right. But at school you have friends–

S: You can make friends after school, too.

C: Yes, but school friends are the best! And at school, people tell you to do things, and you do them, and that is all the work you have. You do not have to earn money, save money, buy or rent a house, and all that adult stuff.

S: I get that, Caramel. Growing up can be hard. And this is exactly what this book is about, isn’t it?

C: Yeah, I guess that the Pigeon is very smart.

S: How so?

C: Well, he knows finishing school means he has to start making important decisions and taking care of more things and being careful about all kinds of details and so on.

S: That is very much true Caramel. But in the end he gathers up his courage and decides he is ready for whatever is coming his way, right?

C: Yes.

Caramel is reading Will the Pigeon Graduate? by Mo Willems. — Caramel is reading *Will the Pigeon Graduate?* by Mo Willems.

S: I am thinking this could be a really nice gift for someone finishing high school or elementary school or even college. What do you think?

C: Yep, I think in a couple of years, Marshmallow might like it. There is even a little place in the inside cover of the book for a photo of someone graduating. We could put Marshmallow’s picture there.

S: We could definitely do that. But we could also save it for you. You will also be graduating soon yourself.

C: Yes, but I am going to go to another school right after.

S: That still counts as moving to a bigger new world. That new school is bigger than your current one. And there will be a lot of changes.

C: Hmm, I am not sure I am ready for a lot of changes.

S: I know. We are not always ready but they come nonetheless. Anyways, there is still some time, but by the time that change comes, you will be ready. I am quite sure.

C: Hmm, I hope you are right, Sprinkles.

S: Remember how many years ago, you were about to change classrooms and get a new teacher and you were kind of anxious about it? We talked about it when we were discussing My Teacher Is A Robot.

C: Yeah, that was a good book. And I did end up liking my new teacher a lot. Okay, maybe you are right. Maybe I can handle some changes, just like the Pigeon.

S: Yay! That’s the right attitude Caramel! I think this is a perfect place to end this review.

C: Alright by me!

S: Okay, what would you like to tell our readers then?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Will the Pigeon Graduate? by Mo Willems and thinks this book would be a great gift for new graduates. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Will the Pigeon Graduate?* by Mo Willems and thinks this book would be a great gift for new graduates.

Caramel reviews Voyage to the Bunny Planet by Rosemary Wells

Today Caramel is talking to Sprinkles about Voyage to the Bunny Planet, a little book by Rosemary Wells, first published in 1992.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, today we are talking about a book about a planet of bunnies!

Caramel: Yep, something we would like!

S: Well, I quite like living on this planet.

C: Me, too. But it is also cool to think of a planet only for us, you know.

S: That is true. It might be fun to think about that… Okay so tell me what this book is about.

C: It is about three bunnies named Robert, Claire, and Felix, who are sad, and they dream about a planet called the bunny planet. On the bunny planet, there is a bunny, Janet the Bunny Queen, who helps them feel better about their day.

S: That sounds neat!

C: Yeah, it is a neat idea.

S: So they get to do a do-over of something that went wrong?

C: No, it is more like she helps them feel better by seeing things in different ways.

S: That makes sense. So do all three bunnies have a bad day at the same time? Are they friends? Do they know each other?

C: No, I don’t think so. The three bunnies each have their own stories. It looks like each story is independent, and maybe they were even published as separate books first, and they put them in one book here.

S: Yes, it does seem like it, Caramel. I saw online that there were three little books before this one, and this one brings all three together and adds a little bit to the beginning about Janet the Bunny Queen.

C: That makes total sense. The three bunnies’ stories are all separated, like different chapters. The first story is about Claire and is called “First Tomato”. The second is about Robert and it is called “Moss Pillows”. And the last one is called “The Island Light”, and that one is about Felix. So I can see how they were separate books first.

Caramel is reading Voyage to the Bunny Planet by Rosemary Wells. — Caramel is reading *Voyage to the Bunny Planet* by Rosemary Wells.

S: I think the author added an introduction about Janet the Bunny Queen for this collection. But it all seems to have worked out fine, right? It worked like a single book for you?

C: Yes. Of course this book is already quite short, so the three individual books must have been even shorter. But then again, it is a little book for little bunnies, so that makes sense, too.

S: Yes it does! And I think little bunnies can read them with a parent bunny or with an older sibling bunny, and they can read one story at a time. I can imagine how that could work for a nice nighttime reading.

C: Yeah, it would be a nice calming book to read, or be read to from, after a hard day. And every little bunny has a hard day every now and then.

S: Of course! Every bunny has a hard day sometimes. Remember Alexander, who had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day?

C: Yes! But that book went through the whole day, and everything did go bad for Alexander, and he kind of had a bad attitude about it, too, and it ended that way in the end, too. Here the unhappy bunnies end up happy.

S: I can see how someone who had a bad day can appreciate Alexander’s story, too. When you are really grumpy, you might want to continue to be grumpy and annoyed and feel like all is wrong with the world and sulk. But more generally, it is a good idea to be able to shift perspective and take a different look at things, and try to see them from more positive angles. Voyage to the Bunny Planet seems to be saying that.

C: Yes. You know, I kind of was angry at Alexander. He did get a bit too whiny when a lot of the time he was just unlucky. And there were no bunnies in that book. So I think I like this book a lot better.

S: I can understand that! Also, Alexander’s story does not end happily, and you like happy endings.

C: Yes, that is another reason why I like this book a lot more.

S: I am glad you found yet another book that you like Caramel! So this is a good time to wrap up this review, I think.

C: Yep, I agree.

S: What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Voyage to the Bunny Planet by Rosemary Wells and recommends it to all the little bunnies and their adults who had a bad day and want to curl up into a ball and read a bit of happiness into their day. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Voyage to the Bunny Planet* by Rosemary Wells and recommends it to all the little bunnies and their adults who had a bad day and want to curl up into a ball and read a bit of happiness into their day.