family – Page 19 – BookBunnies

Caramel reviews Somewhere, Right Now by Kerry Docherty

Today Caramel reviews Somewhere, Right Now, a 2022 picture book written by Kerry Docherty and illustrated by Suzie Mason. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

The book bunnies received this book as a review copy.

Caramel reviews Somewhere, Right Now, written by Kerry Docherty and illustrated by Suzie Mason. — Caramel reviews *Somewhere, Right Now*, written by Kerry Docherty and illustrated by Suzie Mason.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, tell us a bit about this book.

Caramel: This book is about a girl named Alma who is scared and then her mom helps her by making her think of some nice thing happening somewhere right now. Then her brother gets mad, and then Alma helps him the same way. Then the father is sad and then the mom is overwhelmed, and they all help one another, all the same way.

S: So it is about a family who has a lot of small disappointments through their day and they support each other through it all?

C: Yes, pretty much. And I really like how they do it. They think about how somewhere there is something nice going on.

S: So having some perspective about things, that life might be upsetting in some ways for you right now, but look at the big picture: somewhere something good is happening. It’s like that?

C: Yes. For example there is a happy giraffe and a mommy whale and a baby whale and so on.

S: So it is almost like a game, right? If you are not feeling good about your life right now, say you are sad or angry, or disappointed or something, you can think about something nice. I like the idea. Almost like Pollyanna and her glad game. So let us think about something happening somewhere right now that could help us smile.

C: In the book there is a baby horse learning to walk. That made me smile.

S: Yes, me too! But I want you to come up with something yourself. Can you imagine something like that that could help you feel better?

C: Okay, so I’ll “close my eyes and imagine that somewhere, right now” … a bunny is getting sleepy and snuggling near his mommy.

S: Hmm, I think I know exactly where that bunny is!

C: Yes you do. Sitting right next to you.

S: Okay. I think that our readers might find that smile-worthy. I do. Let me try too. I’ll “close my eyes and imagine that somewhere, right now” … there is a beautiful sunrise over a green bay.

C: I like that!

Caramel is reading Somewhere, Right Now, written by Kerry Docherty and illustrated by Suzie Mason. — Caramel is reading *Somewhere, Right Now*, written by Kerry Docherty and illustrated by Suzie Mason.

S: So what did you think about the illustrations in the book?

C: I think they are cute. I especially like the baby horse learning to walk.

S: True. This is a really sweet book all around. I also thought the family members looked like one another, but not completely. So they could really be a family, don’t you think?

C: Yes. I agree. And the girl Alma has a little brother Jack. Like Marshmallow has me.

S: Yes, that is true too. Did you know there is a song to accompany this book?

C: No! Can we listen to it?

S: Sure. I will also embed it here:

Somewhere, Right Now Song | Kindergarten and Preschool Songs – YouTube (posted by the publisher Penguin Kids).

S: The song makes me think of the times we have been stuck at home and got really bored and frustrated. At such times, we could have played the “somewhere, right now” game and imagine something good happening somewhere.

C: Now we can. Hey, I have another one! Somewhere, right now, I think a baby polar bear might be playing with his mommy. Or maybe sleeping next to her because it is actually kind of late.

S: I see you are trying to send me a signal Caramel.

C: Yes.

S: This book made me want to snuggle too. I think it is a very good book for snuggling with one’s favorite little bunny and reading together.

C: Yes. I think so too. How about we do just that?

S: I think we might. But before that, tell me three words to describe the book.

C: Colorful, happy, and sweet.

S: I agree with all three of your words Caramel! So let us wrap up this review then. What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews! Oh and May the Fourth be with you!

Caramel enjoyed reading Somewhere, Right Now, written by Kerry Docherty and illustrated by Suzie Mason, and recommends it to all the little bunnies (and the big bunnies they read together with) for snuggle time. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Somewhere, Right Now*, written by Kerry Docherty and illustrated by Suzie Mason, and recommends it to all the little bunnies (and the big bunnies they read together with) for snuggle time.

