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Caramel reviews Amos & Boris by William Steig

It is February, and Caramel is back! Today he is talking to Sprinkles about Amos & Boris, a sweet book by William Steig first published in 1971.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, it is another year, and here we are talking about another book.

Caramel: Yes. There are a lot of books out there.

S: Sure. So what can you tell us about this book you chose for today?

C: This is the story of two animals, named Amos and Boris, who become friends.

S: Tell me more.

C: Amos is a rat. Or a mouse, rather. And Boris is a whale.

S: Okay.

C: Amos wants to travel around the world, but he can’t swim, so Boris saves him. And then they travel together in the oceans for a while and they become friends.

S: So it is a friendship story, right?

C: Yes. It is very much a friendship story.

S: Do you get a good sense of these two characters?

C: Yes. Amos is very kind and caring. Boris is more confident but not arrogantly so. He is also kind.

S: So is kindness one of the messages of the book?

C: Yes. Especially because their kindness is what helps them help one another.

Caramel is reading Amos & Boris by William Steig. — Caramel is reading *Amos & Boris* by William Steig.

S: I see. So what did you think of the story overall?

C: I thought it was very good. I thought it was excellent! Put a link to a meme of Mr. Burns saying “Excellent!”

S: Okay, let me try:

via GIPHY

C: That worked! Yay!

S: Okay, but I am not sure it relates to the book we are talking about.

C: Well, I said the book was excellent!

S: I see. So tell me what you liked about the book then.

C: I liked their friendship. How they helped each other.

S: I see. That is sweet Caramel! What else did you like? Did you like the illustrations?

C: Yes. They are very simple looking but when you look closely there are so many details in each of them! Also in many of them Boris the whale is smiling! And I like that! And sometimes the mouse Amos is also smiling, and that is also nice.

S: Yes, the pictures do look quite simple and simplistic, but now that you told me, I took a better look, and you are so right, there are so many details!

C: Well, I don’t want to say I am always right but you know…

S: Okay, let us not get ahead of ourselves. So you liked the pictures, you liked the characters, you liked the story.

C: Exactly. As I said before, channeling Charles Montgomery Plantagenet Schicklgruber “Monty” Burns, it is excellent!

S: Well, no wonder it is still in print after such a long time. Did you know that this book was first published in 1971? That is more than half a century ago. Does it feel old?

C: No not at all.

S: It makes sense though. From what you are telling me, it sounds like it is telling a timeless story, of friendship and kindness.

C: Yes.

S: And it sounds like you really appreciated it.

C: Yes.

S: Would you have liked it if I had read it to you when you could not read it yourself?

C: Yes. In fact, maybe after we finish this review, you can read it to me. I still like to read together with you.

S: Oh sweet Caramel, of course I will read it to you. Let us wrap this up then. What would you like to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading Amos & Boris by William Steig and recommends it to all young bunnies who love the sea, and even those who don't, because, why not? — Caramel loved reading *Amos & Boris* by William Steig and recommends it to all young bunnies who love the sea, and even those who don’t, because, why not?

Marshmallow reviews And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Sprinkles is an avid Agatha Christie fan, so she was very excited to introduce Marshmallow to her work. Earlier this year, Marshmallow reviewed her first Agatha Christie book, Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories. And today, she talks to Sprinkles about And Then There Were None, the classic mystery novel, first published in 1939, known to be one of the best-selling books of all time.

Sprinkles: So Marshmallow how should we start talking about this book?

Marshmallow: I usually start my reviews with an overview. We could just do that.

S: Okay, so go for it!

M: If you like books about mystery or enjoy Agatha Christie’s works, then this might be the book for you.

S: That works. Okay, so can you tell us a bit about this book then?

M: Sure. Separately, eight people are invited to spend time at Soldier Island. They are all confused and do not fully understand why or by whom they were summoned to the island, because they do not know their host well or (in some cases) at all. They all travel to Soldier Island (for different reasons) and are ferried there together. They all have different ideas of who their host is; some suspect an eccentric billionaire while others think that the owner is a famous movie star. When they get to the island, they are also confused by the variety in their fellow guests: there is a judge, a doctor, two young men, a young woman, an older woman, a retired military man, and another man who we eventually find out is a former police inspector.

S: So there are eight guests. But the story needs ten people, right?

M: Right. There is a married couple in the single house on the island who are supposed to be the caretakers for the time the eight will be spending there. They make up the last two of the ten.

