Caramel’s reviews – Page 59

Caramel reviews How to Catch a Monster by Adam Wallace and Andy Elkerton

Caramel has been reading all sorts of books these days, but picture books are always among his favorites. Today he reviews for the book bunnies blog a picture book by author-illustrators Adam Wallace and Andy Elkerton: How to Catch a Monster. As usual, Sprinkles is asking questions and taking notes.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, what made you want to review this book?

Caramel: I like it.

S: So can you tell us what it is about?

C: It’s about a little boy who is trying to catch the monster in his closet. And then they become friends.

S: That sounds scary first and then fun later.

C: Yep. It is. Apparently the monster practices how to roar!

S: Hmm, kind of like you practicing playing an instrument or singing, right?

C: Yep, I guess so.

S: What else do you think monsters do?

C: This one burps! And his burp smells like strawberries and lime. Which is pretty disgusting.

S: Why do you think so? I like strawberries, and mixed with lime, they might make a neat chewing gum flavor for instance.

C: Yes, but thinking of it as a burp smell makes it pretty disgusting.

S: I can see that. But I am guessing that the monster’s burp smells nice because the monster is actually not a bad monster. Right?

C: Yes. That’s right!

Caramel is reading How to Catch a Monster by Adam Wallace and Andy Elkerton. He is on the pages where the boy who is narrating the story is trying to catch the monster in his closet using his "super-sticky ninja-nabbing net". — Caramel is reading *How to Catch a Monster* by Adam Wallace and Andy Elkerton. He is on the pages where the boy who is narrating the story is trying to catch the monster in his closet using his “super-sticky ninja-nabbing net”.

S: Did you notice that on each two-page spread, there are four lines of text, all written in rhyme?

C: Let me see. Oh yes, that is true. There are rhyming words at the end of the second and fourth lines!

S: That would make it more fun to read out loud. Don’t you think?

C: Yes. “Yet” and “net”, “miss” and “this”, “sad” and “mad”, “mistake” and “awake”. You’re right! It would be more fun to read out loud!

S: So maybe when we are done with this review, we can read it out loud together. What do you think?

C: Okay, I like that idea!

S: So what three words would you use to describe this book?

C: “Fun”, “rhyming”, and “colorful”. Or maybe “imaginative”.

S: It is true this is a really imaginative book! A lot of little bunnies think there is a monster in their closet, or sometimes under their bed. And this book seems to play with that idea and make it fun.

C: Yep!

S: I know you close the door to your closet every night. Would you like to think that there is a monster like this one inside?

C: I’ve checked my closet. There is no such thing in mine.

S: But say there was? Would it be fun to have a playful monster like this in there?

C: It could be cool. This monster is fun. Hmm, maybe I should check my closet again.

S: Okay, we can go look together. After you wrap up this review by saying …

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews! And also there are no monsters in my closet!

Caramel has enjoyed reading How to Catch a Monster by Adam Wallace and Andy Elkerton, and recommends it to all little bunnies who love monsters and those others who are scared of the monster in their closets. — Caramel has enjoyed reading *How to Catch a Monster* by Adam Wallace and Andy Elkerton, and recommends it to all little bunnies who love monsters and those others who are scared of the monster in their closets.

Caramel reviews Dolphins at Daybreak (Magic Tree House #9) by Mary Pope Osborne

Caramel has reviewed several Magic Tree House books already: Night of the Ninjas (Magic Tree House #5), Afternoon on the Amazon (Magic Tree House #6), Knights and Castles (Magic Tree House Fact Tracker #2), Sunset of the Sabertooth (Magic Tree House #7), and Midnight on the Moon (Magic Tree House #8). Today he wanted to talk about book #9: Dolphins at Daybreak. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: It has been a while since you last reviewed a Magic Tree House book Caramel. Can you remind our readers the premise of these books?

Caramel: There are two kids called Jack and Annie. They find a magical tree house in the first book, and it takes them anywhere in a book if they say “I wish we could go there.”

S: And in each book, they go somewhere different, right?

C: Yes, and they can come back.

S: That is good. Where do they go in this book?

C: I think they go somewhere with a mini-sub.

S: What’s a mini-sub?

C: It’s a little submarine, a ship that goes under the sea. They go under the sea with it and they find out that it has a leak.

