Caramel’s reviews – Page 44

Caramel reviews The Lost Continent (Book Eleven of the Wings of Fire series) by Tui Sutherland

Caramel has been infatuated with the Wings of Fire series for a while now. He has already reviewed the graphic novelizations of the first five books for the book bunnies blog. You can check out his reviews of The Dragonet Prophecy, The Lost Heir, The Hidden Kingdom, The Dark Secret, and The Brightest Night. But then he could not stop himself from wanting to read more. As the rest of the series has not been published in graphic novel form just yet, Caramel has been looking into the original series more carefully these days. Earlier this year he reviewed the first book The Dragonet Prophecy. And today he jumps ahead and talks about Book Eleven: The Lost Continent. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking followup questions.

Caramel reviews The Lost Continent (Book Eleven of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland. — Caramel reviews *The Lost Continent* (Book Eleven of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland.

Sprinkles: So Caramel I know you really wanted to talk about this book. So let us do that.

Caramel: Okay. This is about a new continent on the same world that we were in in the first five books. That continent was called Pyrrhia. Apparently the first ten books are there. But this eleventh book takes us somewhere new. A new continent named Pantala.

S: So is Pantala the lost continent in the title?

C: Yes.

S: How is it lost?

C: Dragons in Pyrrhia and dragons from Pantala have not seen each other for thousands of years. So Pantala is kind of lost to Pyrrhia.

S: I see.

C: The dragons in Pantala are different. They have four wings instead of two, like the ones in Pyrrhia. They also don’t breathe fire or venom or ice, unlike the dragons in Pyrrhia. There are seven tribes of dragons in Pyrrhia: MudWings, SandWings, RainWings, SkyWings, IceWings, SeaWings, and NightWings. But in Pantala, there are only three: HiveWings, SilkWings, and LeafWings.

S: I see. Now I understand why you could jump right ahead and start reading this book before reading books 6-10.

C: Yes. But I do want to read those too. Some time. It’s just that it was easier to get my paws on this book. My school library had a copy.

S: I know. Aren’t school libraries awesome?

C: YES!!!

Caramel is reading The Lost Continent (Book Eleven of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland. — Caramel is reading *The Lost Continent* (Book Eleven of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland.

S: Okay, so Wikipedia tells me that there are three different story arcs in the Wings of Fire series. The Dragonet Prophecy was the one involving the first five books. That ended with a view towards Jade Mountain, and the next five books belong to the Jade Mountain Prophecy arc. And then this book, The Lost Continent, starts a third arc, around the Lost Continent Prophecy. You told us what the Dragonet Prophecy was in your review of the very first book. Can you tell us what the Lost Continent Prophecy is?

C: Sure. Let me read it to you:

Turn your eyes, your wings, your fire
To the land across the sea
Where dragons are poisoned and dragons are dying
And no one can ever be free.
A secret lurks inside their eggs.
A secret hides within their book.
A secret buried far below
May save those brave enough to look.
Open your hearts, your minds, your wings
To the dragons who flee from the Hive.
Face a great evil with talons united
Or none of the tribes will survive.
The Lost Continent Prophecy

S: Oooh, that is interesting! What do you think it means?

C: I don’t know really. But I’m pretty sure the Hive and the talons united are talking about the HiveWings. They enslaved the SilkWing and most likely killed off the LeafWings. And it seems like the prophecy is telling the dragons of Pyrrhia to come save the oppressed dragons of Pantala.

S: Hmm, that will be neat. I can see why you might be so intrigued by these books. Okay, so tell me about some of the dragons in The Lost Continent. Are there some that you liked?

C: Yes. I liked Cricket and Luna. Cricket is a HiveWing, and Luna is a SilkWing. I also like Blue and SwordTail. They are both SilkWings. They are all friends. There is a queen, Queen Wasp, and she is the leader of all dragons of Pantala, and the four friends want to get rid of her, because she is evil. She can control the minds of all HiveWings, except for Cricket, and I don’t know why. But that is why I like Cricket.

S: That is interesting.

