Caramel reviews the graphic novel version of The Brightest Night (Book Five of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland (with art work by Mike Holmes).
Caramel has already reviewed the graphic novel versions of the first four books of Tui Sutherland’s Wings of Fire series; below he shares his thoughts on the fifth book in the series, published recently as a graphic novel: The Brightest Night. As in the first four graphic novelizations, this book is adapted by Barry Deutsch and Rachel Swirsky, art work is by Mike Holmes, color is by Maarta Laiho.
In the following Sprinkles is taking notes and is asking questions.
C: Yup. This is the fifth and last book of the prophecy series. So that was cool! Sunny found her mom and dad, and a lot of things are now clear.
S: Tell me about that. So does the prophecy story tie up well?
C: Yes. All the dragonets are well and things are all tied up well. They even set up a school at Jade Mountain.
S: So the five books tell a good story all together, right?
C: Yes.
S: Now that you read all five as graphic novels, will you go back and read the original five as well?
C: I am more curious about the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth books!
S: Hmm, maybe you should read the original books before we dive into the full series?
C: It is so hard to wait though…
S: Okay, we can talk about that later. For now, tell me if the author leaves any doors open for the following books.
C: Yes. I think the next five books are about Jade Mountain.
S: Hmm, I see. Wikipedia tells us that the second story arc is called the Jade Mountain Prophecy.
C: Yes, I want to read those too!
Caramel is reading The Brightest Night (the graphic novel version of Book Five of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland and Mike Holmes.
S: Okay, so then we an conclude that you liked this fifth book.
C: Yes.
S: So what three words would you use to describe it?
C: Colorful, exciting, and NightWings. Those are all over the place in this book.
S: Okay, I guess we can accept that. So who is your favorite character in the book?
C: Well, I like all of them. Thorn, Sunny, Clay, Tsunami, Glory, and Peril. All the main dragons. And Starflight. He is also a main character, and I like him too.
S: Hmm, so that is not being too selective.
C: Well, I do like all of them. They are all so interesting!
S: Okay, then. I guess we will let that be. And probably this is a good place to wrap things up. What do you want to tell our readers?
C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!
Caramel enjoyed reading The Brightest Night (the graphic novel version of Book Five of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland and Mike Holmes. He might now need to go back to the original books to satisfy his curiosity about what is next.
Today Caramel talks about InvestiGATORS, written and illustrated by John Patrick Green. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.
Caramel reviews InvestiGATORS by John Patrick Green.
Sprinkles: So Caramel, it seems that you found yourself a new graphic novel!
Caramel: Yep.
S: So tell me a bit about it.
C: It is about two alligators named Mango and Brash who investigate crimes. They are a part of S.U.I.T. which stands for Special Undercover Investigation Teams.
S: Wait, what kinds of crimes can two alligators investigate?
C: All types of crimes. For example, they solve a crime about a break-in at a science factory.
S: What is a science factory? Do you mean a science lab?
C: Yes, I think that is what it is practically, but it is called a science factory in the book.
S: So are the other creatures in the book also alligators?
C: No, there are some humans, and there is a were-copter. That is a human who turns into a news helicopter sometimes.
S: Okay, that is the wackiest thing I heard today.
C: Yes, the book is pretty wacky. I’m good with talking alligators, because, after all, we are talking bunnies. But there is a flying thing called a Sea Orb which is a flying eyeball. It is all pretty weird.
S: But is it good weird?
C: Yes. it is very good. It is very funny.
Caramel is reading InvestiGATORS by John Patrick Green.
S: So then “funny” would be one of the three words you would use to describe this book. Right?
C: Yes. Well actually, I should have said “hilarious”. And my other words would be “colorful” and “exciting”.
S: So the crimes they solve are interesting and the book keeps you on your toes as you pursue the criminals with the two investigator alligators, right?
C: Yes, exactly. Maybe you should read it too, Sprinkles.
S: You know I am not very good with graphic novels, the writing is often too small for me.
C: Oh, but the writing in this one is actually a bit bigger. So maybe you could read this!
S: Hmm, that could work I suppose. And you really seem like you enjoyed it.
C: Yes, I think all little bunnies would like it.
S: Well, that is a strong endorsement! So did you know that there are a few other books the same author wrote (and illustrated) that involve these two investigator alligators?
C: At the end of the book they tell us. But I did not know before I started reading this. And I think this is the very first one in the series.
S: Does it end in a cliffhanger?
C: Kind of. There is a criminal they have not been able to catch yet, he is a cracker, a saltine to be precise.
