Marshmallow likes graphic novels. And today she is talking to Sprinkles about a comic book that was published many years ago in 1956 though she only read recently: The Adventures of Tintin: The Calculus Affair by Hergé.
Marshmallow reviews The Adventures of Tintin: The Calculus Affair by Hergé.
Sprinkles: So Marshmallow this book was apparently published in 1956. Can you tell?
Marshmallow: I can tell that it is not contemporary. But I cannot really tell exactly what time the story is supposed to be happening.
S: That’s not too bad then. Tell me about the story.
M: What happens is that Tintin is visiting his friend Captain Haddock when suddenly everything in the house starts to break. They eventually learn that Professor Calculus has invented a device that can shatter glass. And soon this puts Calculus in danger because some people want to use his invention to make weapons.
S: And the book is about Tintin and Haddock trying to protect Calculus?
M: No. Calculus gets kidnapped so they have to find and rescue him.
Marshmallow is reading The Adventures of Tintin: The Calculus Affair by Hergé.
S: I think this is the first Tintin story you have read, right?
M: Yes. I looked at it before but it did not seem too interesting for some reason. But when I picked it up this time, I was kind of drawn into the story much easier. Maybe it is more appealing to older readers.
S: Maybe. My sister really liked Tintin, but I never read his adventures. As you know I am not very good with graphic novels. But I knew there are a lot of fans of Tintin all around the world. So I am glad you read this. According to some, this is one of the best books in the whole series, and there are about 23 or 24 books.
M: Well, I am glad I read it, too. I really liked the drawings. I felt like they were really detailed and you could see or even feel the movement in some of them. When I was reading, I felt enveloped in the world of the story.
S: I think, given that you have read a lot of graphic novels, Marshmallow, that is pretty high praise from you. Especially for a book that is older than even me!
M: Well, what can I say? I think it is very well done.
S: Do you think you might want to know more about Tintin and maybe read more of the series?
M: Yes. I did read the Wikipedia article about it a bit and learned that Tintin is a Belgian journalist who solves mysteries. But I also learned that at least one of the earlier books was eventually seen to be seriously racist.
S: I can unfortunately imagine that something written about Africa in 1930s by a Belgian could be racist about Africans.
M: You know, the back of the book I have read does not even list that particular adventure. So I am guessing they do not want to even bring it up.
S: I can understand that too. I don’t think we will be reading that book any time soon.
M: Definitely not. But I might want to read some of the other books.
S: Alright. We will look into that then. Let us wrap this up now. How would you rate the book Marshmallow?
M: I’m rating it 95% because of the really awesome drawing and the interesting story.
S: That’s great, thank you. And what do you want to tell our readers?
M: Stay tuned for more amazing book reviews from the book bunnies!
Marshmallow rates The Adventures of Tintin: The Calculus Affair by Hergé 95%.
Today Caramel reviews Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar. The first of several Wayside School books written by Sachar, this book was published originally in 1978. As usual, Sprinkles is asking questions and taking notes.
Caramel reviews Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar.
Sprinkles: So Caramel, I heard a lot about these Wayside School books, but I have not read them myself. Can you tell me a bit about what they are all about?
Caramel: Well, at this point I only read this first book. So I can only talk about that.
S: That’s okay. Tell me about this book. What is it about?
C: It’s about these kids in this place called Wayside School. It is a weird school, and all the students and teachers are also weird, and very strange and interesting things keep happening.
S: How is the school weird?
C: First of all, it is thirty stories high, like a skyscraper. Because they built it sideways. It was supposed to be one story high and with thirty classrooms, but the builder messed up and put all classrooms on their own floors. I think it is a waste of space.
S: Hmm, I think on the contrary it saves space, it takes only the area of one classroom for the whole school. No?
C: I guess. Anyways the students are weird and the teachers, too, and there are some dead rats that seem to be alive.
S: Oh yes, I think I heard about a student made up of a rat or something like that?
C: Well, it was one dead rat, but I am not going to give away too much.
S: Okay, I can see that could be a spoiler. So what do you mean by weird when you say teachers and students are weird?
C: Some of the teachers have a strange way to discipline students. There is one who turns students into an apple when she is angry with them, and then she eats them!
S: What? That sounds pretty terrible and irreversible!
C: Yeah. I told you they are weird.
S: But wait, then there is magic in this book?
C: Not sure. It is not described as magic, but just that these people behave this way. Really weird.
C: Yes. I think the stories are pretty hilarious. Except when they are kind of scary because I would not want to be eaten as an apple by my teacher. But on the bright side, she gets eaten too.
S: Wait, don’t tell me everything!
C: But I want to!
S: Alright, why don’t you tell me something else instead? Tell me more about the book.
