Caramel’s reviews – Page 2

Caramel reviews Spy School Goes East by Stuart Gibbs

Both little book bunnies are Stuart Gibbs fans. Caramel in particular has read and reviewed every single book in his Spy School series. So as you can expect, he was thrilled to learn that the fourteenth book in the series just came out last week! Below is his review of Spy School Goes East. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, today we get to talk about a brand new Spy School book!

Caramel: Yep, and I am happy to say I really liked it. So in this book they go east. And they have already gone north and south. So maybe they’ll go west next time!

S: Yeah, I wonder where “west” could be. Remind us where “north” and “south” were? And where is “east”?

C: So the events happened in Mexico in the south book, and the north book is about Alaska and Russia. And in this book, the story is taking place in China, specifically in a fictional place in China, it’s called Space City, but it also contains a few places that are real: Shanghai, the Great Wall, and the Gobi Desert. It also contains several non-existent companies, such as Sky-tech.

S: Cool! I also saw a map of sorts in the inside of the book.

C: Yes, there are in fact interesting things like that in this book. In the back there is also, I think, a journal or rather a travel log.

S: Is it supposed to be Ben Ripley’s travel log?

C: No, it is the author himself, who is explaining how he got the ideas for the places and the plot. He actually went to China to see what he was writing about. And that’s cool.

S: Agreed!

Caramel is reading Spy School Goes East by Stuart Gibbs. — Caramel is reading *Spy School Goes East* by Stuart Gibbs.

S: Okay, so tell us about the main story. Why is Spy School going to China?

C: So, in the previous book Spy School Blackout, the team were trying to figure out the worldwide blackouts. Then it turned out that their ‘friend’ Orion was in fact the guy behind it all, and they solved that mystery and saved the planet. But then they also learned that Erica Hale’s parents and grandparents had gone missing in China, where Orion had sent them, so now in this book, they go there to get them back.

S: Oh I see. And they meet a lot of new people, some friendly and some evil, I am assuming?

C: Yep, and we also meet a recurring character (I love those), Jessica Shang who first showed up in Spy Ski School, the daughter of the guy who tried to nuke Colorado. You might recall that she is also daughter of the lady who tried to destroy the Panama Canal (in Spy School at Sea), and the niece of the guy who tried to sell Ben into slavery (in Spy School Goes Wild).

S: Oh my! Her whole family is full of Ben’s enemies. But I seem to recall you had told us before that Jessica herself is actually quite nice. And she kind of likes Ben?

C: Yeah they are friends, and apparently Erica is Ben’s girlfriend now.

S: Oh, I see. But nothing mushy going on, right?

C: No, no mushiness. Erica and Ben are just partners solving mysteries and world problems together.

S: Cool. Okay, so did you enjoy this book?

C: Yes, I did. Very much. It was funny, and had some cool plot lines and hooks, as well as references to the other books in the series. Gotta love consistency among an author’s works! Tui Sutherland in Wings of Fire does this really well, too. Hint hint.

S: You will definitely get another one of those books in the coming months! But there may yet be another Spy School book as well. As you suggested, I am expecting a “going west” story some time.

C: Me too. And I’m assuming it will also be good.

S: And when it does come out, I am sure you will review it.

C: Yes I will!

S: Okay, Caramel, this is probably a good time to wrap up this review.

C: Yep, this is a school night after all…

S: Okay, what do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading Spy School Goes East by Stuart Gibbs and was thrilled to share his thoughts on it with the readers of the book bunnies blog. — Caramel loved reading *Spy School Goes East* by Stuart Gibbs and was thrilled to share his thoughts on it with the readers of the book bunnies blog.

Caramel reviews Game of Pets Book 1: The Boy Who Knew Too Much by Aaron Blabey

Caramel enjoyed Aaron Blabey’s The Bad Guys series and has reviewed the first three books in it: The Bad Guys, The Bad Guys in Mission Unpluckable, and The Bad Guys in the Furball Strikes Back. Today he is reviewing the first book of a new series by Blabey: Game of Pets: The Boy Who Knew Too Much, which was published just last week! As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, today we are talking about a brand new book from an author you have really enjoyed before.