S: Then what happens?

M: The first night, during dinner, there is an eerie recording that plays and accuses each of the ten with murder. Each of the ten people, the eight guests and the two caretakers, were apparently involved with the death of at least one person, and the voice in the recording claims that they were guilty. Or rather it says “You are charged with the following crimes…” and goes on to list one by one whose deaths each of the guests and the caretakers was responsible for. And of course everyone is unsettled and some want to leave the island immediately but of course this turns out to be impossible. Then one by one, people start dying.

S: So somehow someone got them to this island to kill them off?

M: Yes, basically. After the first couple days the remaining ones figure out that there is nobody else on the island other than themselves, which leads them to the conclusion that the murderer must be among them. This leads to more mistrust and suspicion. While some of the people dismiss the accusations against them, others admit to them and show no remorse. The reader is left wondering how innocent some of the characters are and how they end up dying one by one.

S: How so?

M: There is a nursery rhyme hung up in every guest room called Ten Little Soldiers and it is a story about these ten little soldiers who die one by one in specific ways until there are none.

S: And so the title of the book is And Then There Were None.

M: Yes. This is the last line of the nursery rhyme.

Marshmallow is reading And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. — Marshmallow is reading *And Then There Were None* by Agatha Christie.

S: The rhyme is pretty interesting. I even reviewed a children’s book about zombies that parodies this rhyme.

M: Actually, the nursery rhyme in the book is coming from a real nursery rhyme that the book’s original title was based on. The title of the book used to be something quite different, but was changed because the original nursery rhyme was very offensive. I am very glad to have read the more modern, updated version, because the older title and rhyme were extremely offensive. Interested readers might read more about the history of this rhyme here. And here is the version from the book now:

Ten little Soldier Boys went out to dine; 
One choked his little self and then there were nine.

Nine little Soldier Boys sat up very late; 
One overslept himself and then there were eight.

Eight little Soldier Boys travelling in Devon; 
One said he'd stay there and then there were seven.

Seven little Soldier Boys chopping up sticks; 
One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.

Six little Soldier Boys playing with a hive; 
A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.

Five little Soldier Boys going in for law; 
One got in Chancery and then there were four.

Four little Soldier Boys going out to sea; 
A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.

Three little Soldier Boys walking in the zoo; 
A big bear hugged one and then there were two.

Two little Soldier Boys sitting in the sun; 
One got frizzled up and then there was one.

One little Soldier Boy left all alone; 
He went out and hanged himself and then there were none.

S: So, overall, what did you think about the book?

M: I was engrossed while reading it. I could not stop! And rereading it is still enjoyable, knowing now how things turn out and who did what and so on, it is really fun to read again, as I am doing now.

S: I know, right? Christie is a master of this genre!

M: I have not read much in the genre actually but I definitely liked this book. The plot is so tightly set up, and everything works out like clockwork, and it is simply captivating. I had to finish it!

S: I know. She is amazing and this is one of her best books. So what would you rate this book Marshmallow?

M: 100%, definitely.

S: I would too. To this day, I find it so intricately put together. I am honestly so happy that I could share this book with you Marshmallow! But this is probably a good time to wrap things up. What would you say to our readers while we do so?

M: Stay tuned for more amazing reviews from the book bunnies!

Marshmallow rates And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie 100%. — Marshmallow rates *And Then There Were None* by Agatha Christie 100%.

Marshmallow reviews Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

A while back Marshmallow reviewed Blubber by Judy Blume. Today she reviews another classic by Blume: Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, first published in 1970. Sprinkles is asking questions and taking notes.

Sprinkles: So Marshmallow, let us start at the beginning. Who do you think would appreciate this book?

Marshmallow: I think girls who are approaching adolescence and may have some concerns about growing up might find this book relatable. Also if you liked other books by Judy Blume, I think you would definitely like this too.

S: That is a good start. Okay, more specifically, tell us now about the plot.

M: Margaret is this girl who just moved to New Jersey. And she is starting a new school and she makes a new friend named Nancy Wheeler —

S: This Nancy Wheeler?

M: Yeah, no. Not the Nancy from Stranger Things. Though she is also a girl who is living in a suburb with her family and wants to fit in and so on.

S: Okay, so let us get back to Margaret.