C: There are thirty chapters, one for each story of the Wayside School. But I think everything is happening on the 30th floor actually. And also there is no nineteenth floor. In fact that is the nineteenth story. It is about Miss Zarves who is supposed to be the teacher of the classroom on the nineteenth floor, but since there is no floor, there is no classroom, and so there is no Miss Zarves.
S: That almost sounds like a logic riddle!
C: Kind of.
S: But it is also kind of like how a lot of building in the United States don’t have a thirteenth floor.
C: Wait, I did not know that. Why is that?
S: A lot of people think 13 is an unlucky number, so they don’t like to be on a floor labeled thirteenth.
C: But after the twelfth floor comes the thirteenth, no?
S: True, if you are counting from the bottom, but it is not labeled 13, it is labeled 14.
C: That is strange.
Caramel is reading Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar.
S: Everything you are telling me reminds me of my favorite series from childhood: Le Petit Nicolas, about a little kid and his classmates and all kinds of funny things happening to them. In that world, too, sometimes really weird things happened, but nothing quite like a teacher turning children into apples.
C: Yes, I think you read a couple of those books to us when we were little. But I don’t think we understood all the jokes.
S: Yes, I think they seem to have aged quite a bit. The childhood they were talking about is very familiar to me, but it seems quite far from your experiences somehow. Okay, let us get back to the book. Did you like the book overall?
C: Yep. They are really funny. So I want to read the other books about Wayside School.
S: Maybe you will then. Did you know that Marshmallow has already reviewed a book by Louis Sachar?
As many young bunnies her age do, Marshmallow has been reading some dystopian novels. In these past few months, she has read and reviewed the recent Shatter Me and Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi, as well as the classic Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. Today she reviews another classic dystopian novel: Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, first published in 1932. Sprinkles is asking questions and taking notes.
Marshmallow reviews Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.
Sprinkles: So Marshmallow, I’m so glad you have read this book. It was one of my favorites when I read it, and I was only a bit older than you I think.
Marshmallow: I enjoyed reading it too! I found it fascinating.
S: That’s big endorsement from you! Okay, tell us a bit about the book.
M: Okay, let me set the stage: The year is AF (After Ford) 632. Technology is so advanced that humans who are citizens of the World State reproduce solely in artificial wombs, and everyone is conditioned to perfection. That is, if you’re in the right caste. Even before you are born, you are assigned a caste. If you are an Alpha or Alpha Plus, you will receive the most attention and care while in the incubator machines. If you are of a lower caste, say a Delta or an Epsilon, you will get less space, and your growth will be intentionally stunted by alcohol infusions. No matter how hard you work, you will always be working the job you were assigned at birth. Despite this inequality, no one ever complains because complacency and contentment with the system are essentially brainwashed into citizens while they are children. In this sea of conformity, individuality is diluted. On the one hand, everyone is happy, but on the other, this happiness is attained only at the cost of their humanity.
S: Okay, that is pretty dismal as a setting. Go on.
M: So in short, when the story begins, the society is in harmony, but a couple people start to realize that the things that make us human are being lost. Two citizens, Bernard Marx, an Alpha Plus, and Lenina Crowne, a Beta, are vacationing in a reservation where humans still reproduce the natural way. Such societies are rare, and their residents are regarded by basically everyone else as savages. Here they meet John, a man whose mother Linda came from the “brave new world”. When they bring him back to their world, he is horrified by what he sees.
S: That is a good summary of the plot, Marshmallow. I know you thought a lot about this book and even prepared a report of sorts for your English class. So maybe you can tell us a bit more about the three main characters.
M: Sure. Bernard is an Alpha Plus who is at the top of the society. But he is different from others because he isn’t very cheery whereas everyone else is always happy. This is probably because he doesn’t take soma, the drug that everyone else does. Soma gives people a sense of euphoria and makes them unconcerned and joyful. Bernard’s refusal to take it is one example of his peculiarity. Bernard is a bit shorter than other Alpha Plus males, and he feels a bit bad about this.
Then there is Lenina, a very typical member of the World State. An average Beta, she is content with her status and is very disturbed by the comments made by Bernard and John that vilify the World State.
Finally there is John. John’s mother Linda came from the World State, or the “developed” world. Linda actually got pregnant at some point and gave birth to John. This is highly unusual in the World State, as biological reproduction is regarded as a taboo in the brave new world. However, in the reservation, natural birth is just natural. Still, the tribe does not completely accept Linda and John, and so they feel like outcasts. When Bernard gets the permission to bring John to “the civilized world”, he is called the Savage, and people treat him almost like a celebrity. However, as an outsider with beliefs completely orthogonal to those of others, he finds this brave new world repulsive.
Marshmallow is reading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.