Caramel: Yep, we are, Aaron Blabey is the person who created The Bad Guys books. And I really enjoyed those.

S: This is a different kind of book though. Those are almost like graphic novels, more or less, right? This one is more like a regular chapter book.

C: Yes, this seems to have more words, but not that much more.

S: Hmm, apparently there have been a total of twenty Bad Guys books; we only reviewed three of them. But now this one is the first book of a totally new series. Can you tell us a bit about it?

C: Yeah, sure. The book starts out like a game show, with an announcer saying it is called the Game of Pets, where a bunch of competitors are in control of millions of animals on earth, such as cats, dogs and other ‘pets’. By controlling the pets the competitors’ goal is to make their humans destroy their homes and as much of the planet Earth as possible.

S: Okay, that sounds weird. But please go on.

C: Yeah. So then it cuts to a child, a boy named Griff, who is allergic to everything, except fish and scaled creatures, but he’s scared of those.

S: Okay, I am guessing he will get a pet nonetheless.

C: Yes, he does! He finds an axolotl named Bob in the back of a pet store, and he for some reason really likes it.

S: You really like axolotls too, no?

C: Yeah, I even reviewed a little book named Max, A Little Axolot.

S: So you can sympathize with Griff.

C: A bit, yes. Anyways, it turns out that this axolotl isn’t a part of the Game of Pets, and he wants to save the world, and so he chose Griff to save the Earth with him.

Caramel is reading Game of Pets Book 1: The Boy Who Knew Too Much by Aaron Blabey. — Caramel is reading *Game of Pets Book 1: The Boy Who Knew Too Much* by Aaron Blabey.

S: Hmm, from what you told me, Griff does not seem like a great savior, but we read a lot of other books with unlikely heroes.

C: Yeah, definitely. Ben Ripley in the Spy School series, for example, is kind of like that. He is not athletic at all, and kind of clumsy. But he is extremely intelligent. Griff is also like this. And now that I think of it, Artemis Fowl is also kind of like that. So yes, a lot of heroes who are kind of weak but figure out things and solve problems and save the world and such. Hmm.

S: I think authors of books using this kind of hero try to give kids hope that even if you are not the strongest or the fastest kid, you can still make a difference. But of course the moral of the story is not the point. The point is the books are also a lot of fun. At least Artemis Fowl and Spy School books were very much so. Did you like this book too?

C: This is just the first book, so I am not sure yet if I will like it as much as those other series. But it is also pretty good. Definitely very funny and weird.

S: So when you told me about a game show which uses pets and humans on our planet, I thought of the other book series you are reading and reviewing for the book bunnies blog. The Dungeon Crawler Carl series also has a galactic game show, and outsiders are just watching poor humans struggle for their own pleasure.

C: Yeah, I can see the parallel. But of course the Carl books have a lot more pages, and they have only a couple pictures in them. The Game of Pets book is a lot more visual. Lots of pictures on each page.

S: Which makes them more appropriate for and appealing to younger bunnies of course.

C: Of course. The Carl books are not so appropriate for very young bunnies. This book, on the other hand, is written for us kiddos. I guess if you are a young bunny who might be scared of the idea of aliens trying to use pets to destroy the planet, maybe it is not a good book for you. But otherwise it is a funny book and fun to read.

S: I saw the very last page says “To be continued…” Does that mean it ends in a cliffhanger?

C: Kind of. The main events of the book are kind of explained and resolved but the epilogue introduces a new problem. And it involves an axolotl!

S: Hmm, so you just might have to read the next book.

C: Yep, I just might.

S: We will see, Caramel. For now, I think this is a good place to wrap up this review.

C: Sure.