M: Yes, so Margaret’s dad was raised Jewish and her mom was raised Christian, but their families did not approve so they eloped and did not dictate a religion on their daughter. And when she lived in New York, nobody seemed to be perplexed by this, but here in her new school, her friends seem to want her to choose to belong to one or the other community.

S: And she is talking to God all through the book, right? Which God is this one?

M: Well, it is definitely a personal God, and Margaret shares her concerns, fears, hopes, and desires with Him. but through the book, we see her not making a specific choice. Her new teacher, Mr. Benedict, wants each student in her sixth grade class to pick a topic that is personally important to them and spend time that whole year to research it. Margaret chooses religion, hoping that through the year, she will try to figure out whether she should be Christian or Jewish. Remember both her grandparents are religious, but the Christian ones, her maternal grandparents cut off their relationship with them. Margaret does have a close relationship with her father’s mother, Sylvia, who encourages her to explore her Jewish heritage.

S: So the book is partially about Margaret exploring religion. But it is also a lot about growing up, right?

M: Right. Margaret’s new friends are obsessed with their growing bodies, and wearing bras, and boys, and so on, and Margaret does not yet feel like she is that interested in any of these things, but she wants to fit in, and so she ends up sharing their obsessions. Which was kind of weird to me, actually, because this is not quite how the girls in my school have been acting.

S: But maybe some of the girls in your school, too, might be interested in these kinds of things. Not all bunnies are like you and your friends, Marshmallow.

M: Well, I did not mean to sound like I am all so much more mature…

S: You are a pretty mature young bunny. But when I was growing up, there were a lot of girls like Nancy and her friends, and I feel like a lot of girls must have sympathized with the characters of the book for this book to have become such an iconic book.

M: Yes. It might also be that they felt like they should act like Nancy but they were actually feeling like Margaret who is not quite there. And eventually she does start obsessing about similar things.

S: The desire to fit in is often very strong. Especially among teens and tweens, but more generally it seems to be pretty common.

M: Yes.

Marshmallow is reading Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume. — Marshmallow is reading *Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret* by Judy Blume.

S: So this book was iconic, but it was also banned in many places. Did you know that?

M: Yes, I did. It talks about menstruation and so on, which some people claimed were not appropriate. But also it talks about religion and how it is okay if you do not pick between Christianity or Judaism, and how there might be other ways to finding spirituality in your life. This probably came across as anti-religion to some very religious folks.

S: Well, maybe today we are a bit more open-minded about these things. And the United States is a lot more diverse today in terms of people’s religious affiliations.

M: Yes, Margaret said, for example, that she was not considering Islam or Buddhism because she did not know anyone from those religions.

S: But there are people from a few other religions in your class, right?

M: Yep.

S: So we have come a long way from the 70s in that regard.

M: I hope so!

S: Okay, did you like Margaret as a character?

M: She is okay, she is very genuine, and kind of bland, she does not have a very big and sharp personality, and maybe that is intentional because the reader can fill in the gaps and more easily identify with her.

S: That makes sense to me.

M: There is also a girl in the school who has already grown up in terms of her body, and all the other people think she is sticking out. They make up rumors about her, they gossip about her, and they are pretty mean.

S: That is not good.

M: I think they are jealous. And I don’t think the girl does anything to deserve it.

S: Middle school can be a cruel place.

M: Well, they are in sixth grade but I guess that is middle school in some places.

S: Yep. So we got a hold of this book because there is a new movie about it. Do you think we should see it?

M: Yes. The trailer looks fun. Can we put a link to it here?

S: Sure, let us embed it right now:

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (2023) Official Trailer, from YouTube.

S: Do the characters look the way you visualized them?

M: Not quite, but I think they are close enough.

S: So we should try and watch it then. Okay, how would you rate this book?

M: I’d rate it 95%.

S: Sounds good. And what do you want to tell our readers as we wrap things up?

M: Stay tuned for more amazing book reviews from the book bunnies!

Marshmallow rates Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume 95%. — Marshmallow rates *Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret* by Judy Blume 95%.

Marshmallow reviews The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton

Marshmallow has been reading S. E. Hinton’s classic novel The Outsiders, first published in 1967. Today she shares some of her thoughts on the book with the blog readers. Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Marshmallow, can you introduce us to this book?

Marshmallow: If you like books about belonging, growing up, and facing challenges as a young person, you might like this book.

S: That’s a good start. So now let us move into the book. Can you tell us a bit about the plot?

