Caramel’s reviews – Page 63

Caramel reviews Babymouse: Our Hero (Babymouse #2) by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm

A few weeks ago Caramel reviewed the first book in the Babymouse series written by Jennifer Holm and illustrated by Matthew Holm: Babymouse: Queen of the World. Today he reviews the second book in the series: Babymouse: Our Hero. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel this is the second Babymouse book you are reviewing for the blog.

Caramel: Yes. I reviewed the first book a few weeks ago.

S: So this has the same characters, like Babymouse and her best friend …

C: Wilson!

S: And then there is …

C: Squeak!

S: Who is that?

C: Her brother.

S: We did not hear about Squeak much before, did we?

C: Yes, he was already in the first book, I think…

S: But he hasn’t played a big role in either book just yet. But there is someone who is playing a big role… Someone who is a big meanie…

C: Oh, yes! Felicia Furrypaws! She is pretty mean.

S: So what happens in this book?

C: They play dodgeball. Babymouse is super bad at dodgeball. In the book you learn about all these things she is good at. But the one thing she is not good at is dodgeball!

Caramel is reading Babymouse: Our Hero (Babymouse #2) by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm. On these pages we learn about things Babymouse is good at. — Caramel is reading *Babymouse: Our Hero* (Babymouse #2) by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm. On these pages we learn about things Babymouse is good at.

S: So ok, she is not good at dodgeball. What is she good at?

C: She’s good at avoiding chores, defying gravity, and skating a perfect figure 4.

S: What does that mean?

C: Skaters like to skate a figure 8 usually. I learned that from Schoolhouse Rock. Let’s insert the video here.

S: Sure. All the book bunnies love Schoolhouse Rock!

Figure Eight, by Schoolhouse Rock!

C: I like this video! And I like the Babymouse books!

S: Seems like it! So was this as fun as the first one?

C: They’re both good.

S: Can someone start reading Babymouse from this second book?

C: I think you can follow the story from this one but if you want to know the whole story of Babymouse, start from the first book.

S: I agree. The stories are quite independent, but the first book seems to be written with the assumption that you don’t know anything about Babymouse and this one seems to think you might know at least a little.

C: I want to read the next books now. I think Babymouse is funny!

S: Yes, she is very imaginative, right? Tell me some of the things she daydreams about in math class?

C: She pretends that she is in prison, and makes a daring escape plan. Then there is the part where she is a superhero. Then there is the part where she gets an award, but that is a dream I think, she gets an award for taking out the trash without being asked!

S: Yes, just before she wakes up in the morning, right? She seems to have a lot of difficulty waking up in the morning.

C: Yes.

S: Do you?

C: No. Because I’m such a good little bunny.

S: That is (mostly) true. So maybe this is a good time for this good little bunny to wrap up this review. What do you think?

C: Okay. Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Babymouse: Our Hero (Babymouse #2) by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm and recommends it to all little bunnies. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Babymouse: Our Hero* (Babymouse #2) by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm and recommends it to all little bunnies.

Caramel reviews Captain Rosalie by Timothee De Fombelle

This week Caramel reviews Captain Rosalie, written by Timothee De Fombelle and illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault. Originally written in French, the book was translated into English by Sam Gordon. As usual Sprinkles is asking questions and taking notes.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, can you tell us what this book is about?

Caramel: It is about a little girl named Rosalie. Rosalie’s mom works in a factory making shells, like cannon balls.

S: So she is working in a factory making weapons for the war, right? there is a war going on.

C: It is World War I. They are in France I think.

S: Do you know when that was?

C: Nineteen hundreds?

S: Yes. The war started in 1914 and lasted till 1918. This story seems to be from the fall of 1917.

C: The book wasn’t written in 1917. It’s about a girl living in 1917.

S: Yes. So what happens to this girl?

C: Her mom leaves her at school before she goes to work. She is five, so she is too young to go to school, but she sits in class all day with the big kids.

S: And she has a mission, right? Why is the book called “Captain Rosalie”?

C: Because she refers to herself as Captain Rosalie.

S: A captain is a military officer. Is Rosalie in the army?

C: She is five! So no.

S: Why does she call herself a captain then?

C: She imagines herself to be a captain.

‘’I am a soldier on a mission. I am spying on the enemy. I am preparing my plan. I am Captain Rosalie.’’

S: Yes she thinks she is on a mission. Right?

C: Yup. Her mission is apparently to learn to read.

S: Hmm. Reading is important. But why is it that important to Rosalie?

C: Because she wants to be able to read the letters her dad sends to her mom. Her father is fighting in the war.

Caramel is reading *Captain Rosalie*, written by Timothee De Fombelle and illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault.

S: Do you recognize the illustrator Isabelle Arsenault? You have already reviewed two books by her: Albert’s Quiet Quest and Colette’s Lost Pet.

C: No I did not know that!

S: Now that you know, can you see some similarities?

C: Yes, the drawing style is very similar. A lot of the pictures have very little color, but some colors are bright, and always there. For example, Rosalie’s hair is really bright red. The color of fire.

S: Yes. The illustrations are mostly black and white, in shades of gray, but occasionally there is a sliver of bright orange, pale blue, or light pink… Do you like the pictures?

C: Yes. They make you feel different feelings.

S: Yes, they are quiet, sometimes sad, sometimes calm. Very emotive. So what else do you want to say about this book?

C: It’s a very sad book, and I think even some adult bunnies cried when they read it. But I liked it really very much.

S: Yes, there is some truth to that, I must admit. I do agree, this is a sad book, but also told vey gently, and truthfully.

C: I want to rate it now.

S: I think that could be a good way to wrap this review up. What is your rating then?