S: What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Game of Pets Book 1: The Boy Who Knew Too Much by Aaron Blabey and is eager to read the second book in the series. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Game of Pets Book 1: The Boy Who Knew Too Much* by Aaron Blabey and is eager to read the second book in the series.

Caramel reviews Guapo’s Great Rescue: Clay Finds a Forever Home by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins

Last week Caramel reviewed Guapo’s Giant Heart: The True Story of The Calf Who Kept Growing, a picture book written by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins, and illustrated by Lara Calleja. Today he is talking about a second book about Guapo and his friends: Guapo’s Great Rescue: Clay Finds a Forever Home, written and illustrated by the same team and published originally in 2023. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

The book bunnies were sent a review copy of the book.

Caramel reviews Guapo’s Great Rescue: Clay Finds a Forever Home, written by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins, and illustrated by Lara Calleja. — Caramel reviews *Guapo’s Great Rescue: Clay Finds a Forever Home*, written by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins, and illustrated by Lara Calleja.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, we have a second Guapo story today.

Caramel: Yes we do. This is about a new animal joining the farm: a horse named Clay.

S: Let’s step back a bit. This book is about Guapo, a big steer in a rescue farm. We read and talked about the first book about his arrival to the farm.

C: Yes. In this book Guapo is all settled in but this time there is this new animal, Clay, who is joining them. But he is kind of distant and doesn’t want to play with the other animals. Guapo seems to understand that he is feeling lonely and scared, just like he did when he first arrived. So, eventually they make Clay realize they are friends, and the horse joins them.

S: That is nice, isn’t it?

C: Yep. Kind of like Clay is rescued twice. And kind of like “and they lived happily ever after!”

S: Yes. But did you know that the real-life Guapo has moved to Wyoming? At least this article that is a couple years old is saying that they were planning to move him and his friends at the farm to a new ranch in Wyoming, because California is kind of hot for him.

C: No, I didn’t know that! It is true that California can get warm sometimes.

S: Then again there used to be all those neat cheese commercials about great cheese coming from happy cows and happy cows coming from California!

C: Yeah, I love those! They are really funny! Especially the one which says “Ooh, foot massage!”

Caramel is reading Guapo’s Great Rescue: Clay Finds a Forever Home, written by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins, and illustrated by Lara Calleja. — Caramel is reading *Guapo’s Great Rescue: Clay Finds a Forever Home*, written by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins, and illustrated by Lara Calleja.

S: Okay, let us look at the book a bit more. So this one was written and illustrated by the same people from the first book. Did you notice that?

C: Yes! Guapo and his friends look exactly like they did in the first book.

S: What did you think about the pictures?

C: As before they are colorful and realistic. And there are a lot of children in this book, they come and play with the animals at the farm. They also have a chicken, a rooster, a few other horses, a pig and so on.

S: True. There are a lot of different animals on this farm!

C: And there is a bunny in this story too!

S: Yes, you are right!

C: So there is this bunny who jumps out of a bush and scares Clay. As we all know, bunnies can be fierce!

S: Really? Do you think so?

C: Of course! So this is a much better book than the first one!

S: Alright! We do like bunnies of course.

C: I mean, steers and chickens and goats are fine too. But of course, dragons are better. Then again, we have some time till we can review another book about dragons.

S: I think that is correct, Caramel. Maybe this is a good time to wrap up this review?

C: Why not?

S: So what do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Guapo’s Great Rescue: Clay Finds a Forever Home, written by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins, and illustrated by Lara Calleja, and recommends it to all young bunnies who enjoy stories about other animals. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Guapo’s Great Rescue: Clay Finds a Forever Home*, written by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins, and illustrated by Lara Calleja, and recommends it to all young bunnies who enjoy stories about other animals.

