Caramel’s reviews – Page 57

Caramel reviews Ereth’s Birthday by Avi

Caramel has enjoyed reading the adventures of animals living in and around Dimwood Forest. And he has already reviewed Ragweed, Poppy, and Poppy and Rye for the book bunnies blog. Today he reviews Ereth’s Birthday, the next book in this series by Avi. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Caramel reviews Ereth's Birthday, written by Avi and illustrated by Brian Floca. — Caramel reviews *Ereth’s Birthday*,written by Avi and illustrated by Brian Floca.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, tell us about this book.

Caramel: This book is about Ereth, who is a porcupine. Poppy met him in the book Poppy. But we met him before that, in Ragweed and Poppy.

S: I remember Ereth. He is a bit grumpy, right?

C: Yes, maybe more than a little.

S: So tell me more. What happens in the book?

C: The book starts on Ereth’s birthday. And he thinks that his best friend, that is Poppy the mouse, and her husband, that is Rye, forgot about him.

S: That must make him even grumpier then.

C: Yes. He kind of likes Poppy, too, so…

S: Yes, I remember that too. Ereth is rather fond of Poppy, and is very sensitive, too, but he won’t admit it.

C: Yes. Pretty much.

S: So I read all the books from this series before this one. Should I read this too?

C: Yes! You should!

S: Why?

C: Because it is a very good book. I like the plot. I also like Ereth a lot. He is funny.

S: Are there new characters in this one?

C: Yes, there are some different characters. Poppy and Rye have children, and they show up. And there is also Marty the Fisher.

S: Do you know what a fisher is?

C: Not really, but it must be an animal that can hurt porcupines.

S: Oo, so Ereth has an enemy?

C: Sort of, but he doesn’t really know it.

S: Hmm, that sounds interesting. By the way apparently a fisher is a carnivorous animal that lives in forests.

C: Are they going extinct?

S: Wikipedia seems to say no.

C: Marty the Fisher said that people hunted them down.

S: Yes, Wikipedia says people liked their fur. But apparently though they lost a lot of their habitat in recent times, they are not in danger of going extinct.

C: Phew! That’s good.

Caramel is reading Ereth's Birthday by Avi. — Caramel is reading *Ereth’s Birthday* by Avi.

S: Did you know that this was Avi’s favorite among the Poppy books? He wrote that this has the most autobiographical content and that Ereth becoming a reluctant step-father is similar to himself being a step-father.

C: I didn’t know that!

S: I didn’t, either. But tell me more about this step-parenting.

C: Ereth has to take care of three kits.

S: What’s a kit?

C: A kit is a young fox.

S: So how does Ereth take these three foxes under his care?

C: He meets their mother, she is caught in a trap, and she asks him to take care of her three kits. And Ereth promises to do it.

S: And he keeps his promise?

C: Yes.

S: This is sounding more and more interesting as you reveal more. I might have to read it after all…

C: In fact you should! And you shall!

S: Okay, okay, don’t push now. Let us wrap up the review then so you can give the book to me. What are your three words for the book?

C: Awesome, interesting, good characters.

S: Hmm, that might work. I have a feeling it is also a sweet story. Would you say so?

C: Yes, I guess so.

S: Alright, let us close up then so I can get reading. What do you say to our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Ereth's Birthday by Avi, and he is looking forward to reading the next books in the series. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Ereth’s Birthday* by Avi, and he is looking forward to reading the next books in the series.

Caramel reviews The Science of Scabs and Pus: The Sticky Truth About Blood by Ian Graham

A few weeks ago, Caramel got his paws on a set of four books about the human body, each focusing on one major system. Last week he reviewed the first one he read in the series: The Science of Snot and Phlegm: The Slimy Truth about Breathing written by Fiona MacDonald. Today he reviews the next one: The Science of Scabs and Pus: The Sticky Truth About Blood, written by Ian Graham. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: Please tell us about this book Caramel. What is it about?

Caramel: It is about scabs and pus, as you can tell from the title. And those are pretty interesting I think. It also talks about the heart and the blood system. They are not the same thing as scabs and pus but definitely useful.

S: Why do you think they are in the same book? The subtitle of the book is “The Sticky Truth About Blood”. And so it makes sense that it would be about blood and the heart and the circulatory system in general. How do scabs and pus come in?

C: Scabs happen when you have a cut or a wound and the scab is made by your blood cells to stop the bleeding. And underneath the scab, the skin tries to heal itself.

S: So scabs are made by your blood! That is cool, isn’t it?

C: I guess so. It is interesting. But pus on the other hand is pretty disgusting.

S: Okay, tell me about that. What is pus?

C: Pus is made up of dead blood cells, white blood cells and bacteria.

S: Are all of them dead?

C: Yep. Or almost dead.

S: So what is the point of it?

C: To get rid of the bacteria so you don’t get infected. You have pus come out of the wound.

S: So the body is trying to clean itself?

C: Yes. But it also means that your wound is not clean. It is a sign of infection.

S: That sounds bad.

C: Yes. Very bad.

Caramel is reading about the heart in The Science of Scabs and Pus: The Sticky Truth About Blood by Ian Graham. — Caramel is reading about the heart in *The Science of Scabs and Pus: The Sticky Truth About Blood* by Ian Graham.

S: A while ago you reviewed another book about the circulatory system. Do you remember?

C: Yes! It was from the Survive! series: Survive! Inside the Human Body: The Circulatory System.

S: So you already know quite a lot about the circulatory system. Did you learn new things from this book?

C: Yes! There is a lot of new information here. I learned some new things about the heart which I did not know before. There is also a whole two-page section on hemophilia and another two pages on leukemia. I did not know about those.

S: Hmm, so what are they?

C: They are both types of blood diseases. Hemophilia is when the person cannot make scabs. Their blood does not clot. And did you know that boys and men are more likely to get hemophilia than girls and women?

S: Yes, I knew that I think. It has something to do with the X chromosome. Most girls and women have two X chromosomes so they are less likely to inherit an X chromosome that gives them the disease. But most boys and men have only one X chromosome, so if that one has the mutation causing the disease, then the person gets it.

C: That is a bit confusing.

S: Yes, I agree. And then there is leukemia. What can you tell me about that?

C: Leukemia is when the bone marrow makes white blood cells that don’t work properly. The word “leukemia” comes from the words for white and blood. I did not know that before.

S: I didn’t know that either. And you know about white blood cells, too?

C: Yes. I learned about them from watching Cells at Work!

S: Yes, that show was quite interesting and taught us a lot, didn’t it?

C: Yes, though it was a bit too violent. The white blood cells and all the other immune cells sliced and diced enemies and it was a little too much.

S: I agree. But we still learned a lot. Okay, let us wrap up this review with your three words for the book.

C: Informative, colorful, and interesting.

S: Those are all good words Caramel! So you would recommend this to other little bunnies interested in learning about scabs and pus?

C: Yes, definitely.

S: And what else would you recommend our readers do?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading The Science of Scabs and Pus: The Sticky Truth About Blood by Ian Graham, and is looking forward to reading the next book in the series. — Caramel enjoyed reading *The Science of Scabs and Pus: The Sticky Truth About Blood* by Ian Graham, and is looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

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.