S: Hmm, that might be dangerous!

C: Oh no, they survive, don’t worry. But they get chased by a giant octopus and there is a dolphin and they see hammerhead sharks. Nothing too dangerous!

Caramel is reading Dolphins at Daybreak (Magic Tree House #9) by Mary Pope Osborne. — Caramel is reading *Dolphins at Daybreak* (Magic Tree House #9) by Mary Pope Osborne.

S: Alright, so they have an adventure in the ocean, and you get to learn about ocean life, right?

C: Yes.

S: You have read a lot of books about sea life, in particular you read a ton of books about narwhals, right?

C: Yep. I reviewed all of the Narwhal and Jelly books I read, too.

S: The Magic Tree House books are mainly fiction but accompanying them there are fact trackers. You even reviewed one of those, remember?

C: Yes, I reviewed Knights and Castles (Magic Tree House Fact Tracker #2).

S: There is a fact tracker book on dolphins and sharks, too. Did you read that one?

C: No. I do not think we have that book yet.

S: But maybe there were some new facts in this book too? Did you learn anything new by reading this book?

C: I never knew about mini-subs. They are cool!

S: Yes, they are! Apparently they are also called “midget submarines“!

C: I didn’t know that!

S: Okay, Caramel, this might be a good time to wrap up our review. As usual I will ask you for three words to describe this book. What do you say?

C: Fun, imaginative, fantasy.

S: Why do you say fantasy?

C: A magic tree house sounds fantastical, doesn’t it?

S: You’re right. It is quite fantastical! And it is also a great idea to explore a new topic in every book, right? Are you going to read and review for the blog any more Magic Tree House books?

C: Yep. But for now, stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Dolphins at Daybreak (Magic Tree House #9) by Mary Pope Osborne and recommends it to all little bunnies who enjoyed reading about Jack and Annie's earlier adventures. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Dolphins at Daybreak* (Magic Tree House #9) by Mary Pope Osborne and recommends it to all little bunnies who enjoyed reading about Jack and Annie’s earlier adventures.

Caramel reviews The Boy with Square Eyes by Juliet Snape and Charles Snape

This week Caramel wanted to talk about a cute little book that was first published in 1987 and has been in the book bunnies library for a while now: The Boy With Square Eyes: A Tale of Televisionitis, by Juliet Snape and Charles Snape. Though the book itself is rather old, the issue of too much screen time has perhaps never been more relevant, as a large number of young people are moored to screens for hours on end during these days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marshmallow kindly agreed to taking notes and asking followup questions.

Caramel reviews The Boy with Square Eyes by Juliet Snape and Charles Snape. — Caramel reviews *The Boy with Square Eyes* by Juliet Snape and Charles Snape.

Marshmallow: So Caramel, what do you want to say about this book?

Caramel: It’s a fun book! The drawings are good.

M: What is this book about?

C: It’s about a boy who watched television all day and his eyes turned into squares. It’s a good book; you should read it.

M: Thanks, I have already read it! So, what do you think about the pictures?

C: They’re good, but in a few they’re blocky.

M: I think that that’s because he has square eyes now. Do you think that this book has a moral or a lesson that the authors were trying to teach to the reader?

C: Yeah, probably, it’s: “do not watch TV all the time!”

M: What do you think about the story?

C: It’s good! Really, really good!

M: What’s the main character’s name?

C: Charlie.

M: So, why is Charlie watching so much TV?

C: Who knows?

Caramel is reading The Boy with Square Eyes by Juliet Snape and Charles Snape. He is on the page when Charlie tells his mom, "Everything looks square. The food does, too. Square plate, square hot dogs, square french fries, square peas, and square tomatoes." — Caramel is reading *The Boy with Square Eyes* by Juliet Snape and Charles Snape. He is on the page when Charlie tells his mom, “Everything looks square. The food does, too. Square plate, square hot dogs, square french fries, square peas, and square tomatoes.”

M: So here’s another question. Do you think that Televisionitis is a real thing?

C: No, it’s not.

M: I would think so. Anyways, tell me more about this book.

C: The Boy With Square Eyes is about a boy who watches too much TV.

M: So, do his eyes get fixed?

C: You’ll have to find out by yourself if you read the book.

M: Who is your favorite character?

C: In this book?

M: Yeah.

