Caramel’s reviews – Page 2

Caramel reviews Favorite Children’s Stories from China and Tibet by Lotta Carswell Hume

In these past few months Caramel has reviewed several books that collect together stories from various Asian traditions: Japanese Myths, Legends, and Folktales, Tamamo the Fox Maiden and Other Asian Stories, Chinese Myths and Legends: The Monkey King and Other Adventures, and Vietnamese Children’s Favorite Stories. Today he adds to this list another book: Favorite Children’s Stories from China and Tibet, written by Lotta Carswell Hume (1876-1976), illustrated by Lo Koon-Chiu (1918–2012), and originally published in 1962. The edition Caramel read was the 2004 edition. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Caramel reviews Favorite Children’s Stories from China and Tibet, written by Lotta Carswell Hume and illustrated by Lo Koon-Chiu. — Caramel reviews *Favorite Children’s Stories from China and Tibet*, written by Lotta Carswell Hume and illustrated by Lo Koon-Chiu.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, here we are, talking about another neat collection of stories!

Caramel: Yes, this one has stories from China and Tibet.

S: Tell me more.

C: Well, let me see. There are eighteen stories. Each of them is about three to seven pages long. And there are a lot of pictures. I really liked them!

S: Yeah, I saw that there are a lot of colorful illustrations. Apparently they were made by a Chinese artist named Lo Koon-Chiu.

C: That makes sense. Because a lot of the stories are Chinese. But the person who wrote them does not sound like a Chinese person. And I don’t know too many Tibetan names, but the author’s name does not sound Tibetan either.

S: You are right. The author was apparently from Baltimore, USA, and then got married and moved to Asia with her husband. She lived in China and India for decades, and her children got to hear a lot of traditional Chinese stories. So this is a collection she put together to share those stories with children who would read or be read to in English.

C: I see. Then she did not write the stories herself. That makes a lot more sense now.

S: Yeah, I was curious too, and then looked it all up. Anyways talk a bit about the stories. Can you tell which stories are from Tibet and which are from China?

C: Yes. There is a little note under the story title for each one. So there are five stories from Tibet. The rest are from China. But they separated those, too. Some are from West China, some from Southeast China, some from Central China, and so on.

S: Hmm, I guess that makes sense. China is a big country. Maybe they did not want to go into detail about the exact geography of China and give the province names and such.

C: I guess. But there are a lot more stories from China, so maybe they just split the Chinese stories so they would not look too uneven.

S: Interesting! That could be a good reason, too, Caramel.

Caramel is reading Favorite Children’s Stories from China and Tibet, written by Lotta Carswell Hume and illustrated by Lo Koon-Chiu. — Caramel is reading *Favorite Children’s Stories from China and Tibet*, written by Lotta Carswell Hume and illustrated by Lo Koon-Chiu.

S: Anyways, so why don’t you tell me more about the stories themselves?

C: Well, there is a story like Cinderella, and it is called A Chinese Cinderella, And there is this story about a woman who is called Mrs. Number Three who is an innkeeper.

S: That is a very strange name!

C: It is not her real name, but nobody knows her real name so they call her that. But the story is really interesting. Its name is “The Magic Pancakes at the Footbridge Tavern”. So as you can imagine, there are magic pancakes!

S: Oh, I know you love pancakes!

C: Yeah, but these are magic and you really don’t want to eat them.

S: Oh, that is interesting! I guess I just have to read the story to figure out what you mean.

C: Yep.

S: Okay, so that is two of the eighteen stories. What about the others?

C: A lot of the others are about animals. Like there is a Tibetan story about a tortoise and a monkey and another about some jackals and a tiger. And then there is another about a hungry wolf, and one about some mice.

S: Oh, that is interesting. Kind of like fables, I am guessing.

C: Yeah, kind of. But wait, it looks like the animal stories are almost all stories from Tibet. Some of the Chinese stories also have animals, but they also have people.

S: Very interesting observation, Caramel.

C: And then there are two stories like the ones we talked about before about how some things came to be the way they are. There is a story about how the rooster got its red crown and another about how the deer lost its tail. They are both from China.

S: I see. True, we did talk about such stories when you were reviewing Vietnamese Children’s Favorite Stories by Tran Thi Minh Phuoc. Apparently such stories were called “pourquoi” stories.

C: Oh, yes, I remember you said that last time.

