Both little book bunnies are Stuart Gibbs fans. Caramel in particular has read and reviewed every single book in his Spy School series. So as you can expect, he was thrilled to learn that the fourteenth book in the series just came out last week! Below is his review of Spy School Goes East. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.
Caramel reviews Spy School Goes East by Stuart Gibbs.
Sprinkles: So Caramel, today we get to talk about a brand new Spy School book!
Caramel: Yep, and I am happy to say I really liked it. So in this book they go east. And they have already gone north and south. So maybe they’ll go west next time!
S: Yeah, I wonder where “west” could be. Remind us where “north” and “south” were? And where is “east”?
C: So the events happened in Mexico in the south book, and the north book is about Alaska and Russia. And in this book, the story is taking place in China, specifically in a fictional place in China, it’s called Space City, but it also contains a few places that are real: Shanghai, the Great Wall, and the Gobi Desert. It also contains several non-existent companies, such as Sky-tech.
S: Cool! I also saw a map of sorts in the inside of the book.
C: Yes, there are in fact interesting things like that in this book. In the back there is also, I think, a journal or rather a travel log.
S: Is it supposed to be Ben Ripley’s travel log?
C: No, it is the author himself, who is explaining how he got the ideas for the places and the plot. He actually went to China to see what he was writing about. And that’s cool.
S: Agreed!
Caramel is reading Spy School Goes East by Stuart Gibbs.
S: Okay, so tell us about the main story. Why is Spy School going to China?
C: So, in the previous book Spy School Blackout, the team were trying to figure out the worldwide blackouts. Then it turned out that their ‘friend’ Orion was in fact the guy behind it all, and they solved that mystery and saved the planet. But then they also learned that Erica Hale’s parents and grandparents had gone missing in China, where Orion had sent them, so now in this book, they go there to get them back.
S: Oh I see. And they meet a lot of new people, some friendly and some evil, I am assuming?
C: Yep, and we also meet a recurring character (I love those), Jessica Shang who first showed up in Spy Ski School, the daughter of the guy who tried to nuke Colorado. You might recall that she is also daughter of the lady who tried to destroy the Panama Canal (in Spy School at Sea), and the niece of the guy who tried to sell Ben into slavery (in Spy School Goes Wild).
S: Oh my! Her whole family is full of Ben’s enemies. But I seem to recall you had told us before that Jessica herself is actually quite nice. And she kind of likes Ben?
C: Yeah they are friends, and apparently Erica is Ben’s girlfriend now.
S: Oh, I see. But nothing mushy going on, right?
C: No, no mushiness. Erica and Ben are just partners solving mysteries and world problems together.
S: Cool. Okay, so did you enjoy this book?
C: Yes, I did. Very much. It was funny, and had some cool plot lines and hooks, as well as references to the other books in the series. Gotta love consistency among an author’s works! Tui Sutherland in Wings of Fire does this really well, too. Hint hint.
S: You will definitely get another one of those books in the coming months! But there may yet be another Spy School book as well. As you suggested, I am expecting a “going west” story some time.
C: Me too. And I’m assuming it will also be good.
S: And when it does come out, I am sure you will review it.
C: Yes I will!
S: Okay, Caramel, this is probably a good time to wrap up this review.
C: Yep, this is a school night after all…
S: Okay, what do you want to tell our readers?
C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!
Caramel loved reading Spy School Goes East by Stuart Gibbs and was thrilled to share his thoughts on it with the readers of the book bunnies blog.
Caramel reviews Favorite Children’s Stories from China and Tibet, written by Lotta Carswell Hume and illustrated by Lo Koon-Chiu.
Sprinkles: So Caramel, here we are, talking about another neat collection of stories!
Caramel: Yes, this one has stories from China and Tibet.
S: Tell me more.
C: Well, let me see. There are eighteen stories. Each of them is about three to seven pages long. And there are a lot of pictures. I really liked them!
S: Yeah, I saw that there are a lot of colorful illustrations. Apparently they were made by a Chinese artist named Lo Koon-Chiu.
C: That makes sense. Because a lot of the stories are Chinese. But the person who wrote them does not sound like a Chinese person. And I don’t know too many Tibetan names, but the author’s name does not sound Tibetan either.
S: You are right. The author was apparently from Baltimore, USA, and then got married and moved to Asia with her husband. She lived in China and India for decades, and her children got to hear a lot of traditional Chinese stories. So this is a collection she put together to share those stories with children who would read or be read to in English.
C: I see. Then she did not write the stories herself. That makes a lot more sense now.