Caramel reviews Guapo’s Giant Heart: The True Story of The Calf Who Kept Growing by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins

Today Caramel is talking to Sprinkles about Guapo’s Giant Heart: The True Story of The Calf Who Kept Growing, a picture book written by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins, illustrated by Lara Calleja, and published in 2022. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

The book bunnies were sent a review copy of the book.

Caramel reviews Guapo’s Giant Heart: The True Story of The Calf Who Kept Growing, written by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins, and illustrated by Lara Calleja. — Caramel reviews *Guapo’s Giant Heart: The True Story of The Calf Who Kept Growing*, written by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins, and illustrated by Lara Calleja.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, today we have a story about rescue animals.

Caramel: Yes, we do, it is about a calf who starts out on a farm, but then a woman named Lynn comes and takes him from his mommy and siblings to her own farm. She names him Guapo.

S: Yes, it seems like the calf and his siblings would be given away or sold, and Lynn took one for her farm because she had room for only one calf. A lot of animals are separated from their parents early in their lives.

C: Yeah, but it is kind of unfair. I like living with my book bunnies family. And it would be sad to have to grow up without you all.

S: Yeah, I am also glad you are growing up with all of us Caramel! But maybe the calf was born into a situation where they could not take care of him. We are lucky that we have enough resources to live as a family and feed ourselves.

C: Yes, that is a very good thing.

S: Glad we agree! Okay, so let us get back to the book. Guapo grows up in Lynn’s farm, right?

C: Yes, until Lynn’s farm runs out of space. Then he is moved, again, to a new farm.

S: Yeah, he grows big, right? But he also makes friends on Lynn’s farm.

C: Yep. He is basically a little calf growing up with a lot of other animal friends. It actually sounds like it could be fun growing up with a whole lot of different animal friends. Putting aside the part that he does not have his family with him anymore.

S: Yes. I think we have to put that aside.

C: Okay.

Caramel is reading Guapo’s Giant Heart: The True Story of The Calf Who Kept Growing, written by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins, and illustrated by Lara Calleja. — Caramel is reading *Guapo’s Giant Heart: The True Story of The Calf Who Kept Growing*, written by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins, and illustrated by Lara Calleja.

S: So what happens next?

C: Then he moves to the new farm, but then he is all lonely again, because the animals in that farm don’t know him. All they see is a big bull. And so they are probably scared of him.

S: Yeah, that is sad too. He is very different from them. But eventually he makes friends again, right?

C: Yes! He is friendly, and at some point Lynn brings a little pot bellied pig that was Guapo’s friend from earlier, so the other animals in the new farm see that Guapo is kind and friendly and they eventually come around to being friendly with him too.

S: So at the end of the book we learn that this story is inspired by a real rescue calf named Guapo who then became a big bull. Were you surprised to learn that?

C: Yeah, I did not know that there were farms where different kinds of animals lived together like that. Like I thought there could be a couple horses and a couple cows and seven chickens and so on. But in this farm that Guapo ends up in, almost all animals are one of a kind. I guess they are all rescue animals. Somehow they could not continue to live where they had been living, so this place and other places like it collect them and give them a home.

S: Yeah, it is interesting, right?

C: Yup. And cool. Because all animals deserve a home.

S: I agree, Caramel. What did you think about the illustrations?

C: It is a nice picture book, and the animals look very real. So I liked them.

S: Yeah, and it is not quite fiction, apparently, and we both learned some things about rescue farms. So that is also good, no?

C: Yep!

S: So maybe this is a good time to wrap this up?

C: Sure!

S: What do you want to tell our readers then?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Guapo’s Giant Heart: The True Story of The Calf Who Kept Growing, written by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins, and illustrated by Lara Calleja, and recommends it to all young bunnies who are curious about the life of real rescue animals. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Guapo’s Giant Heart: The True Story of The Calf Who Kept Growing*, written by Janet Zappala and Wendy Perkins, and illustrated by Lara Calleja, and recommends it to all young bunnies who are curious about the life of real rescue animals.