C: I rate it 100%. It is a very good book. Now stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel really liked Captain Rosalie, written by Timothee De Fombelle and illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault, and recommends it to other little bunnies. — Caramel really liked *Captain Rosalie*, written by Timothee De Fombelle and illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault, and recommends it to other little bunnies.

Caramel reviews Babymouse: Queen of the World (Babymouse #1) by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm

Caramel just recently got introduced to the Babymouse series written by Jennifer L. Holm and illustrated by Matthew Holm. He really enjoyed the adventures of this feisty little mouse and today he shares with us his thoughts on the first book of the series: Babymouse: Queen of the World. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking followup questions.

Caramel reviews Babymouse: Queen of the World , the first book in the Babymouse series, written by Jennifer L. Holm and illustrated by Matthew Holm. — Caramel reviews *Babymouse: Queen of the World* , the first book in the Babymouse series, written by Jennifer L. Holm and illustrated by Matthew Holm.

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

Caramel: This is a good book if you like stories about mice.

S: Well, do you like stories about mice?

C: Yes.

S: Tell me more.

C: There is this mouse named Babymouse and she is going to school and her teacher is a hippo, and her best friend is a weasel named Wilson. He always reads comic books in class.

S: Hmm. So the characters are all different kinds of animals then. Right?

C: Yes, there is also a popular cat. Her name is Felicia Furrypaws. She is mean.

S: Oh, yes according to the trailer of the book series, Felicia is one of Babymouse’s enemies. And another one of her enemies is her locker! Here is that trailer.

Trailer for the Babymouse series.

C: This is a funny trailer, but it is true. Babymouse has big dreams and wild imagination.

S: So what does that mean? In this book what kinds of dreams does she have? Tell me about one of her imaginary adventures.

C: There is this part where Babymouse is a queen and she gives the order to behead the mean cat Felicia. “Off with her head!”

Caramel is reading the part of *Babymouse; Queen of the World* by Jenifer Holm and Matthew Holm, where Babymouse imagines she is a queen.

S: Just like the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland? Of course that is not very nice and it is probably not really happening.

C: No of course not. Babymouse is imagining things.

S: So this is the first book of a series which has twenty books so far.

C: We have to read all of them!

S: So you liked Babymouse that much?

C: Yep! She is funny! I read it in one day and then reread it again and again already.

S: You reviewed graphic novels before. Which ones do you think this is similar to?

C: It’s kind of similar to the Bad Guys books. It is about the same length and size. Same thickness. But there might be more small pictures on each page of this one.

S: Yes, I think there are more frames per page in this book. But it also reminded me a bit of the Narwhal and Jelly books you like so much .

C: Yes, the characters are different types of animals but they are behaving like little kids (or little bunnies I should have said).

S: Kind of like a fable then, right?

C: Yes, kind of.

S: They are about animals, but then again they are not aiming to give us a moral lesson necessarily.

C: No, but you still get something out of them.

S: Like what?

C: Like in this book Babymouse learns that popularity is not important, but having good friends is.

S: Well, that is a good message!

C: And I think I will remember it. But now time to wrap up! Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Babymouse: Queen of the World , the first book in the Babymouse series, written by Jennifer L. Holm and illustrated by Matthew Holm, and is looking forward to reading more Babymouse books. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Babymouse: Queen of the World* , the first book in the Babymouse series, written by Jennifer L. Holm and illustrated by Matthew Holm, and is looking forward to reading more Babymouse books.

Caramel reviews Midnight on the Moon (Magic Tree House #8) by Mary Pope Osborne

Caramel is on a roll reading Magic Tree House books! He has already reviewed for Magic Tree House books for the book bunnies blog: 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), and Sunset of the Sabertooth (Magic Tree House #7). Today he shares with us his thoughts on Book #8: Midnight on the Moon. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, what are Jack and Annie up to in this book?

Caramel: They are going to the moon. The title says so. And the cover picture.

S: So why do they go to the moon?

C: Because that is where they will find the fourth thing so that they can help their friend Morgan.

S: Do they find what they need?

C: Yup.

S: Ok, you probably should not tell us what happens when they find all four things.

C: I’ll tell you what happens: Morgan comes back!

S: So they save her! That is great! But tell me more about the moon.

C: They meet a space person there.

S: So there is a man on the moon?

C: Yes.

S: How so? There are no people on the moon right now.

C: There is a moon base and it is past 2031. They traveled ahead in time!

S: Oh that is cool! In many of the previous books they went back in time. Now they go ahead. There is no moon base right now.

C: There isn’t but there might be one in 2031..

S: That is true. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be on a moon base? Or to live in a space station?

Caramel is reading Midnight on the Moon (Magic Tree House #8) by Mary Pope Osborne. — Caramel is reading *Midnight on the Moon* (Magic Tree House #8) by Mary Pope Osborne.

C: I don’t know. It might not be that great!

S: Well, there are astronauts who live on the international space station (ISS) circling the Earth right now. If you want to check it out, here is the link to who is on the space station right now. As we are writing this post, there are three.

C: They live there?

S: Well, they stay there for long periods of time and then come back to Earth.

C: I don’t really want to leave Earth. I like it here. I never ever want to leave!

S: I can understand that. But it does seem very interesting, doesn’t it? And Jack and Annie spend only a little bit of time on this moon base, so maybe that kind of a short trip could be nice.

C: No!

S: I don’t know. I would have liked to see the Earth rising…

C: That does look nice!

S: I know. But you are right. This planet is our home. And it is perfectly natural not to want to leave it… So what else do you want to say about this book? Now that the mystery about Morgan has been resolved, do you think you will continue with the series?

C: Probably.

S: Why?

C: Because it is interesting. I want to see what else Jack and Annie will do.

S: That is great! We then have a lot more adventures of these two kids to read!

C: Yes! Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!