Caramel’s reviews – Page 75

Caramel reviews The Itchy Book by LeUyen Pham

Last week Caramel reviewed The Cookie Fiasco by Dan Santat, from Mo Willems’ series Elephant and Piggie Like Reading. Below he shares his thoughts on the second book he read from the series: The Itchy Book by LeUyen Pham. Sprinkles is taking notes and asking followup questions.

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

Caramel: It’s an awesome book! The book is about a group of dinosaurs who all have an itch to scratch, except one. But they can’t scratch their itches.

S: Why not?

C: There’s a sign that says “Dinosaurs do not scratch”.

S: And so they want to follow the rules and don’t scratch themselves, right?

C: Yes, until the end. But I won’t tell you what happens in the end. Can I instead tell you about which dinosaurs are in the book?

S: Yes Caramel. That would be neat.

C: There is a brontosaurus, a pterodactyl, a triceratops, a T-rex, and a pachycephalosaurus.

S: That is a lot of different dinosaur types. How come you know them all?

C: I like dinosaurs. And I know all about the first four. And one of my friends knows a lot about the pachycephalosaurus.

S: So which one is your favorite dinosaur then?

C: The pachycephalosaurus! It’s a plant eater. I also like triceratops and pterodactyls. I also like pteranodons, but there is no pteranodon in The Itchy Book.

S: That’s a good way to get back to the book we are talking about. So what else did you want to say about this book?

C: I loved the book! It is so funny! The twist in the end is cool and the characters themselves are all funny!

S: Ooo, so there’s a twist in the end, hmm?

C: Yup, but I won’t tell! Everybody should read it themselves!

S: I agree. Ok, so this was again an Elephant and Piggie Like Reading! book. Do they appear in the book again, like in The Cookie Fiasco?

C: Yes. They show up at the beginning of the story and also at the end. Like before. And Gerald gets very very itchy in the end.

S: Well, talking about itches and scratching itchy spots might make you itchy, no?

C: Yep, that’s exactly what happens to Gerald. But I didn’t feel itchy. I just felt like laughing.

S: That is good, isn’t it? This book reminded me of Shel Silverstein’s poem: The Unscratchable Itch. Do you know it?

C: Nope.

S: Ok, then we should read it together:

There is a spot that you can’t scratch
Right between your shoulder blades,
Like an egg that just won’t hatch
Here you set and there it stays.
Turn and squirm and try to reach it,
Twist your neck and bend your back,
Hear your elbows creak and crack,
Stretch your fingers, now you bet it’s
Going to reach — no that won’t get it–
Hold your breath and stretch and pray,
Only just an inch away,
Worse than a sunbeam you can’t catch
Is that one spot that
You can’t scratch.
Shel Silverstein, from A Light in the Attic, Harper & Row, 1981.

C: That is a funny poem!

S: It is, isn’t it? And a good place to end your review this time, right?

C: Yes, it’s just about time. Because now I’m itchy! Scratch scratch!

Caramel enjoyed reading The Itchy Book by LeUyen Pham. — Caramel enjoyed reading *The Itchy Book* by LeUyen Pham.

Caramel reviews The Cookie Fiasco by Dan Santat

Caramel always enjoyed reading the Elephant and Piggie books of Mo Willems, and so he was very excited when he saw the book series Elephant and Piggie Like Reading. Below he shares his thoughts on the first book he read from the series: The Cookie Fiasco, by Dan Santat. Sprinkles is taking notes and asking followup questions.

Caramel reviews The Cookies Fiasco by Dan Santat. — Caramel reviews *The Cookies Fiasco* by Dan Santat.

Sprinkles: Tell me about this book Caramel.

Caramel: This book is about four friends who love cookies, and they have some chocolate chip cookies, but there are only three cookies, and they want to share equally.

S: Who are the four friends?

C: Hippo, Croc, and two squirrels. The hippo is pink and purple, the croc is green, and the squirrels are orange and blue. The book is very colorful. And at the very end there is a cow who joins them.

S: What does this have to do with Elephant and Piggie?

C: They’re reading the book with us. So we see them only at the beginning and at the end of the book. But they are as funny as usual!

S: I agree! And the book actually feels quite similar to the Elephant and Piggie books, right? The back cover and the binding even have the same color scheme and design style… So it’s pretty familiar to someone like you who read so many of the Elephant and Piggie books, right?

