Caramel’s reviews – Page 27

Caramel reviews Oliver’s Great Big Universe by Jorge Cham

Caramel loves science and all sorts of factful books and documentaries. Today he is talking to Sprinkles about Oliver’s Great Big Universe by Jorge Cham, just published a couple weeks ago.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, tell us a bit about this book.

Caramel: This book is about a kid named Oliver. He is eleven and is starting middle school. He really likes science.

S: Kind of like you then, right?

C: Yes.

S: So is he anxious about starting a new school?

C: Yes he is. But he really really likes science, and he keeps talking about things he is learning. He talks about the universe, for example.

S: Tell me a fact he talks about that you did not know before.

C: He says the sun is squish-ploding.

S: What does that mean?

C: Essentially it means that the sun is squished by its huge gravity and then it explodes.

S: It keeps doing this?

C: Yes.

S: I wonder what the technical term for it is. Squish-ploding does not sound terribly technical. Anyways, what else did you learn?

C: If you lived in Mercury, you would be able to celebrate your birthday every three months!

S: I see. It is because the planet Mercury rotates around the sun much faster than our planet Earth?

C: Yep. Much faster.

Caramel is reading Oliver's Great Big Universe by Jorge Cham. — Caramel is reading *Oliver’s Great Big Universe* by Jorge Cham.

S: Okay, so I am guessing you like this book because it is full of facts.

C: Yes.

S: But it is not just a book of facts, is it? It is also about Oliver and how he is adjusting to his new school.

C: Yes.

S: Do you like Oliver?

C: Yes, he is cool. He knows a lot of scientific facts. In fact he wants to become an astrophysicist.

S: That is cool. So besides the science facts, is Oliver’s own story interesting, too?

C: Yes. He makes a friend eventually.

S: So I am guessing that this means the book has a happy ending.

C: Yep. Another reason why I liked the book!

S: I see. So if you were to describe the book in three words or so, how would you do that?

C: Factful, hilarious, science fun.

S: I think those work! So do you think any bunny could read this book and enjoy it?

C: I think so. There are many many funny pictures on each page, and I think the science is fun, but getting to know Oliver is really funny, too.

S: Yes, the author is the creator of a very successful web comic called Piled Higher and Deeper (also called PhD Comics). He was working on his doctoral degree at Stanford University when he began to publish these comic strips about graduate student life. Some of them are more like inside jokes than others, but a lot of them are really really hilarious.

C: I didn’t know that! But I can see he knows how to draw very funny things.

S: So I was curious about this book and now I know it is good. Thank you for sharing your thoughts about it. I will definitely want to read it myself too.

C: You should Sprinkles. I think you will really like it too.

S: I bet. So let us wrap up this review so I can grab the book from your paws and get started. What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Oliver's Great Big Universe by Jorge Cham and recommends it to all young bunnies who are curious about the world (and the universe!) around them. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Oliver’s Great Big Universe* by Jorge Cham and recommends it to all young bunnies who are curious about the world (and the universe!) around them.

Caramel reviews The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown

Last year Caramel reviewed The Wild Robot and The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown, and ended his review of the second book wishing that “maybe there will be more stories about Roz or other friendly robots”. His hopes have come true, and today Caramel talks about The Wild Robot Protects, the third book about the Wild Robot, Roz, and her friends, published just this past week. As usual, Sprinkles is asking questions and taking notes.

Sprinkles: So you were surprised when you got this book in the mail, right, Caramel?

Caramel: Yes. Very happily surprised. I did not know there would be a third book about Roz, but I definitely very much wanted there to be.

S: So it was a good surprise. I like those! So let us talk about it then. Can you tell us a bit about what this book is about?

C: This book is about Roz, the Wild Robot.

S: Why is she called that? Can you remind our readers?

C: Because she speaks with animals and is friends with them.

S: Does she communicate with humans too?

C: She can, but she tends to hang out with animals more than humans. Because the humans called her defective and wanted to destroy her.

S: So she ran away?

C: No. In the beginning, in The Wild Robot, she had been on a boat that crashed and the box she was in floated to an island. Otters activated her by mistake, and then she began to communicate and make friends with the animals on the island.

S: I see. I think I remember now. So what happens in this book?

C: A seal comes to land and warns them about a “poison tide”.

S: So a tide is coming that will be carrying poison?

C: That is what everyone ends up believing so all birds leave the island except the flock of geese, an owl, and a vulture.