S: Wait, I am confused. The cracker is a criminal?
C: He was not always a criminal, and he was not always an evil cracker. He was originally a crocodile and was actually working for S.U.I.T. before. Remember that is the agency that Mango and Brash are working for. But then he fell into a vat of radioactive cracker dough and became one with the dough. So he became a cracker that way.
S: Okay, that is pretty weird.
C: Yes, I know. But anyways, so that criminal is out on the loose and probably they will see him in the other books.
S: That truly sounds like an open thread left there for future books, you are right. So maybe you will indeed read some of the other books. We will see.
C: Yes. We will see. But we should also share with our readers the trailer we saw of the book!
S: Sounds good. Here we go:
InvestiGATORS trailer on YouTube.
C: That is hilarious! And I love it!
S: I agree. It is really funny in a sweet, goofy way! So this is a good time to wrap up this review then. What would you like to tell our readers?
C: Stay tuned for more book bunnies reviews!
Caramel enjoyed reading InvestiGATORS by John Patrick Green and recommends it to all other little bunnies.
Caramel got into the Wings of Fire series through the graphic novels path. He has already read and reviewed for the book bunnies blog the four books published as graphic novels: see his reviews of The Dragonet Prophecy, The Lost Heir, The Hidden Kingdom, and The Dark Secret. However, the graphic novels did not go far enough, and Caramel already knew there were a lot more books in the series. So this week he finally took the plunge and read The Dragonet Prophecy, the book that started the whole series. Below he shares his thoughts on this book with Sprinkles, who is asking questions and taking notes.
Caramel reviews The Dragonet Prophecy (Book One of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland.
Sprinkles: So Caramel, I see you finally took the plunge and began to read the actual Wings of Fire books.
Caramel: Yes.
S: Why did you do that?
C: Because they did not yet publish them all as graphic novels. I am still waiting on my copy of the fifth book in the series. But there are actually at least fourteen books and I can’t wait that long for all of them to be made into graphic novels!
S: Hmm, so you are an impatient little one.
C: Yes.
S: So I know you already had read this book as a graphic novel. What was it like to revisit the same story, this time written as a standard novel?
C: It was interesting. It is practically the same story, which makes sense of course, but there are some differences.
S: What kind of differences?
C: In the novel, Dune has only three legs, and in the graphic novels he has four. And in the graphic novel version he does not have a scar on his wing. Also there are some more events in this one. In the graphic novel they do not go behind the waterfall, but here they do.
S: Hmm, so these seem like not too big a deal to me. The story was generally the same then, right?
C: Practically the same.
S: So tell our readers briefly what the story is so if they have not read the graphic novel or your review of it yet, they can still get something out of this review.
C: Well, I’d assume they could just read my review of the graphic novel, but here you go: there are five young dragons, called dragonets, dragonets of destiny, are captured by Queen Scarlet, and .. hmm I should not spoil that.
S: So what is the prophecy again?
C: The prophecy is a long poem at the very beginning of the book. Here it is:
When the war has lasted 20 years … the dragonets will come. When the land is soaked with blood and tears… the dragonets will come.
Find the SeaWing egg of deepest blue. Wings of night will come to you. The largest egg in mountains high will give to you the wings of sky. For wings of earth, search through the mud, for an egg the color of dragon blood. And hidden alone from the rival queens, the SandWing egg waits unseen.
Of three queens who blister and blaze and burn, two shall die and one shall learn if she bows to a fate that is stronger and higher, she’ll have the powers of wings of fire.
Five eggs to hatch on brightest night, Five dragons born to end the fight. Darkness will rise to bring the light. The dragonets are coming ….
The Dragonet Prophecy
Caramel is reading The Dragonet Prophecy (Book One of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland.
S: That is a neat poem Caramel. So the story is about those five young dragons who are expected to “end the fight”?
C: Yes exactly. This is a really cool series. In fact while we were talking, we found that short trailer about the whole series. Maybe we can embed that video here.
S: Okay, let us give that a try:
“Wings of Fire” video by Scholastic from YouTube.
S: That does look neat Caramel. So would you recommend this book to anyone who only read the graphic novels?
C: Yes. I think it is really a good way to meet our old friends in this new way. And then I am looking forward to reading all the books in the series. I am not going to have to wait for all the graphic novels.
S: But I have a feeling you will still want to read the graphic novel versions as those come out.
C: Of course! I love looking at the pictures in the graphic novels. They are so cool!
S: It seems this book also has some illustrations.
C: Yes. They are all black and white, but there are sketches of all the different dragons.