S: Thank you Marshmallow. I think you summarized the main features of these characters well. So I can see that Bernard might not be too happy because he does not feel confident about his stature, and I can see John finding it difficult to adjust. But tell me more about what is wrong with this world. Why do you think this book is so important? What is its main message?
M: I think that the main problem is that everything is supposedly perfect, and the fundamental struggles that make people human are long gone. John the Savage argues that people need to have problems to live properly like humans. Without them, they are not fully human. They become passive, complacent, and no longer crave for progress, creativity, new ideas.
S: When I was in school, we read this book in tandem with Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. You read and reviewed that book, too. Did you see any parallels or significant differences between the two books?
M: Well, I did like both books a lot. But both books had a little bit of adult content, a bit more than I like to engage with in the books I read. Other than that, they are both dystopian, telling us about a possible future where life as we know it is replaced by some very unpleasant and almost hopeless system. But when I was reading about Huxley and Brave New World for my class report, I found a very insightful quote by Neil Postman, who wrote in a 1985 book titled Amusing Ourselves to Death the following:
Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture […] In 1984, Huxley added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us.
Neil Postman
The Wikipedia article on Brave New World has this quote, in its context, and the full quote is also very good. But this part is enough for me here. I especially like the last two sentences. Aldous Huxley delves into the psyche of humans to look at how easily they can be reduced to passivity and complacency.
S: Are there other themes that show up in the book?
M: According to Britannica, Huxley was always preoccupied “with the negative and positive impacts of science and technology on 20th-century life”. So there is that of course.
S: I see. The technology that allows the World State to govern one of the most fundamental processes of human life is awesome and scary, and the government, or any other entity, having such a power is bound to be dangerous.
M: Yes.
S: Any other themes that you would like to bring up?
M: Yes, the book is really rich. In Brave New World, humans have become passive and complacent under the eye of the World State. Brave New World presents a different type among the many terrifying futures that could occur. Most dystopian books have governments that are feared, but in this book the government rules by giving citizens everything that they could ever want.
S: What could be wrong with that?
M: As I said before, I think one of the central messages of the book is that people are not fully human if they are not striving to be better; they are not fully human if they are completely satisfied and complacent.
S: How about bunnies? Would you not be a happy bunny if you got all the nice food and all the books and friends you wanted and so on and never needed anything?
M: Given all the terrible things happening in our world today, this kind of a possible world actually sounds nice initially, but I think I’d eventually get bored. I’d probably want to do something different, something new. I’d want a purpose in my life.
S: I can see that.
M: I do wonder if a lot of people would be better off or happier in that world. But they would all be pawns of the establishment. They would not have a purpose or even a choice in this way of living. I don’t think either of those is good.
S: I agree. So what would your rating be for this book?
M: I think I’d rate it 97%. I think this is a very provocative book, made me think a lot, but again, I don’t like too much adult stuff in a book.
S: I agree that there is some of that stuff in the book and some of it is truly disturbing. There is even a scene where they expect children as young as seven to engage in what they call “erotic play”.
M: Those kinds of things make me think that younger bunnies should probably not read this book.
S: Agreed. So a very good book, very thought-provoking, but definitely for older bunnies.
M: Yep.
S: Then we are done. Let us wrap this up. What would you like to tell our readers Marshmallow?
M: Stay tuned for more amazing book reviews from the book bunnies!
Marshmallow rates Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 97%.
This past month, Sprinkles was excited to introduce Caramel to one of her favorite series from her childhood, the Famous Five, the classic children’s adventure book series written by the prolific British author Enid Blyton about four children and their dog Timothy. Today, Caramel shares his thoughts on Five on a Treasure Island, the first book about these five characters, published first in 1942, exactly eighty years ago. The book bunnies read the beautiful color edition from 2015 with illustrations by Babette Cole and Quentin Blake.
Caramel reviews Five on a Treasure Island, written by Enid Blyton and illustrated by Babette Cole and Quentin Blake.
Sprinkles: So Caramel, I was so happy to read this book together with you!
Caramel: Yes. We read a chapter a night, more or less, and it was sometimes not easy to wait the whole day for the next chapter.
S: I know, right? Some of the events get you nervous and make you want to know what will happen next, and quickly.
C: I thought you had read this book before Sprinkles? Didn’t you remember what would happen?
S: Well, yes, I did read it, but many many years ago, and I knew of course that the kids would come out of their adventures safe and sound, but I did not remember at all how that would come to be.
C: Especially when they got locked up in the dungeon —
S: Wait! Let us not give away too many details. But maybe it would be a good idea to start from the beginning with the plot of the book so our readers can get a good idea abut what it is all about.