M: There are two gangs, or maybe groups of friends, who hang out and occasionally clash, sometimes pretty violently. They call these things rumbles, they are basically fights.

S: Okay, so two groups. Made up of young people, and our main characters belong to one or the other. What are the names of the two groups?

M: One of them is made up of richer kids and they are called the Soc, short for “social”. The other group has poorer kids in it, and they are called the greasers, because they put grease in their hair. Mostly boys but there are girls that hang out with one or the other group.

S: Okay, that gives us a good idea of the setting. So tell us now about what happens in the book.

M: The main character is this boy named Ponyboy. And that is his real name. And his middle brother’s name is Sodapop.

S: Those are some creative names!

M: I know, right? The oldest brother has a much more typical name, Darrel, but people call him Darry.

S: Alright.

M: So these three boys’ parents are dead. And the oldest brother Darry is taking care of the younger ones. Ponyboy is the youngest of the greasers. The other greasers are Steve, Johnny, Dally, Two-Bit, and I think that is mainly it.

S: Okay.

M: One day Ponyboy, Dally, and Johnny go to the movies and meet two Soc girls named Cherry and Marcia. Dally is rude to the girls, but Ponyboy and Johnny become closer to them. Then some Soc boys come and there is some trouble. Eventually, another day, there is a fight, and Johnny ends up killing one of the Soc boys while trying to save Ponyboy from getting hurt. So Johnny and Ponyboy run away and hide, with the help of Dally, who has gotten into trouble with the law before.

S: That sounds kind of big, killing someone. These are still only kids, aren’t they?

M: Well, they are more or less. Ponyboy is 14 and Johnny is 16.

S: Alright, then what happens?

M: Well, I cannot tell you everything, but there is a big fire, and the boys try to help save some children who have been trapped in the fire, so they become heroes of some sort, but Johnny still has killed someone, so he needs to be punished. But he is also pretty injured during the fire. So I will stop here because we are already talking about stuff way into the book.

S: Alright, that makes total sense. We already got the gist of the story I think.

Marshmallow is reading The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton. — Marshmallow is reading *The Outsiders* by S. E. Hinton.

S: So you began reading this book because your class is reading it at school, right?

M: Yep. We are still reading and discussing it in class.

S: We read it at school, too, I think, but it was many many years ago. I do not remember the story very well. I also did not remember the author’s name.

M: Well, she is using only initials. It is because she was very young when she wrote the book, and they thought a book by a young woman who is a total unknown would not sell. There is an interview with the author at the back of the copy of the book I read where she says this.

S: I did not remember that at all, but the Wikipedia article about the book says that she was only 15 when she started writing the story and was 18 when it was published. That is pretty young!

M: Yes, it is impressive.

S: And maybe that really was the right thing to do, because the book did get really famous and they made a movie of it, too.

M: I know! In fact we are going to watch it at school. Can we put the trailer of the movie here?

S: Sure. Here it is:

The Outsiders (1983) Official Trailer, from YouTube.

S: I remember that we did watch this movie in class too, and it was all very exciting. A lot of the actors became really famous after this.

M: I’m excited to watch it too.

S: So maybe we should slowly wrap this up. Before that, would you mind telling me what you thought of the characters?

M: I thought they were good. Ponyboy narrates the story, and you get to really empathize with him. He does smoke a lot though. Still he is very thoughtful and cares about people.

S: Anything else?

M: I thought the book did a good job of pointing towards social economic inequalities. The rich kids all also have problems with their families and such, but when the poor kids get into trouble, their lives get so much more difficult. And these kinds of differences make it harder for people to empathize with others. Ponyboy thinks that he and the greasers are all outsiders and nobody else, none of the Socs, can ever understand their lives. And he does have a point, I think.

S: But after some of the events of the book, he realizes that Socs are also human, according to the book description in one of the versions of the book.

M: Yes, I guess so. But the class differences still remain, and that is also there till the end. The consequences are so much tougher for the greasers.

S: Thank you for this review Marshmallow. I think I might want to revisit this book, or at least the movie! You always rate the books you review. So what would you rate this one?

M: I’d rate it 100%.

S: Sounds like it! Okay, and to wrap up, what do you want to tell our readers?

M: Stay tuned for more amazing book reviews from the book bunnies!

Marshmallow rates The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton 100%. — Marshmallow rates *The Outsiders* by S. E. Hinton 100%.