C: Right!

S: So how do the four friends resolve the problem?

C: The hippo breaks the cookies in half and then in smaller pieces. Till the three cookies become twelve cookie pieces. And then each friend can get three pieces. That’s fair!

S: Our family could use this trick too, right? If we wanted to share three cookies among the four of us bunnies, then we could split each cookie into four and then each of us could take one piece from each cookie.

C: Yeah! Then we could all eat yummy cookies!

S: Yes! Looking at the book again, is there a character you liked more than others?

C: I liked the crocodile most.

S: Why is that?

C: Because I really like his answer when the others try to get him to give up his share:

-I heard crocodiles do not like cookies.
-Maybe YOU should not get a cookie!
-Huh?! I eat cookies! I love cookies! I could eat a whole plate right now!

And he’s looking really worried on that page. He’s funny!

Caramel is reading one of his favorite pages in The Cookies Fiasco by Dan Santat. — Caramel is reading one of his favorite pages in *The Cookies Fiasco* by Dan Santat.

S: Yes he is! The whole book is quite fun to read. Do you like reading it with me or do you like to read it alone?

C: It’s always more fun to read with somebody else.

S: Yes! I enjoy reading it with you too. We can make funny voices when we do that, right?

C: Yep! But in the end I always agree with Gerald the Elephant. This book makes me hungry and thirsty! Especially for chocolate chip cookies and some milk!

S: Yes, some cookies and milk would be nice. Maybe this is a good time to end this review. Or we will get hungrier and hungrier.

C: I WANT TO EAT COOKIES NOW!!!

S: Ok, let’s see what we have in the kitchen…

Caramel really enjoyed reading The Cookie Fiasco by Dan Santat and is looking forward to reading other Elephant and Pigggie Like Reading books.

Caramel reviews Knights and Castles (Magic Tree House Fact Tracker #2) by Will Osborne and Mary Pope Osborne

Caramel recently started reading the Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne. After reading the first two books and their accompanying Fact Tracker books, he decided that he really really likes the second Fact Tracker book on knights and castles that is meant to accompany Magic Tree House #2: The Knight at Dawn. Below he shares his thoughts on why. Sprinkles is taking notes and asking followup questions when needed.

Caramel reviews *Knights and Castles* by Will Osborne and Mary Pope Osborne.

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

Caramel: It’s nice. There’s lots of pictures. And it has many many facts. The whole book is full of facts. I like that.

S: Yes, I noticed you like nonfiction a lot. You always make sure to share your favorite facts even in your reviews of fiction books. Why do you like nonfiction?

C: Then I know more about the world. And I like learning new things. My middle name should be Curious!

S: I like that! So what kind of facts did you learn from this book?

C: The knights lived in the Middle Ages.

S: Do you know when that was?

C: Not really.

S: Let us look at the book together!

C: 1300s? Ok, I’m reading from page 14:

“The Middle Ages began about 450 AD. They lasted for over 1000 years.”

That is a long time!

S: Yes it is.

Caramel is finding that he likes books with facts!

S: What other facts did you find interesting?

C: Let me look. The first castles! I’m reading on page 22:

“The first castles looked more like forts in the Old West than like castles in fairy tales. They were built out of wood. These castles were usually built on a mound of earth called a motte.”

S: Was that one of your favorite facts?

C: Yep. And I learned about tournaments. Then I was curious and wanted to learn more. So I saw a video from the History Channel that showed people fighting with lances today. It’s called jousting. There are men in full armor, on horses, and the horses have armor too. And the men have lances. A lance is a very long stick with a sharp end to poke your enemy with. But in a tournament, it is enough to push your enemy off their horse.

S: Would you want to be in a jousting tournament?

C: I’m a bunny! How would I carry a lance and ride a horse? I’m too small for that.

S: It also kind of looks violent, right?

C: Yes, but there are rules against actually hurting one another. And the horse. You cannot hit the other guy’s horse!

S: That sounds fair. So what else did you like about this book Caramel?

C: I like that the book is all about facts, but sometimes on the sides of the book, there is Jack and Annie from the Magic Tree House books, and they tell us things.

S: Yes, I saw them on the margins too. What kinds of things do they say?