S: Okay, so all in all it seems like you have enjoyed reading this book, right?

C: Yep!

S: Can you tell us if you have a favorite story?

C: No, I liked them all.

S: That is wonderful, Caramel. Okay, maybe this is 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 Favorite Children’s Stories from China and Tibet, written by Lotta Carswell Hume and illustrated by Lo Koon-Chiu, and recommends it to all the other little bunnies who enjoy reading or hearing short stories. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Favorite Children’s Stories from China and Tibet*, written by Lotta Carswell Hume and illustrated by Lo Koon-Chiu, and recommends it to all the other little bunnies who enjoy reading or hearing short stories.

Caramel reviews Ultimate Spy by H. Keith Melton

Today Caramel reviews Ultimate Spy by H. Keith Melton, published in 2002. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So what is this book about Caramel?

Caramel: This is about the equipment and weapons that spies use.

S: I see. After reading so many Spy School books, you needed to get to some of the facts!

C: Yep. You know me and facts. I like them.

S: Okay, so what kind of equipment and weapons are we talking about here?

C: Some of them are really cool gadgets, like the match box pistol.

S: Sounds like something out of a James Bond movie. What is the match box pistol?

C: Yes, it sounds like it’s from a movie and it does look like it, too. It basically looks like a metal match box, but a barrel can be attached, and it can shoot one bullet. So you can carry it around without anyone being suspicious that you are carrying a weapon. Or you could simply let it sit on a coffee table and they would not suspect anything.

S: I see. That is cunning.

C: Yes, it is, it’s crazy. There are so many little and big things that they have made that spies can use as secret weapons.

S: And these are real, not for movie sets and such?

C: Yep, they are all things that were used at some point.

S: Oh wait, you used the past tense. So these are real but maybe no longer classified, like the government no longer needs to keep them secret.

C: Yeah, at least I think so. The author is a historian and the foreword of the book is written by some real people from the intelligence world. Some guy named Richard Helms who was apparently a former director of the CIA and Markus Wolf who was the former head of the East German Foreign Intelligence Service, the HVA. This is the real CIA, the Central Intelligence Agency! And I didn’t know about the HVA, but now I do.

S: Wow! That is pretty cool. This all probably means that they have a lot of other cool stuff they are using these days, and we don’t know about them.

C: Yeah, most likely a lot. And this book was published all the way back in 2002, so definitely they must have a lot of new tools and gadgets that they are not telling us about.

S: I did notice that our copy is from 2002. There is apparently a newer edition, from 2015.

C: Oh, that is cool. Maybe that edition has a few new things. But this book was more than good enough; it definitely has enough neat things to keep me busy!

S: I can see that!

Caramel is reading Ultimate Spy by H. Keith Melton. — Caramel is reading *Ultimate Spy* by H. Keith Melton.

S: Okay, so tell me a bit more about the book.

C: Sure. The content is organized around some themes like Famous Spying Operations, World War II, Cold War, Post-Cold War Spying, and Equipment and Techniques. Under that last one, there are pages on Cameras, Secret Operations, Counterintelligence, Clandestine Communications, and Weapons. Finally there is a section on How To Be a Spy.

S: Hmm, it is interesting that there is some historical context to this all. And there are lots of big words in there. Did you know what “clandestine” means for example?

C: Of course. It means secret.

S: Of course, I should have guessed that. You are a little bunny with a huge vocabulary. Anyways, what else can you tell us about the book?

C: There are 206 pages. And there are many, many, many pictures on each page.

S: That makes sense. You’d want to see these gadgets of course!

C: Yeah, I definitely liked looking at them.

S: So what was your favorite gadget?

C: Probably the match box pistol, it’s small, even a bunny spy could carry it around!

S: Wait, are you interested in becoming a spy?

C: Not really. I was teasing you. It is too dangerous. But it is neat to read about them. And you know I love my Spy School books, so this book helps me put what is going on in those books into some context.

S: Alright, so maybe this is a good place to wrap up this review. You seem to have really enjoyed this book.

C: Yes. And yes.

S: So what would you like to tell our readers as we end this post?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Ultimate Spy by H. Keith Melton and learning about cool gadgets and some history, too. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Ultimate Spy* by H. Keith Melton and learning about cool gadgets and some history, too.