C: Well there are only three people who talk in the book: Charlie, his mom, and the doctor.

M: Okay then. Never mind. So then which picture is your favorite picture in the book?

C: They were all good. It’s going to be hard to choose.

M: Okay. Then what do you like about this book?

C: Everything.

M: Can you be a little more specific?

C: Yes.

M: So what do you like about this book?

C: The pictures, the story, and, etcetera.

M: Can you please be a little more specific than that?

C: The pictures, the story, and the plot.

M: What do you like about the story and the plot?

C: The plot is interesting, and the story is fun to read if you haven’t read it before.

M: Okay, what genre do you think this is?

C: I don’t know… Fiction!

M: Oh, yeah, that’s a good one. I was also thinking it could be a parable. So, how would you rate this book? With your three words?

C: Fun, colorful, and hilarious.

Caramel thinks The Boy with Square Eyes by Juliet Snape and Charles Snape is "fun, colorful, and hilarious". — Caramel thinks *The Boy with Square Eyes* by Juliet Snape and Charles Snape is “fun, colorful, and hilarious”.

Caramel reviews Star Trek: Ships of the Line by Doug Drexler, Margaret Clark, and Michael Okuda

Caramel and the rest of the book bunnies household have been watching Star Trek Voyager during these months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Voyager is the third Star Trek series Caramel has watched, after The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. In other words, he is a little Trekkie. One of his favorite things about the whole series is the star ships. As a result it was natural that he would fall in love with the book Star Trek: Ships of the Line, edited by Doug Drexler and Margaret Clark, with text from Michael Okuda. Below he shares his enthusiasm about this book, as Sprinkles takes notes and asks followup questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, what do you want to tell us about this book?

Caramel: It’s a good book if you like space ships and that kind of stuff.

S: Do you also need to like Star Trek?

C: Not exactly. As long as you like star ships, you are in luck. The book is packed with pictures of star ships.

S: All ships are from Star Trek, right?

C: No, not quite. There are some real ships too. There is a picture of the United States space shuttle Enterprise.

S: I see. I think that also fits in the Star Trek universe narrative though, right?

C: I guess.

S: Are the pictures photos or hand-drawn?

C: I think there are both kinds of pictures.

Caramel's favorite page of Star Trek: Ships of the Line, by Doug Drexler, Margaret Clark, and Michael Okuda, is the front cover, because it has all the ships all together all in one place. — Caramel’s favorite page of *Star Trek: Ships of the Line*, by Doug Drexler, Margaret Clark, and Michael Okuda, is the front cover, because it has all the ships all together all in one place.

S: What else can you tell us?

C: So on each two-page spread, there is a whole-page picture of a ship, and some writing.

S: What kind of writing?

C: There is a name for the photo or drawing and who it is by. Then there is a paragraph about the picture.

Caramel is checking out USS Voyager and the Delta Flyer in Star Trek: Ships of the Line, by Doug Drexler, Margaret Clark, and Michael Okuda. — Caramel is checking out USS Voyager and the Delta Flyer in *Star Trek: Ships of the Line*, by Doug Drexler, Margaret Clark, and Michael Okuda.

S: The content seems to be arranged in eight chapters (altogether in over 350 pages). Can you tell me a bit about that?

C: The chapter names are: “In the Beginning”, “The Creation of a Legend”, “Rebirth”, “The Finest in the Fleet”, “Of Gods and Men”, “There Will Always Be An Enterprise”, “Delta Voyager”, “Semper Exploro”.

S: Hmm, so I can guess that “Delta Voyager” is about the ships in Star Trek Voyager.

C: Yes, and “Of Gods and Men” is about Deep Space Nine.

S: And “In the Beginning” seems to be about the more recent Star Trek Enterprise. We have not yet watched that show. But so it seems that the book is telling us the stories of the star ships in the Star Trek universe in their chronological order.

C: Yes. Exactly.

S: Do you know who the people who put together this book are?

C: No, not really.

S: Apparently Drexler and Okuda both worked for the Star Trek shows, and Clark wrote many Star Trek books and novels.

C: Oh, I didn’t know that! But that is good. They must know what they are talking about!

S: Right! So Caramel, let us wrap up this review, but first give me your three words to describe this book:

C: Awesome star ships!

S: That works!

C: And stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!