S: Hmm, it sounds like we are going into a lot of detail here. So let us move up a bit in perspective. So the book is about the Wild Robot trying to protect her animal friends from this tide?

C: Yep.

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

S: I think you really liked the first two books about Roz and her friends, and it was not only because you love robots and animals but also because the books were happy, right?

C: Yup, and they made me happy.

S: So how about this one? Would you say that The Wild Robot Protects is a happy book? Did it also make you happy?

C: It made me happy, yes, but it is not a totally happy book actually. It makes a good point about climate change.

S: Hmm, So I am guessing the poison tide is related to climate change.

C: Not quite, but at some point, Roz says “Can you believe that I have to convince humans why their own environment is important?”

S: I see. So the book is not directly about climate change, but it makes the case that environment is important to our well-being.

C: Yes. I think I said that too.

S: Yes, I just rephrased what you said. So all in all, you loved the chance to read more about Roz and her friends, right?

C: Yes. And while we were looking up the publication date of the book, we saw that there might be an animated movie about Roz some day. I was very very excited! I said, this I gotta see!

S: Yes, I would like to see it too. So let us wrap things up. Can you describe the book in about three words?

C: Amazing robot friend.

S: I like that! Okay, thank you Caramel for sharing your thoughts on this book. What would you like to tell our readers as we end this review?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown and hopes once more that there will be more adventures for Roz and her friends to come. — Caramel loved reading *The Wild Robot Protects* by Peter Brown and hopes once more that there will be more adventures for Roz and her friends to come.

Caramel reviews Star Wars: Complete Vehicles – New Edition

As it must be obvious by now, Caramel loves the Star Wars universe. And he has already reviewed a few related books for the book bunnies blog. (You might enjoy his reviews of Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles by Landry Q. Walker, Ultimate Star Wars: New Edition, and 5-Minute Star Wars Stories by LucasFilm Press, if you have the time.) Today he reviews a 2021 book he received this week as a gift: Star Wars: Complete Vehicles, written by Kerrie Dougherty, Jason Fry, Pablo Hidalgo, David West Reynolds, Curtis Saxton, and Ryder Windham, and illustrated by Richard Chasemore, Hans Jenssen, John Mullaney, Kemp Remillard, and Jon Hall. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, you seem to have found yet another book about Star Wars, and also about spaceships!

Caramel: Yep, I have. I am a lucky bunny!

S: I can see you are happy. So tell me a bit about this book.

C: Sure. It is a book about the ships in the Star Wars universe. So they have one or two pages about every single spaceship that appears in all the movies and each of the series, animated or not. Most of them are spread over two pages actually, and for each vehicle, there is a big cross sectional sketch of the inside of the vehicle, and then some text that gives a lot of facts about it, too.

S: I can see why you would love this book!

C: Yes, I guess I am a simple bunny with simple taste. I just like everything with Star Wars or spaceships or robots in it.

S: So tell me about your favorite ships then.

C: I think my favorite is the vulture droid, no question. Wait, no that is my second favorite. My real very first favorite is the Treadspeeder. It is a First Order ship, and it is a speeder, which means it goes on land.

S: Hmm, I can see it has a tank-like appearance but is for individual use.

C: Yes. And so I posed with that page open, so our readers can see it too.

Caramel is reading Star Wars: Complete Vehicles - New Edition, written by Kerrie Dougherty, Jason Fry, Pablo Hidalgo, David West Reynolds, Curtis Saxton, and Ryder Windham, and illustrated by Richard Chasemore, Hans Jenssen, John Mullaney, Kemp Remillard, and Jon Hall. He is looking at the page on the treadspeeder, his favorite Star Wars vehicle. — Caramel is reading *Star Wars: Complete Vehicles – New Edition*, written by Kerrie Dougherty, Jason Fry, Pablo Hidalgo, David West Reynolds, Curtis Saxton, and Ryder Windham, and illustrated by Richard Chasemore, Hans Jenssen, John Mullaney, Kemp Remillard, and Jon Hall. He is looking at the page on the treadspeeder, his favorite Star Wars vehicle.

S: Hmm, so what about the vulture droid?

C: Well it is a flying object, but it is also a droid …

S: So more like a robot.

C: Yes.

S: And you love robots, so I can see why you would love a droid, but why this one?

C: It’s a ship and a walker, so essentially a two-in-one thing, and it is just cool, you know?

S: I can see that. Okay. So if you were to summarize this book in three words, what would you say?

C: Blueprint-full, Star Wars-y, hmm…

S: I think you are just making up words now.

C: Yes.