Caramel reviews Artificial Condition: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

A few months ago, Caramel reviewed All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. Today he reviews Artificial Condition, the second book in the Murderbot Diaries saga, written originally in 2018. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So here we are ready to talk about a new Murderbot Diaries book.

Caramel: Yeah, I like these books! This is the continuation of the first one, and I like it.

S: Okay, so maybe you can remind us a bit about what this is all about. Murderbot sounds kind of violent, like a technologically sophisticated and out-of-control killer robot.

C: It is sort of true. The main character calls himself Murderbot, and he is definitely able to kill, he just sort of doesn’t.

S: Yes, I remember. He actually calls himself Murderbot kind of tongue in cheek, like a personal inside joke. He could kill everyone, but he just does not want to. Kind of.

C: Yes, but he also is smart. He knows he is capable of killing humans, but also humans are very powerful and eventually they would capture him and melt him down. So even though humans sometimes really annoy him, he is kind of not going wild on a murderous rampage also because he does not want to die.

S: We keep saying “he” and “die” and “wants” and so on, almost humanizing him. This is a cyborg, a part-organic, part-robot creature, who has hacked his own governing module, so he has about as much free will as the humans around him.

C: Exactly. He has full control over his body and mind, and he enjoys watching soap operas instead of dealing with humans and killing things and so on. But he is a SecUnit, that means he is a security unit, his job is to defend the people who hire him, and so occasionally he has to fight.

S: In the first book, he joined a group of scientists who were surveying a planet searching for anything useful or interesting. We even ended up watching the TV series they made out of that book. I think you enjoyed that a lot.

C: Yes! I think it is more correct to say that we both enjoyed it.

S: True.

C: And this book takes over when that first book ended, and more or less where the first season of the TV show ends. Murderbot is now traveling on his own and he faces new enemies and makes new friends.

S: That sounds cool!

C: It is cool. There is a new character, a very powerful artificial intelligence, for example, and he is pretty cool. But he is annoying too, so Murderbot calls him ART in his mind. R and T stand for Research Transport, and A stands for a word I cannot say because I am a good little bunny who does not say bad words. (But don’t worry. There are not that many other bad words in the book.)

Caramel is reading Artificial Condition: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. — Caramel is reading *Artificial Condition: The Murderbot Diaries* by Martha Wells.

S: So it sounds like this book is quite fun too. Is it as fun as the first book?

C: Yes, maybe more fun, he is now a security advisor. And he still loves to watch his soap operas, but he is also a lot more interested in doing things, helping people, solving problems, and so on. And he is still very funny. And he makes a lot of funny sideways comments.

S: That is wonderful, Caramel. You know I still have not read the first book. I did enjoy the TV series though. And talking to you about this book makes me want to go back to that first book and read it after all. So then I can also read this one.

C: Can we maybe add the trailer?

S: We have included the trailer for the first season in your review of the first book. They do not seem to yet have the trailer for the second season, even though they apparently will have one.

C: Oh, okay. At least maybe our readers can go and check out that first trailer. The show is funny, and a lot funnier than the trailer.

S: Yes, the title “Murderbot” kind of turns off some people, but it is actually pretty funny and interesting.

C: I can see why people might not like the name, but it is not really that violent most of the time. Though there are some violent scenes. After all it is a SecUnit and has to fight sometimes.

S: Yes. Okay, maybe this is a good time to wrap up this review.

C: Sure, I can always go back to reading!

S: Sounds like a good idea. But before that, what would you like to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading Artificial Condition: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells and is looking to read many more books in this series in the coming weeks and months. — Caramel loved reading *Artificial Condition: The Murderbot Diaries* by Martha Wells and is looking to read many more books in this series in the coming weeks and months.

Caramel reviews Star Wars: Lost Stars by Claudia Gray

Today Caramel is reviewing a book recommended by a friend of the blog: Star Wars: Lost Stars, written by Claudia Gray and published in 2015. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: Finally we are talking about the space book you had promised us a couple weeks ago.

Caramel: Yes, it’s a Star Wars book this time.

S: What do you mean by that? Is it about the movies? You reviewed three books like that: Ultimate Star Wars: New Edition, Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles by Landry Q. Walker, and Star Wars: Complete Vehicles – New Edition. Or is it fiction about the Star Wars universe?

C: All those were cool! But this one is fiction.