C: Also I want to explain something about SilkWings called flamesilk. SilkWing can make silk webs and even clothing and bridges with their silk. And some of them are mutated and their silk is red and glows and can sometimes burns things. That is called flamesilk. Queen Wasp uses their flamesilk to create light bulbs.

S: Very creative! This was a pretty big book too, and yet you read it twice already and are itching to read the next ones in the series. But I think it might be a good idea to slow down a bit and go back to the second arc before diving into the twelfth book. At least it seems like that might be prudent, from the things I am reading online.

C: I know. It seems that some dragons in Pyrrhia know about Pantala and that comes up in those books. But I am not sure I can wait!

S: You might have to. We will see. So coming back to The Lost Continent, what three words would you use if you wanted to describe the book?

C: Exciting, suspenseful, and intriguing.

S: Three good words Caramel. I can see you really liked this book. So let us wrap up this review so you can continue rereading it. What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading The Lost Continent (Book Eleven of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland, and is itching to read more from this series. — Caramel loved reading *The Lost Continent* (Book Eleven of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland, and is itching to read more from this series.

Caramel reviews Opposites Abstract by Mo Willems

Caramel has been a Mo Willems fan forever. He has already reviewed a book from his Pigeon series, another from his Elephant and Piggie series, and yet another from his Unlimited Squirrels series for the book bunnies blog. When Sprinkles heard about a new book by Mo Willems offering a different kind of art, she wanted to see what Caramel would think of the book. Below is Caramel’s review of Opposites Abstract. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, I know you loved all the pigeon stories of Mo Willems, and you even reviewed one for our blog. Now Willems has written a book for baby bunnies and other young ones called Opposites Abstract. And you have read it just recently. Can you tell our readers a bit about the book? What is it about? How is it organized?

Caramel: It starts inside the front cover by saying “This is STARTING”, and in the end, on the very last page, it says “This is FINISHED”. All pages have either a picture or three words. The pictures are very colorful and the words are like this: “Is this DARK?” or “Is this MECHANICAL?” or “Is this SOFT?”

S: So it seems like one of those books you and I used to read together and look at the pages and learn about opposites.

C: Yes. I think that is the idea.

S: So what are some examples of opposites from the book?

C: I already told you about STARTING and FINISHED. Another was DARK and LIGHT. The opposite of MECHANICAL is ORGANIC, and the opposite of SOFT is HARD.

S: SOFT / HARD and DARK / LIGHT are quite standard in this kind of a book, but the STARTING / FINISHED one is a good one. I also did not see MECHANICAL / ORGANIC in this kind of book before.

C: There is more that is not that typical. There is the INDIVIDUAL and the GROUP. And INCLUSION and EXCLUSION.

S: Those are interesting choices. What kind of picture is drawn for the INDIVIDUAL and the GROUP?

C: The picture of the INDIVIDUAL is like an eye, a single circle, it could also be a head, or a little dandelion. And the GROUP has many many circles and they are all connected to one another.

S: I can see how that is an abstraction of the idea of a group of people, being connected to one another, and the other one is all alone, but also bigger and in the center. That is cool.

C: But some of the circles in the GROUP are bigger than the others, too. Maybe it is kind of like “all animals are equal but some animals are more equal”.

S: I see what you did! We should put a link to Marshmallow’s review of The Animal Farm here.

C: Yep.

Caramel is reading Opposites Abstract by Mo Willems. — Caramel is reading *Opposites Abstract* by Mo Willems.

S: I know you like mechanical things. What did you think of the picture for MECHANICAL?

C: It was interesting. There are pulleys, and a rectangular pulley system, and kind of looks like there is some mechanical production going on. Circles on the end of the pulleys and lights.

S: What is the opposite picture like then?

C: The opposite is ORGANIC. There are ovals, they look like cells or single-cell organisms.

S: So they look more alive and organic, I suppose.

C: Yep, and that is the word: ORGANIC. O-R-G-A-N-I-C.

S: That is neat! I am guessing you will not forget how to spell “organic” ever again. Anyways, what did you think of the pictures?

C: I think they are awesome. They are very colorful and they fit the word they are supposed to describe. Sometimes it takes me a while to think about them, but I do see them in the end.