C: Not quite. In the How to Train Your Dragon series, the illustrations are a bit funnier, they are sort of obviously hand-drawn. These ones on the other hand look a lot more realistic, kind of like you were reading a book about dinosaurs, but about dragons instead.
S: I see. And there are some decorations and maps at the beginning. It does indeed look neat. I read that there is a bit more violence in these original books than there was in the graphic novels. Did you think so?
C: Yeah I guess. I guess the fights are more vicious in the original story.
S: I see. But you do not see the gore, you read about it.
C: Yeah, thankfully. And I still like the book. The story is still awesome. And if it gets a bit too much, I can always skip that part.
S: Did you need to skip a lot of parts?
C: No, actually I read all of it, except there is one violent scene, where Queen Scarlet… Wait, I am not telling. But in any case, I skipped that paragraph.
S: I see. Would you recommend this book to little bunnies like yourself then?
C: Yes but maybe their parents or other adults might want to look at it too to see if the little ones can handle things.
S: Thanks for that warning Caramel. I think you are ready to dive right into the next book. Aren’t you?
C: Yep.
S: Then what would you like to tell our readers as we wrap up this review?
C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!
Caramel enjoyed reading The Dragonet Prophecy (Book One of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland, and can’t wait to dive into the rest of the series.
In his first review for 2022, Caramel revisits the Cleopatra in Space series by Mike Maihack.
Last year Caramel had reviewed the first four books from the Cleopatra in Space graphic novel series by Mike Maihack. (You might find it useful to check out his reviews of the first book Target Practice, the second book The Thief and the Sword, the third book Secret of the Time Tablets, and the fourth book The Golden Lion, before continuing on.) Today, in his first review for 2022, he revisits this series and talks about the fifth book in the series: Fallen Empires. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.
Caramel reviews Cleopatra in Space: Fallen Empires by Mike Maihack.
Sprinkles: So it has been a while Caramel.
Caramel: Yes it has, hasn’t it?
S: But you have kept reading. Haven’t you?
C: Yup.
S: So what are you going to talk about today?
C: Cleopatra in Space: Fallen Empires. It’s the fifth book in the series.
S: So should readers read the first four to understand this book?
C: Yup. I think they’d not get much out of it otherwise.
S: Okay, you already reviewed those first four books. So I’ll just suggest we can assume the readers have read those. What should we know about Cleo when we are getting ready to dive into this?
C: Cleo is the real Cleopatra from Ancient Egypt, who somehow got transported in time to 30,000 years later. She is a kid in these books, and she is fighting evil people. In this book she is trying to destroy an evil superweapon of Octavian.
S: And Octavian is her nemesis?
C: Well, he turns out to be Cleo’s friend from 30,000 years ago.
S: Wait, was that a spoiler?
C: No, not really. We learned it in the fourth book.
S: Oh, okay then. I hope readers have already read that one. Alright, why does Cleo’s friend have an evil superweapon?
C: Well, he became evil, because Cleo left and never came back.
S: Hmm, that is kind of sad.
C: Yes, I think he has a good reason to be annoyed.
Caramel is reading Cleopatra in Space: Fallen Empires by Mike Maihack.
S: So what is the title referring to? What are the fallen empires?
C: Octavian has been in multiple empires. They all got destroyed. In the beginning of the book we learn about Gozi, who was Cleo’s friend, and all his family died, and he goes through a lot. Kind of sad. And then he eventually becomes Xius Octavian.
S: Hmm, so it is related to his backstory then. Tell me did you find this volume just as fun as the earlier ones?
C: Yup. I read it really fast again. And twice in one day. I like these books!
S: I can see that! So what three words would you use to describe it?
C: Serious, colorful, and …. captivating!
S: Those are interesting word choices Caramel. “Captivating” is a big word! But given how you already read and reread it several times, I think it is a good word to describe the book. But I would not have expected you to say “serious”. You thought the other books in the series were funny.
C: This was not that funny. It was more serious. Gozi’s story is a bit sad. He had a wife and kids and they all died.
S: Yes, that is indeed sad. But you don’t like sad books. I remember you said that when you were reviewing Charlotte’s Web.
C: No I really don’t like sad books. But I was curious about what was going to happen. And it somehow works, without making you too sad.
S: I see. I can also see that you want to continue reading, so maybe this is a good time to end this first review of the year. What would you like to tell our readers?
C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!
Caramel enjoyed reading Cleopatra in Space: Fallen Empires by Mike Maihack, and is ready to move on to the sixth book in the series.
BookBunnies 