Caramel’s reviews – Page 55

Caramel reviews The Science of Snot and Phlegm: The Slimy Truth about Breathing by Fiona MacDonald

Recently Caramel got his paws on a set of four books about the human body, each focusing on one major system. Today he reviews the first one he read in the series: The Science of Snot and Phlegm: The Slimy Truth about Breathing written by Fiona MacDonald. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: Tell me about this book Caramel.

Caramel: This book is about snot and phlegm. As you could tell from the title.

S: Hmm, sounds fascinating. Do you know the difference between them? It seems everywhere in the book they are used together, like “snot and phlegm”.

C: Snot and phlegm are both mucus, and the difference is that phlegm is in the chest and throat and snot is in the nose.

S: Do they ever define them?

C: They only define them in the glossary I think. So phlegm is “thick mucus from the chest often containing dead white blood cells, bacteria and sailva.” And snot is “mucus from the nose.”

S: What else is in the glossary?

C: Adenoids, allergens, allergies, alveoli, arteries, asthma, bacteria, and …

S: Okay, that is enough I think.

C: No wait! I wasn’t finished!

S: But we got the point, don’t you think?

C: Too bad.

S: But we should talk more about the book itself. We can go over the glossary again together later.

C: Okay.

S: So tell me more about this book.

C: Okay. Here are the chapter names. Introduction. The Breath of Life. Protect and Survive. Why Do Noses Run? Sinuses, Tonsils, and Adenoids. The Cold Virus. What is Hay Fever? Too Much! Why Do We Cough? What Are Bronchitis and Pneumonia? Breathless. No Airway! Breathe Easy. And then there is the glossary and the index.

S: Those sound interesting! So why do we cough?

C: Let’s consult the book. Page 20. Coughing is our diaphragm pushing out air from our lungs fast. It is supposed to clear the airways.

S: What does that mean?

C: The windpipe. The breathing tube connecting your lungs to your nose and mouth.

Caramel is reading about runny noses in The Science of Snot and Phlegm: The Slimy Truth about Breathing by Fiona MacDonald. — Caramel is reading about runny noses in *The Science of Snot and Phlegm: The Slimy Truth about Breathing* by Fiona MacDonald.

C: So this book is not only about snot and phlegm.

S: What else is there?

C: Heartburns. A heartburn is when your stomach acid goes up your throat and hurts it.

S: How is that related to your respiratory system?

C: I have no idea. Hmm, okay, apparently “a cough can also be caused by digestive difficulties.” And that is where the book talks about heartburn.

S: I see. So basically the book has some information about the respiratory system, and then some other interesting things that are closely related.

C: Yes.

S: You have read and reviewed another series of books about the human body, do you remember?

C: Yes! The Survive series. We talked about Survive: The Digestive System and Survive: The Circulatory System and then Survive! Inside the Human Body: The Nervous System, all by Hyun-Dong Han. The second book talked about the heart, and arteries, and blood and a bit about breathing.

S: But it was not really about respiration, right?

C: Yes. That is true. That book was mainly about the circulatory system.

S: So did you learn anything new from this book?

C: Yeah. A lot. I learned about allergens for example. And the cold virus. There are many viruses that make people sick. Over three hundred that make you catch a cold.

S: Yes, that is exceptionally relevant today when we are dealing with a pandemic caused by what we think is a respiratory virus.

C: Yes. COVID-19.

S: Okay Caramel. Let us wrap up this review. What three words would you use to describe this book?

C: Helpful, interesting, colorful.

S: Okay, I think these are good descriptors. And what will you tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading The Science of Snot and Phlegm: The Slimy Truth about Breathing by Fiona MacDonald, and is looking forward to reading and reviewing the remaining books in the same series. — Caramel enjoyed reading *The Science of Snot and Phlegm: The Slimy Truth about Breathing* by Fiona MacDonald, and is looking forward to reading and reviewing the remaining books in the same series.

Caramel reviews A Kids Book About Racism by Jelani Memory

Caramel has already reviewed two books from the A Kids Book About ... series: A Kids Book About Change by David Kim and A Kids Book About Empathy by Daron K Roberts. (You can read more about the series here.) Today he is reviewing the first book in the series: A Kids Book About Racism, written by Jelani Memory. Sprinkles is asking questions and taking notes, as usual.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, we just read the book together. Can you tell our readers what this book is about?

Caramel: It’s about racism. That’s what it says on the cover too.

S: That’s true. So what does it tell you about racism?

C: It tells you what racism is.

S: So what is racism?

C: Someone may be mean to someone else because of the color of their skin. Here is the definition the book gives:

“Racism means to hate someone, exclude them or treat them badly because of their race or because of the color of their skin.”