C: Annie for instance says at some point that it wasn’t fair that only boys could be knights. She’s right, of course!

S: Yes, that’s true. Girls couldn’t do many things back then.

C: But today girls can do so much more! They can do anything! The person who wrote the Magic Tree House books is a girl, for example!

S: And she does write really well, doesn’t she?

C: Yes, and I’m looking forward to reading more of her books.

Caramel really enjoyed *Knights and Castles* and is looking forward to reading more of the Fact Tracker books.

Caramel reviews Narwhal’s Otter Friend by Ben Clanton

Caramel enjoyed reading the quirky adventures of Narwhal and Jelly in Narwhal: The Unicorn of the Sea!, Super Narwhal and Jelly Jolt, and Peanut Butter and Jelly. Here he shares his thoughts on the fourth book in Ben Clanton’s Narwhal and Jelly series: Narwhal’s Otter Friend. Sprinkles is taking notes and occasionally asking followup questions.

Sprinkles: Caramel, you are reading another Narwhal and Jelly story! Tell me about this one!

Caramel: Narwhal finds a new friend, an otter. And Jelly gets jealous. Even the title of the second chapter is Jealous Jelly.

S: So Jelly is worried about losing his best friend, right?

C: Yes, but he’s ok at the end. They all of them become good friends. And they go to outer space together for new adventures!

S: Did this story feel familiar to you Caramel? Did you ever find yourself in Jelly’s position? Or how about Narwhal? Or the otter in fact?

C: I feel more like the otter actually. I meet many new people every day. I like making new friends. And I like to pretend to be a river otter sometimes.

S: You do love to swim, don’t you?

C: Yep! Very very much! Can I tell you my favorite facts now?

S: Ok Caramel. But this time the facts are about otter, right?

C: Yes there are some otter facts in the book, but I want to tell you about jellyfish! Did you know that people fed jellyfish peanut butter?

“Aquarists (people who keep or maintain aquariums) at the Children’s Aquarium at Fair Park in Dallas, Texas, tried feeding peanut butter to moon jellyfish and found out that the jellyfish cold thrive on it!”

And here is another fact about jellyfish I like:

“A jellyfish’s body is made up of about 95% water!”

And next to it there is a jellyfish saying “What-er?” Get it? It’s “what” and “water” at the same time!

S: That is funny Caramel. And that is a lot of water in the jellyfish. Do you know how much water we have in our bodies?

C: I thought 75% or something, right?

S: Apparently an adult human is 60% water, but since we are bunnies, we would need to look elsewhere. This reference guide says we are about two thirds water!

C: That’s still a lot of water. But jellyfish have still more water!

S: That is really interesting Caramel… Jellyfish do kind of feel watery don’t they? Remember you touched some moon jellyfish in that touch tank at the aquarium?

C: Yep. I remember. They were very smooth! One of them had a scar on its top…

S: Oh that’s sad Caramel… I wonder how it got the scar.

C: Maybe it got scratched by one of the kids touching it?

S: Yes, we have to be gentle with the creatures in the touch tank, right?

C: Right.

S: OK Caramel, tell me about how the book is organized. Does it have its usual three chapters and a fact chapter and a superhero chapter again?

C: I don’t remember. Let me look again. Yep! The superhero story is called Strawberry Sidekick vs The Deviled Egg this time.

S: The Sidekick is Jelly and the Egg is the otter? And Sidekick feels “egg-nored”, right?

C: Yes! Jelly is still mad at the otter at this point of the book. But then in the last chapter things all get better.

S: That sounds really neat Caramel. What did you like most about this book?

C: The pictures! I keep reading and reading the book over and over again.

S: Yes, there is not yet a fifth Narwhal and Jelly book. I’m sure you will be reading the fifth one as soon as it gets out, right?

C: Yup! I’m looking forward to it!

S: Till then, what are you going to do?

C: I guess I’ll read the four books I have again and again.

S: That’s commitment! We will still need to find another book to review next week.

C: Perhaps. I’m trying to sound mysterious here.

S: Yes, indeed you do sound mysterious Caramel! A great way to end your review!

C: Yay! Let me say it again: Stay tuned for more reviews from the Book Bunnies!

Caramel really enjoyed Narwhal's Otter Friend! — Caramel really enjoyed *Narwhal’s Otter Friend*!