C: Okay. So there are three kids, Julian, Dick, and Anne, and they are siblings. They go visit their cousin George. Actually she is named Georgina, but she wants to be called George.
S: I see. This reminds me that a couple years ago, Marshmallow reviewed a book titled George, about a transgender child and her struggle to be accepted as who she is. People called her George but she wanted to be called Melissa. And it is important to call people by the name they would prefer, right?
C: Obviously. It is only the kind thing to do. And if you don’t they will be upset.
S: So yes, let us call the fourth character in our book George. But the book title promises us five characters. Who is the fifth one?
C: Tim, who is a dog. He is George’s dog, pretty much, though her family does not want her to keep Tim, so she has another boy take care of him most of the time.
S: Okay, these five remind me of Scooby Doo and the five characters there. Did you know that some folks think that people who created Scooby Doo were inspired by the Famous Five?
C: I had not thought about that! But that is kind of neat! I like Scooby Doo! So this is really interesting. I can even see some resemblances…
S: Hmm, we can speculate, of course. But let us get back to the book. Alright, so we now know who the famous five are. What is the treasure island about? Tell us more about the story.
C: George does not seem too nice at the beginning, but eventually, they become close. The three siblings learn about the nearby Kirrin Island, George says it is hers, and then the kids think that there may be some treasure hidden somewhere on the island. They figure out that there are supposed to be many “ingots of gold” there, according to a very old map.
S: And so the four kids and Tim the dog go and try to find the treasure, right?
C: Yes. And of course they get into trouble. There is someone who wants to buy the island and get the treasure for himself.
S: Yes, so there is some tension about this guy, who does not seem to be an exceptionally nice person.
C: Yes, he locks them up in the dungeon of the dilapidated castle.
S: Wow Caramel, that is a big word! But you are also giving away some of the major plot twists! So maybe it is time to stop talking about the plot.
C: Okay.
Caramel is reading Five on a Treasure Island, written by Enid Blyton and illustrated by Babette Cole and Quentin Blake.
S: How about talking about the main themes of the book next? Do you remember what is a theme in a book?
C: It is a main idea, or it can be a moral of the story sometimes.
S: Yes, that is right, Caramel. So what ideas or themes do you think would be the main themes of Five on a Treasure Island?
C: I think friendship is one. George is not used to having friends, she is used to being alone, on her own all the time. But then she becomes good friends with the three kids, and she realizes how much better life is with friends.
S: Right! You would agree, right?
C: Yes, of course. Life is much better with friends!
S: Okay, other than friendship, can you think of another theme?
C: Maybe cooperation and team work? Because the children solve the mystery together and then save one another.
S: I think that makes sense! Those are two good themes for this book. Hmm, let me ask you a couple other questions before we wrap things up, Caramel. First of all, I told you this is a pretty old book. It might be the oldest book you have read before now.
S: You are right, that book was older. But this one is pretty old too. And I wanted to ask you if you could tell. Did you think the book aged well? Or did you think it was very dated?
C: Well, I think the boy name Dick is not as common these days. And the kids sometimes use words strangely. For example Dick says “Rather!” and “Blow!” when he is excited and they say George’s mom is a “brick” and they mean she is awesome! So those were some interesting words, and made me think the book is from a different time. Or different place. Because different versions of English seem to have different idioms and slang words.
S: That’s right Caramel, that is a very good observation. Those words were unfamiliar in those uses for me too. But perhaps they used to be more common in 1940s in Britain. They did feel strange to us in the 2020s of course!
C: Right. And Anne was a bit too much of a crybaby, and seemed like what girls were supposed to be like and so George did not want to be a girl like that. She wanted to run and swim and do all the things that were supposed to be boy things. But today boys and girls can do all sorts of things. So that is also a bit different.
S: I agree Caramel. Those are good observations. Would you say that the book was fun to read though?
C: Yes, it was a lot of fun to read. And I think even younger bunnies, much younger than myself, could enjoy it if their grownups read it to them.
S: Again, I agree Caramel. And I am so happy you read this book and enjoyed it. Okay, one last question: What did you think about the illustrations? This was a special color illustration edition. And the illustrators are pretty established in their craft. Did you find them engaging?
C: Yes. They were very colorful. And there is one picture where they had a lot of bunnies watching the kids. That is my favorite. It is drawn almost from the bunnies’ point of view.
S: So it is perfect for us book bunnies.
C: Yep. That is why I posed for my photo above with that page open.
S: I love that Caramel! Okay, time to wrap this up then. What will you tell our readers now?
C: Stay tuned for more book bunny adventures!
Caramel enjoyed reading Five on a Treasure Island, written by Enid Blyton and illustrated by Babette Cole and Quentin Blake, and is curious to learn more about the five friends and their other adventures.
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