Caramel is rereading the definition of racism in A Kids Book About Racism by Jelani Memory. — Caramel is rereading the definition of racism in *A Kids Book About Racism* by Jelani Memory.

S: The book makes it clear that racism is about treating people badly because they are different. But it also says that being different is actually good. Right?

C: Yes. Because if we are different we can offer other people more. Like.. let me read from the book: “help, ideas, strengths, skills, creativity..”

S: So what does that mean? Is being different better, like if you are different from others, then are you better than others?

C: No, that’s not what this means. This means if people are different from one another, then they have more ideas, they can help one another, and they can share.

S: Yes! I agree. I too interpreted that part the same way. Being different allows you to see things differently. And then you can bring a new perspective to a problem, you can share experiences that others may not have had, so they will be able to learn from you. And similarly you can learn from them. But the book also tells us how it makes someone feel to face racism, how people are sometimes made to feel so small just because they are different. How can you try and help people who are being treated badly because of racism?

C: You can try to include friends who look different when you are playing. Or when someone is mean to them, or exclude them from their game. You can invite them to join yours.

S: I like those ideas Caramel. A while back, we read a book by Sonya Sotomayor called Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You which was also about how being different can be a valuable thing, right?

C: And Marshmallow reviewed a book called Wonder about a kid who looked very different and so his friends did not treat him too nicely. A lot of people are different in different ways. And it is not nice to treat them differently just because they are different. Why can’t you just treat everyone nicely?

S: Good question Caramel. It seems like people are a bit scared of others who are different.

C: I guess so. But it is not a good thing to do that!

S: Agreed. So let us wrap up our review with your three words for this book.

C: Helpful. Because it makes me think about different people. And let me see. Other words… Hmm. Black and white and red and orange and brown.

S: Hmm, that makes more than three words, but those are the main colors that show up in the book. You are right. I’d also say it could be a good starting point for little bunnies and their adults to talk about some difficult topics. Because racism is still around us —

C: Yes, there is that one page where there are a lot of “racism”s copied and pasted all over the place.

S: That’s true. That is a good way to show visually that racism is everywhere, pretty visible to many people who have to face it every day. But then there is also a page with 242 “really”s, and that page was fun, right?

C: Yes. It was fun to count! We counted them together!

S: Well, we did some basic arithmetic, so hopefully we got it right. But anyways, I do think this book could be a good conversation starter. So what do you say to end this review?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel appreciated reading A Kids Book About Racism by Jelani Memory and thinks he has a better sense of what racism means now. — Caramel appreciated reading *A Kids Book About Racism* by Jelani Memory and thinks he has a better sense of what racism means now.

Caramel reviews physics books for babies by Chris Ferrie

This past week Caramel got his paws on a handful of board books from the Baby University series, written mainly by Chris Ferrie. He is a voracious reader, and these little books, written for tinier bunnies and their adults, were all read within the course of one evening. Then he reread them and reread them again. And for today’s review, he insisted that we should talk about them. So that is what is happening today: Caramel is reviewing six books on physics from the Baby University series, and Sprinkles is taking notes and asking followup questions.

Caramel reviews Electromagnetism for Babies, Astrophysics for Babies, Newtonian Physics for Babies, General Relativity for Babies, Quantum Physics for Babies, and Rocket Science for Babies, almost all written by Chris Ferrie, except the astrophysics one which is coauthored by him and Julia Kregenow. — Caramel reviews *Electromagnetism for Babies*, *Astrophysics for Babies,* *Newtonian Physics for Babies,* *General Relativity for Babies,* *Quantum Physics for Babies,* and *Rocket Science for Babies*, almost all written by Chris Ferrie, except the astrophysics one which is coauthored by Ferrie and Julia Kregenow.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, why did you want to review these books?

Caramel: Well, I liked them. I review only the books I like.

S: But aren’t these books for babies?

C: Yes. So? I don’t care. I liked them!

S: I agree they are cute and fun. But did you find them amusing? Did you find them informative?

C: Both!

S: They do explain some basic physics in simple terms. And even for a little bunny like you, who can read big books, they could teach some basic principles, right?

C: Yes.

S: Okay, let us start from the beginning. The earliest physics these books talks about is Newtonian physics. Can you tell me a bit about what you learn in that book?

C: This book talks about gravity, and mass, and acceleration.

S: Hmm, those are big important words. Do you know what they mean?

C: Yeah. For example the book tells me what gravity is. It says: “We can’t see gravity. It is the force that keeps us on the ground.”

S: I see.

C: There are forces and they make a ball move faster. That is what accelerate means. And when an apple falls from a tree, it “feels the force of gravity, and Sir Isaac Newton feels the force of the apple.”