S: I know, right? They are just ripe for discussion. So I can see an adult bunny reading this together with a young bunny and them talking about each picture together. There is a lot to open up.

C: Yes, you and I did talk a bunch about each picture. The word CALM reminded you of a book I reviewed before, and when you told me that, I remembered it was Albert’s Quiet Quest by Isabelle Arsenault. So much to think about and talk about!

S: So do you think other young bunnies would like to read this book with their adults?

C: YES!

S: Okay, so tell me your three words for the book and then we can wrap this up.

C: Colorful, wordless–

S: I guess you could say “sparse”.

C: Sparse works. And “opposites”. It is full of them!

S: I think that would work. So what do you want to tell our readers as we wrap up this review?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading Opposites Abstract by Mo Willems and will likely keep looking at its colorful pages for a lot more times in the coming weeks and months. — Caramel loved reading *Opposites Abstract* by Mo Willems and will likely keep looking at its colorful pages for a lot more times in the coming weeks and months.

Caramel reviews The Battle of the Labyrinth: The Graphic Novel by Rick Riordan

All three of the book bunnies enjoy reading the many books of Rick Riordan based on various mythologies. Caramel has already reviewed for the book bunnies blog the graphic novel versions of the first three books of Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Today he talks about the fourth book, the graphic novel version of The Battle of the Labyrinth. As usual Sprinkles is asking questions and taking notes.

(Before continuing, you might want to check out Caramel’s reviews of The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, and The Titan’s Curse.)

Caramel reviews The Battle of the Labyrinth: The Graphic Novel by Rick Riordan, adapted by Robert Venditti, with Orpheus Collar, Antoine Dodé, and Chris Dickey. — Caramel reviews *The Battle of the Labyrinth: The Graphic Novel* by Rick Riordan, adapted by Robert Venditti, with Orpheus Collar, Antoine Dodé, and Chris Dickey.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, I know you had misplaced your copy of The Battle of the Labyrinth and only recently got your paws on it again. How did it feel rereading it after so many weeks? Or months?

Caramel: It felt good! I missed my book!

S: So it is worth the rereading, I can see that. Can you tell us what it is about?

C: It’s about Percy Jackson. We met him before in all the other books of the series.

S: Yes, you reviewed the first three books already.

C: And Marshmallow did too. She read the original books. And I reviewed the graphic novels.

S: Actually you read the original books, too, right?

C: Yes. I did. But I like the graphic novels a lot more. I like looking at the pictures, and they arw so much more full of action!

S: I can see that. And yes, the graphic novel format brings the people alive somehow. Right?

C: Yes.

S: Okay, let’s assume we all read the first three books and know Percy is a demigod, that is, a son of the Greek god Poseidon, and he is on a quest to save the world from Kronos, one of the titans, who is trying to take over and overthrow the Olympian gods. Can you tell us what is happening in this book?

C: Percy and his friend Annabeth find the labyrinth. You know the labyrinth, right?

S: What should I know about it?

C: It is Daedalus‘s lab more or less, but it is a living thing, it keeps changing, and popping up new branches, and moving around underground. And Daedalus is a son of Athena, and he is a genius, and his labyrinth is a work of genius.

S: Okay, so why do Percy and Annabeth want to find it?

C: They don’t. They just accidentally fall into it. And then they realize how important it is. And there is a battle. Of the labyrinth. As you could imagine, given the title of th book.

Caramel is reading The Battle of the Labyrinth: The Graphic Novel by Rick Riordan, adapted by Robert Venditti, with Orpheus Collar, Antoine Dodé, and Chris Dickey. — Caramel is reading *The Battle of the Labyrinth: The Graphic Novel* by Rick Riordan, adapted by Robert Venditti, with Orpheus Collar, Antoine Dodé, and Chris Dickey.

S: So on one side of this battle are Percy and his friends, I can imagine.

C: And the gods, of course.

S: Okay, and on the other side?

C: The titans, and of course, Kronos who is leading them.

S: Hmm, and since this is the fourth book in a series of five, I am assuming that there is still a lot left for our heroes to do by the end?