S: Okay, how about a phrase or something that describes the book?

C: Amazing! Cool space ships and cool speeders, and cool other Star Wars stuff.

S: I see. All around cool then.

C: Yep.

S: I can see you really enjoyed this book Caramel. I am glad. Okay, let us wrap up this review. What would you like to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loves reading Star Wars: Complete Vehicles - New Edition, written by Kerrie Dougherty, Jason Fry, Pablo Hidalgo, David West Reynolds, Curtis Saxton, and Ryder Windham, and illustrated by Richard Chasemore, Hans Jenssen, John Mullaney, Kemp Remillard, and Jon Hall, and recommends it strongly to any other hard-core Star Wars fans, as well as any other bunnies who like to think about spaceships. — Caramel loves reading *Star Wars: Complete Vehicles – New Edition*, written by Kerrie Dougherty, Jason Fry, Pablo Hidalgo, David West Reynolds, Curtis Saxton, and Ryder Windham, and illustrated by Richard Chasemore, Hans Jenssen, John Mullaney, Kemp Remillard, and Jon Hall, and recommends it strongly to any other hard-core Star Wars fans, as well as any other bunnies who like to think about spaceships.

Caramel reviews The Great Texas Dragon Race by Kacy Ritter

Caramel loves dragons and has read and reviewed several books about them for the book bunnies blog through the years. Today he talks to Sprinkles about a new book about dragons: The Great Texas Dragon Race by Kacy Ritter, published in 2023. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

The book bunnies received this book as a review copy.

Caramel reviews The Great Texas Dragon Race by Kacy Ritter. — Caramel reviews *The Great Texas Dragon Race* by Kacy Ritter.

Sprinkles: Can you start by telling us a bit about the book?

Caramel: This is a fiction book about a thirteen-year-old dragon rider named Cassidy Drake and her dragon Ranga.

S: I can see it is fiction! So this is a girl who is riding a dragon, and from the title, I am guessing that there is a race involved.

C: Yes. She wants to participate in the Great Texas Dragon Race and then she tries to win it.

S: I see. So the story is actually taking place in this continent, and there is still a place named Texas. But I don’t think there are dragons in our Texas.

C: No. I said it was fiction!

S: I see. Okay, I’ll be quiet. Go on.

C: So Cassidy’s family owns a dragon ranch, and Ranga is one of their dragons. It is like an animal shelter, except for dragons.

S: Kind of reminds me of The Menagerie.

C: Yeah, except that everyone knows about dragons in this book. In The Menagerie, the magical creatures were kind of a secret to most people.

S: Okay. So are the dragons magical here too?

C: Yes. They can breathe fire and they can fly. Of course. But they don’t talk. They are like giant dogs, like big friendly pets. Well, not all of them are friendly. But Ranga is.

S: I see. So tell me a bit more about the race. Is it common for young people like Cassidy to race in it?

C: No. I think she is the youngest. But she really wants to do it because her family needs the prize money. It is a lot of money.

S: I see. So does Cassidy face some obstacles trying to get into the race and then while in the race?

C: Yes, exactly.

Caramel is reading The Great Texas Dragon Race by Kacy Ritter. — Caramel is reading *The Great Texas Dragon Race* by Kacy Ritter.

S: So tell me a bit more about the book. Who is narrating the story?

C: Cassidy herself is narrating. So it is all in first person. And it is all in present tense.

S: Oh, that probably makes things sound more urgent and exciting, right?

C: Yes it is very exciting.

S: So would “exciting” be one of your words to describe the book?

C: Yes. So I’d describe it as “an exciting adventure with dragons”.

S: It sounds like this was just the right fit for you!

C: Yup. I wish the author would write more about Cassidy and Ranga.

S: I am sure you would read that book too.

C: Yup.

S: I think you really enjoyed this book. You grabbed it from my paws as soon as it arrived and then you did not put it down until you finished. So did you like Cassidy? Did you like Ranga? Would you have liked to fly with them?

C: I liked them, but I am not sure I’d fly with them. It can be dangerous for a little bunny. They also don’t seem to be the safest flyers in the world. But they are the fastest!

S: Hmm, are you telling me that they win the race?

C: No. I am not spoiling anything. Don’t push me!

S: Okay, I won’t. So maybe we should wrap things up. What would you like to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading The Great Texas Dragon Race by Kacy Ritter and hopes that there will be more books about these characters. — Caramel loved reading *The Great Texas Dragon Race* by Kacy Ritter and hopes that there will be more books about these characters.