S: Yeah, I was curious too, and then looked it all up. Anyways talk a bit about the stories. Can you tell which stories are from Tibet and which are from China?
C: Yes. There is a little note under the story title for each one. So there are five stories from Tibet. The rest are from China. But they separated those, too. Some are from West China, some from Southeast China, some from Central China, and so on.
S: Hmm, I guess that makes sense. China is a big country. Maybe they did not want to go into detail about the exact geography of China and give the province names and such.
C: I guess. But there are a lot more stories from China, so maybe they just split the Chinese stories so they would not look too uneven.
S: Interesting! That could be a good reason, too, Caramel.
Caramel is reading Favorite Children’s Stories from China and Tibet, written by Lotta Carswell Hume and illustrated by Lo Koon-Chiu.
S: Anyways, so why don’t you tell me more about the stories themselves?
C: Well, there is a story like Cinderella, and it is called A Chinese Cinderella, And there is this story about a woman who is called Mrs. Number Three who is an innkeeper.
S: That is a very strange name!
C: It is not her real name, but nobody knows her real name so they call her that. But the story is really interesting. Its name is “The Magic Pancakes at the Footbridge Tavern”. So as you can imagine, there are magic pancakes!
S: Oh, I know you love pancakes!
C: Yeah, but these are magic and you really don’t want to eat them.
S: Oh, that is interesting! I guess I just have to read the story to figure out what you mean.
C: Yep.
S: Okay, so that is two of the eighteen stories. What about the others?
C: A lot of the others are about animals. Like there is a Tibetan story about a tortoise and a monkey and another about some jackals and a tiger. And then there is another about a hungry wolf, and one about some mice.
S: Oh, that is interesting. Kind of like fables, I am guessing.
C: Yeah, kind of. But wait, it looks like the animal stories are almost all stories from Tibet. Some of the Chinese stories also have animals, but they also have people.
S: Very interesting observation, Caramel.
C: And then there are two stories like the ones we talked about before about how some things came to be the way they are. There is a story about how the rooster got its red crown and another about how the deer lost its tail. They are both from China.
S: Okay, so all in all it seems like you have enjoyed reading this book, right?
C: Yep!
S: Can you tell us if you have a favorite story?
C: No, I liked them all.
S: That is wonderful, Caramel. Okay, maybe this is a good time to wrap up this review. What would you like to tell our readers?
C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!
Caramel enjoyed reading Favorite Children’s Stories from China and Tibet, written by Lotta Carswell Hume and illustrated by Lo Koon-Chiu, and recommends it to all the other little bunnies who enjoy reading or hearing short stories.
In the summer of 2024, Caramel took an online course on Asian myths and legends and as part of this course, he read several books on the topic. He has already reviewed a couple of these for the book bunnies blog; see these here and here. Today he picked up a third book from that summer experience and is talking to Sprinkles about Chinese Myths and Legends: The Monkey King and Other Adventures, retold by Shelley Fu, illustrated by Patrick Yee, and published originally in 2018.
Caramel reviews Chinese Myths and Legends: The Monkey King and Other Adventures by Shelley Fu and Patrick Yee.
Sprinkles: So Caramel, I see you have for us another book about Asian myths and legends today.
Caramel: Yeah, and it is a very good one at that.
S: Please do tell us a bit about the book.
C: It is about Chinese myths. There are seven stories in it. The first one is “Pan Gu and The Creation of the Universe.”
S: That is quite sensible, to start at the beginning with a universal creation myth.
C: Yeah, it’s also cool, it’s a cool concept.
S: So how was the universe formed according to this story?
C: This guy named Pan Gu was holding the universe in a ball away from the earth or something similar, and he became satisfied and lay down and became part of the earth.
S: Hmm, you say some guy, but if he was holding the universe, he is probably not just a regular person. Maybe a giant.
C: Yeah, he is a god.
S: Interesting! In Greek mythology, too, there is a giant deity named Atlas who carries the world on his shoulders.
C: Yeah, that is interesting. I guess a lot of people thought about how the world began.
S: It is an interesting question after all, no? Anyways, there is a long and detailed Wikipedia article on Pan Gu too, if our readers want to know more. We can maybe move on. You said there were six more stories in the book.
C: Yes, let me see. The next one is “Nu Wo: The Mother of Mankind.” It is told in six parts, and it is about the creator of humans, Nu Wo.
S: That is interesting. So the universe was created by one deity and humans were created by another. Or are these competing theories of creation?
C: Yup, there are two creators, one of earth, and the other of humans.
S: That is very interesting. In the three Abrahamic religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam, there is one creator who created everything. But Chinese mythology takes a different path.