C: Yup, but this one does end with some sort of a conclusion to a part of the story. So you leave the book satisfied but wanting also to read the next one. Of course.

S: Of course. I found it really interesting that the labyrinth shows up in many of the other books. It shows up in the Trials of Apollo series, for example.

C: Oh, but you are not supposed to give things away!

S: Oops! Okay, you are right. Then maybe I should stop talking. Why don’t you tell us your three words for the book?

C: Exciting, thrilling, and suspenseful.

S: Hmm, those are all pretty cool words Caramel! And I agree, they fit this book well. Okay, let us wrap up our review then. What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunnies reviews!

Caramel loved reading The Battle of the Labyrinth: The Graphic Novel by Rick Riordan, adapted by Robert Venditti, with Orpheus Collar, Antoine Dodé, and Chris Dickey, and he is looking forward to the fifth and last book in the series. — Caramel loved reading *The Battle of the Labyrinth: The Graphic Novel* by Rick Riordan, adapted by Robert Venditti, with Orpheus Collar, Antoine Dodé, and Chris Dickey, and he is looking forward to the fifth and last book in the series.

Caramel reviews Cleopatra in Space: Queen of the Nile by Mike Maihack

Today Caramel reviews the sixth and last book in Mike Maihack’s graphic novel series Cleopatra in Space: Queen of the Nile. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

(Caramel already reviewed the first book Target Practice, the second book The Thief and the Sword, the third book Secret of the Time Tablets, the fourth book The Golden Lion, and the fifth book Fallen Empire in the series.)

Caramel reviews Cleopatra in Space: Queen of the Nile by Mike Maihack. — Caramel reviews *Cleopatra in Space: Queen of the Nile* by Mike Maihack.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, end of an era, you finally read the last book in the Cleopatra in Space series.

Caramel: Yes.

S: So tell us about it.

C: Queen of the Nile is the name of the book. It’s about Cleo learning that her mom was able to do the pink fire thingy. I’m not sure what it is exactly. But what it means is that everyone in her family who could do that thing could be the person to fulfill the prophecy.

S: Ooh, so can you remind us what the prophecy was?

C: She is supposed to save the galaxy from the evil rule of Xaius Octavian. But now we learn that all her descendants and ancestors could also be the savior. And in the end that is kind of what happens.

S: Hmm, that is not terribly clear, and I’m intrigued. But I am not going to ask you to open it up too much more because I’m afraid it will lead us to spoilers.

C: Yes, but you can feel good that the books end well.

S: That is good to know. And does Cleo eventually go back to her own time?

C: Yes, but all I’ll tell you is that she will go back when she defeats her enemy. And people think she dies in the battle, but then they look at their history books. And the rest is history, as they say.

Caramel is reading Cleopatra in Space: Queen of the Nile by Mike Maihack. — Caramel is reading *Cleopatra in Space: Queen of the Nile* by Mike Maihack.

S: So you enjoyed this last book, right?

C: Yes. a lot. It wrapped up the story really well. But I’m still wondering if there will be a seventh book.

S: Well, this one is supposed to be the last of the series. But as far as I understand, the animated TV series has gone to a third season. Apparently they do not follow the books very closely but you get to see Cleo and her friends figuring things out.

C: I liked the episodes we watched. Maybe I can convince you to watch more of them?

S: Hmm, we will see. So tell me your three words to describe this book.

C: Colorful, exciting, and suspenseful!

S: Ooh, that is good! So interesting things happen in this one!

C: Yes! Very much so. Lots of action and lots of things happen. It is over two hundred pages of action and fun!

S: That sounds good! So will you be reading and rereading this book, too?

C: Yep, I already read it ten times! Or maybe thirteen, not sure.

S: That is a lot. Both you and Marshmallow like rereading books! Okay, I can see you are getting into the book again, and will likely dive into your fourteenth read. So let us wrap this up. What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Cleopatra in Space: Queen of the Nile by Mike Maihack and will miss the characters from the series. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Cleopatra in Space: Queen of the Nile* by Mike Maihack and will miss the characters from the series.