S: Yes, so in this book we go through Newton’s Three Laws of Motion.

C: I knew only one of them before reading this book, the one that says “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”. So I learned two more.

S: That is good! Then let us move to the book on electromagnetism. That is I believe the next one, in terms of the history of science.

C: Hmm, let me quickly read it again… Okay, this one, like all the others, starts with a ball. All of the books start with “This is a ball.”

S: It is a good starting point, especially if you want babies to be interested, right?

C: Yes. I like balls too.

S: I know! So okay, in this book you learn about electric charges and then magnets and then finally that the ideas of electricity and magnetism are related. Right?

C: Yes! I heard that they use big magnets in wind turbines to generate electricity! They are using this idea!

S: That is cool! Here is an article we found about “the critical role of magnets in wind turbines” and read together.

Caramel is looking at Electromagnetism for Babies, Newtonian Physics for Babies, and Quantum Physics for Babies, all written by Chris Ferrie. — Caramel is looking at *Electromagnetism for Babies*, *Newtonian Physics for Babies*, and *Quantum Physics for Babies*, all written by Chris Ferrie.

S: Next let us talk about the book on quantum physics. Tell me about this one.

C: This also starts with a ball. Then it tells us about atoms and electrons. Electrons have energy. This energy is “quantized”.

S: That means that the energy electrons can have has to be among a few possible values. Not all values are allowed.

C: Yes. I learned that from this book.

S: That is some quite fancy knowledge Caramel. I’m glad you are learning all this already!

Caramel is looking at *Astrophysics for Babies* by Ferrie and Kregenow and *General Relativity for Babies* by Ferrie.

S: Tell me next about the astrophysics one. This is written by Chris Ferrie and Julie Kregenow.

C: This too starts with “This is a ball.” And then it says planets and stars are like balls. Then it talks about elements on the periodic table. They were all created in stars!

S: Yes, that part made me think about that Symphony of Science song we like to listen to. There is a part in that song where Carl Sagan says, “We’re made of star stuff”. He then says “We’re a way for the cosmos to know itself.” I love that!

C: Yeah, let us embed the video here!

S: Sure, why not?

“”We Are All Connected” was made from sampling Carl Sagan’s Cosmos, The History Channel’s Universe series, Richard Feynman’s 1983 interviews, Neil deGrasse Tyson’s cosmic sermon, and Bill Nye’s Eyes of Nye Series, plus added visuals from The Elegant Universe (NOVA), Stephen Hawking’s Universe, Cosmos, the Powers of 10, and more. It is a tribute to great minds of science, intended to spread scientific knowledge and philosophy through the medium of music.”

S: “And there is much to be learned.” I love this song. But let us get back to the books. Next if you want, we can talk about the book about general relativity.

C: This begins with the same sentence: “This is a ball.”

S: Then what happens? What do you learn?

C: I learn about mass and how it warps space, and then about black holes.

S: All pretty cool stuff really…

C: And now let us talk about my favorite one.

S: Yes, let us talk about Rocket Science for Babies.

Caramel is posing with Rocket Science for Babies by Chris Ferrie, his favorite so far in this series. — Caramel is posing with *Rocket Science for Babies* by Chris Ferrie, his favorite so far in this series.

C: This is my favorite! It again starts with “This is a ball.” Like all the other ones. Then it talks about lift and airplane wings and thrust. And rockets.

S: Why is it your favorite?

C: Because I love rocket ships and planes and balls. And the book is all about them.

S: Yes, that is a good reason to like the book. Did you learn something new from this book?

C: Well, not really. I already knew a bit about lift and thrust and such. But it is still a cool book.

Caramel is reading Rocket Science for Babies by Chris Ferrie, his favorite so far in this series. — Caramel is reading *Rocket Science for Babies* by Chris Ferrie, his favorite so far in this series.

S: So do you think it is time to give these books away to a baby bunny?

C: No! I like them and want to read them a lot more times before we do that!

S: Okay, you can read and reread them as many times as you like. I do think they are good ways to set up the fundamental ideas of some of these things. Do you think these books would work well for babies?

C: Yes, I would have loved to have read them with you when I was a baby.

S: So would I! I myself would recommend these books to parents, especially if they are willing to talk to their little ones about the science a bit, even if it has to be with the help of the internet. But we only found out about them this year. Oh well, better late than never, right? Let us wrap this up. What three words would you use to describe these books?

C: Helpful, colorful, fun.