S: Oh great! You have reviewed two fictional works about the Star Wars universe before: 5-Minute Star Wars Stories by LucasFilm Press and A Jedi You Will Be by Preeti Chhibber and Mike Deas. But according to Wikipedia, there are almost a million books about the Star Wars universe, and many of them, this one included, basically expand the universe with storylines touching the stories of the original three movies.

C: Yep, maybe not a million, but a lot! And this is one of them. It is what they call a “young adult” book. I am young but pretty far from being an adult.

S: Hmm, I can see it is a lot thicker than those two books you reviewed before and there are no illustrations or cute drawings.

C: No, unfortunately, it’s more of a romance thingy.

S: I guess when they call books “young adult”, sometimes romance shows up. And I know illustrations are always cool, and especially for space and technology related books, they would be really helpful.

C: Yeah, I wish it had drawings, too.

S: But you have also read many books without illustrations. Almost all the Wings of Fire books for example, not counting the graphic novelizations. So sometimes the story will still carry you along, because words help you see things too.

C: Yes, that is true.

S: Okay, so tell us a bit about the story itself. I understand we are in the Star Wars universe and there is some romance. But there has to be a story.

C: It’s about two people: a boy named Thane Kyrell and a girl named Ciena Ree. They live on an Imperial world. The boy is relatively rich and the girl is poorer. They become good friends and end up learning how to fly.

S: Okay, you will have to slow down for me a bit. An Imperial world, what do you mean by that?

C: It is a planet which is governed by the Galactic Empire. You remember the Galactic Empire from the movies?

S: Oh yes, I do. Okay, I cheated and looked it up: Wikipedia says that “[t]he book is set before, during, and after the events of the Star Wars original trilogy (A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi), in which the Galactic Empire has tightened its stranglehold on systems in the Outer Rim while the Rebel Alliance also grows in strength.”

C: Don’t cheat! You should read the book if you want to know that! But anyways, yes, that is correct.

S: Okay, so we know the setting, kind of. But they learn to fly? You mean space ships?

C: Yep, they fly space ships, mostly inside atmosphere ships. Then they get really good, and they sneak into a show of the empire, and grand moff Tarken is there. The moff finds them and can see that they have potential. They then sign up to join the Imperial Navy, also known as the space people. They are the people who fly the TIE fighters.

Caramel is reading Star Wars: Lost Stars by Claudia Gray. — Caramel is reading *Star Wars: Lost Stars* by Claudia Gray.

S: Wait, you are going way too fast for me. What is a show of the empire? And what is a moff?

C: They sort of just show off their power and ships.

S: Oh, kind of like a military parade or an air show?

C: Yeah, except more dictator-like.

S: Well, the empire is kind of authoritarian, so that adds up. Okay so what is a moff? Sounds like a military rank then.

C: it’s some sort of important military leader

S: I see. Then what happens?

C: Well, basically they are split up and one stays with the Empire while the other one joins the rebels.

S: Is that how it ends?

C: No, that is kind of in the middle.

S: I see; that is good. At least we have not given away too many plot secrets. But it sounds like an interesting tension, of two friends who take different sides in a very big conflict. The romance is between the two of them, I am assuming?

C: Yes, it is.

S: But from all that you are telling me, the romance is there, but the story could work even if we just assumed they were two very good friends who are facing the dilemma of choosing different paths.

C: Yep, and honestly I’d have preferred that.

S: I know you and Marshmallow do not love romance. But for many readers, that sometimes adds just some extra flavor. But it seems to me the Star Wars backdrop is actually quite engaging too.

C: Yes, but it is not really a backdrop. It is really like you are living in the time of the movies and the world is very real.

S: Okay, then. That sounds good to me. Would you recommend it to other bunnies who like the Star Wars universe?

C: Maybe bunnies older than elementary school because younger bunnies do not like the mushy stuff too much.

S: I can’t imagine which younger bunnies you are talking about!

C: Hmm, me neither.

S: Okay, let us leave it there then. But the story was cool, no?

C: Yeah, it was neat to learn about how they got into flying. And it was a story of love and betrayal. And that can be kind of epic, you know. And I always love to read about the Star Wars universe and the ships and such. It was cool for example that Thane and Ciena were flying TIE fighters and we have seen them in all the movies.

S: Yes, I can see how that could be neat. Okay, so maybe this is a good place to end this review. What would you like to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!