C: Yeah, it’s cool, isn’t it?
S: Yes, very much so. I looked it up and will link to the Wikipedia article for Nu Wo (apparently more typically called NuWa) in case some of our readers want to learn more about her.
C: Good idea!
Caramel is reading Chinese Myths and Legends: The Monkey King and Other Adventures by Shelley Fu and Patrick Yee.
S: So that makes two stories. What comes after?
C: Then the next is “Ho Yi the Archer,” about a god loving another god. Ho Yi himself is an archer and a god, and he is married to a goddess of the moon. This story has five parts.
S: That is neat Caramel. I looked up this character, too, and the Wikipedia article about him made me realize we watched an animated movie that retold the story of Ho Yi and his wife, the lunar deity Chang’e. Do you remember it?
C: Yes, I do! It was called Over the Moon! It was a really good movie, and a bit strange. Can we maybe put a link to the trailer so our readers can see it a bit too?
S: Sure: here it is:
C: Thank you, and now for the next one! This one is a bit longer, and has nine parts. It is about the Monkey King, who is a monkey that becomes immortal and angers the gods.
S: Yes, I see that this chapter is titled “Journey to the West”. It is the story of the Monkey King, who angers the gods because of his impetuousness, and then travels to the West to find some scrolls of wisdom. There is a whole Wikipedia article about the classical version of the story too.
C: Yes, the book version is also neat. And we watched a TV series about it a while back; maybe you remember?
S: Yeah! When you said that I looked it up, and apparently there are many movies animated and not, about the Monkey King. But the one we watched was really funny.
C: Though it did get violent and a bit scary sometimes.
S: True. But we can still put a link to the trailer of The New Legends of Monkey!
C: Yes, good idea!
S: Okay, here goes:
S: So what other stories are there in the book? You told us about four so far. There should be three more.
C: Well, there is one called “The Man in the Moon” and it is one of the shorter stories. It is about a kid who saved a bird and he got rewarded with treasure, and another boy is angry and is bad and gets punished with being sent to the moon.
S: Hmm, the moon sounds like it could be lonely and cold.
C: yeah but he is busy attempting to cut a tree down, and guess who else is there?
S: Who?
C: Ho Yi’s wife!
S: Oh cool! Small world! Or rather, small solar system, I guess!
C: Exactly.
S: Does she teach the boy a lesson or help him somehow?
C: No, he ignores her.
S: That is not a good idea, to ignore a goddess.
C: Yeah, but she was in trouble too, so it’s most likely fine.
S: So interesting that the stories are kind of intertwined! Okay, so there are two more stories left.
C: Yes, the sixth one is “The Story of the White Snake,” and this is one of the longest stories in the book. It has twelve parts. It is about two snakes or snake spirits, one who wants to see humans and their world, and another one who wants to complete their training in immortality. But they do go into the human world and the first snake spirit falls in love with a human. And then it all goes wrong.
S: I remember this story! Here is the Wikipedia article about it in case our readers are curious to read more. I also remember we watched a Chinese opera about this legend!
C: Yes, that was also kind of different. Maybe we can put a link to that video, too.
S: Sure, why not? Here it is:
C: Thanks. It is very long. This video is only one part of two and it is already one and a half hours, but it will still give people an idea of the story.
S: And also they will get an idea of what classical Chinese opera is like, if they don’t already know.
C: Yeah, that is a good point. Anyways the last story is “The Heavenly River” and it is also one of the shorter stories. It is about a cowherd who is treated badly by his sister-in-law. When he comes into some money, she wants some of it, and he doesn’t want to give any money, so he asks some gods and goddesses for guidance. He meets a weaver girl, who is not just a girl but maybe a deity herself. When they try to run away from their duties, they are separated and sent to the two opposite sides of the Milky Way. They can only see each other every seven years.
C: Well, they can also just read this book! I mean it is really a neat book. And it has really cool illustrations on each page. And if you really want, there are notes in the back about each story, so curious bunnies could learn even more about them.
S: Yes, of course. Our readers can just read this book! It seems like you really enjoyed it. This is one of our longest reviews so far!
C: Yup, I did like it and there was a lot to talk about. A lot of interesting stories that I had not heard before.
S: This sounds like a good place to end this post then, upbeat and enthusiastic.
C: Yup, I agree.
S: So what do you want to tell our readers?
C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!
Caramel enjoyed reading Chinese Myths and Legends: The Monkey King and Other Adventures by Shelley Fu and Patrick Yee and recommends it to other young bunnies interested in learning about the famous stories of people from around the world.