S: I think those work! So what should our readers do?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading and rereading Electromagnetism for Babies, Astrophysics for Babies, Newtonian Physics for Babies, General Relativity for Babies, Quantum Physics for Babies, and Rocket Science for Babies, almost all written by Chris Ferrie, except the astrophysics one which is coauthored by Ferrie and Julia Kregenow. — Caramel enjoyed reading and rereading *Electromagnetism for Babies*, *Astrophysics for Babies*, *Newtonian Physics for Babies*, *General Relativity for Babies*, *Quantum Physics for Babies*, and *Rocket Science for Babies*, almost all written by Chris Ferrie, except the astrophysics one which is coauthored by Ferrie and Julia Kregenow.

Caramel reviews A Kids Book About Empathy by Daron K Roberts

Last week Caramel reviewed A Kids Book About Change by David Kim. This week he reviews a second book from the A Kids Book About series: A Kids Book About Empathy, written by Daron K. Roberts. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: Okay Caramel, now that we read A Kids Book About Empathy together, let us talk about it.

Caramel: A Kids Book About Empathy is about empathy, as you can tell from the title. The author tells a story about when he was in fourth grade and then asks a lot of questions.

S: Well, he suggests some questions to ask when you are trying to show empathy to someone, no?

C: Yeah, I suppose that is correct.

S: So the book is about empathy. Can you tell me what that is?

C: Empathy is putting yourself into somebody else’s shoes. Not literally.

S: Yes, that’s a joke the author makes, right? He says not the real shoes, because that would be gross.

C: It is disgusting!

S: Well, not really. Sometimes when Marshmallow grows out of a pair of shoes, you could wear them if they fit.

C: Yeah, I guess that is true.. Still I think that is not what the author means.

S: So what does putting yourself in someone else’s shoes mean?

C: It means thinking about what they might be feeling and trying to understand and help them go through the catastrophe they are going through…

S: Yes, that is a good description, but it does not really have to be a catastrophe for someone to need some empathy.

C: Yeah, just hard times would be enough.

Caramel is reading A Kids Book About Empathy by Daron K. Roberts. — Caramel is reading *A Kids Book About Empathy* by Daron K. Roberts.

S: So what does the author suggest us to do when we see a friend who is in a difficult situation?

C: He lists four things to do. First take a deep breath.

S: Why do you think that is?

C: You need time to calm down as well as they, probably.

S: Yes, and probably to remind yourself how you are supposed to proceed next. Because if you don’t stop and take a breath, you might dive in and do or say things that may hurt rather than help.

C: Yes I think so. Then the second step is to listen.

S: How so?

C: Listen to them explain the situation or tell you whatever they want or need to tell you.

S: That is good. So give them some space to open up as they find fit. I like that. Then what comes next?

C: Ask questions. And the fourth is imagine. I don’t really get it though.

S: Hmm, do you get the asking questions part?

C: Sort of. Mostly.

S: So you ask questions that help you understand the person and help the person open up and share what they need. Right?

C: Yeah. I think so. But I don’t understand the imagining part.

S: Maybe read that part again?

C: Okay here it is:

“Maybe the exact same thing happened to you, or maybe you’ve never even had a dog. Try to imagine, and put yourself in their shoes to feel what they feel.”
Daron K. Roberts, A Kids Book About Empathy.

S: So does that make sense? Do you understand why imagining can be a good thing to do?

C: I guess it makes sense to try and help them…

S: or at least have them feel heard. When you try to imagine what they might be feeling, you may not solve their problems, but at least maybe they will feel like someone is on their side.

C: Yes, exactly.

S: Okay, so did you learn something new from this book?

C: I knew what empathy meant, more or less, but I did not know the four steps. I didn’t know exactly how to show it to my friends.

S: I like those four steps too Caramel.

C: I wish I had read this book earlier. One of my classmates’ grandmother died and I didn’t know what to do.

S: Do you think you know what to do now?

C: Yep. I will take a breath, listen, ask questions and then I put myself in their shoes.

S: Yes, you could imagine how difficult it would be to lose someone you love.

C: Yes, I don’t like to think about such things. But empathy says I have to try if I want to be a good friend.

S: Yes. I agree. Empathy can be hard for many reasons, but one of the reasons is that it can also lead us to difficult places. Still I am glad we read this book together Caramel. What three words would you use to describe this book?

C: Three words… Colorful, because it is colorful. Helpful. And empathy. That’s a word!

S: Yes, you used those two words, colorful and helpful, for the book about change!

C: Yes, because both words work for both books!

S: I agree. So let us wrap this up now. What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel appreciated reading A Kids Book About Empathy by Daron K. Roberts together with Sprinkles and encourages other little bunnies to read it together with a favorite big bunny. — Caramel appreciated reading *A Kids Book About Empathy* by Daron K. Roberts together with Sprinkles and encourages other little bunnies to read it together with a favorite big bunny.