Marshmallow reviews Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead

A couple years ago Marshmallow read and reviewed When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. Today she reviews another book from the same author published in 2015: Goodbye Stranger.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about family, friendship, and mystery, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Bridge is an accident survivor. She has missed all of third grade, and had to learn how to live normally again. When she returned to school, her friend Tabitha (Tab) introduced her to Emily (Em), and the three of them became best friends, the set of fourth graders who drew animals in the corner of their homework. (Bridge draws a Martian, Tab draws a funny bird, and Em draws a spotted snake.)

They are now starting seventh grade and are in middle school. They are still best friends, but some things have changed. Em turned out to be really good at sports, and her body has started to change, which has attracted some attention. Tab is now a “know-it-all” and has become very interested in social action/change and feminism.

The three girls are best friends and they all follow one rule: no fighting. But they have encountered some difficulty with this rule since they started middle school. Bridge has become very good friends with a boy named Sherm. She has joined the Tech Crew with him. But she finds herself confused about how she feels about him. But the worst problem of all is Em’s. She has made a critical mistake, regarding a boy, and the repercussions threaten to tear the trio apart.

Different chapters of the book are told in different voices. In some chapters we read the letters Sherm writes to his grandfather. He never sends them though. Sherm’s grandfather left his family and ran off with some woman that is not Sherm’s grandmother. Sherm doesn’t think that he can forgive his grandfather for leaving them, ever. Sherm also has trouble identifying his feelings toward Bridge. Sherm writes down the events of the book in these letters, from his point of view, ending each letter with the amount of time left before his grandfather’s birthday, something they used to do before he left.

The third set of chapters is written in the voice of an unknown highschooler (who knows the previous characters mentioned). This particular person is having big problems with her friends, specifically Vinny. Vinny is pretty, smart, and popular, and the unknown highschooler used to be best friends with her, until she (the anonymous highschooler) finally realized how cruel she was. Vinny likes to play a “tasting game” where she blindfolds a person and feeds them something. If she likes you, she gives you a banana or something. If she doesn’t like you, she gives you a spoon of black pepper. The unknown student brings another girl, named Gina, to meet Vinny, and Vinny feeds her pepper during the game. The unknown teenager struggles to understand whether the Vinny she knew when she was younger is still there, under the cruelty.

Marshmallow is reading Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead. — Marshmallow is reading *Goodbye Stranger* by Rebecca Stead.

Marshmallow’s Review: Goodbye Stranger is a good book. I found it interesting that the name of the anonymous highschooler is unknown until the end, and that it turns out to be someone who has been there since the beginning. I didn’t guess who it was at all. As I said before, the book is told from multiple perspectives: Bridge, Sherm, and the unknown girl. I think that this made it more interesting. And the three voices are quite different from one another. All of Sherm’s chapters are in the form of letters written to a grandfather, while Bridge’s chapters are narrated in the third person. The unknown highschooler chapters, on the other hand, keep using “you”, which leaves a totally different flavor in the end.

I think that Goodbye Stranger is probably better for middle schoolers and up. There are some things that might be confusing for younger children. For example, I think Caramel might not understand all of the plot.

One minor thing I felt was not perhaps ideal was the way the most idealistic of the three girls, Tab, was treated, both by others in the book and by the author, too, in the end. I think Tab was perhaps a bit too naive and perhaps a bit too strong with her passion for an equitable and just world, but I think those are valuable things to hope and work for, and I did not appreciate that she was too often dismissed and not taken seriously.

Overall though, I think that the author, Rebecca Stead, did a great job with this book. The characters are unique and realistic, and also very understandable. Rebecca Stead also wrote When You Reach Me, which I reviewed before. I did like that book a lot, too, but I think that Goodbye Stranger is even better.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead 100%. — Marshmallow rates *Goodbye Stranger* by Rebecca Stead 100%.

Marshmallow reviews Paint the Wind by Pam Muñoz Ryan

Today Marshmallow reviews Paint the Wind, a 2007 novel by Pam Muñoz Ryan.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about horses and family, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with spoilers): Maya has been living in Southern California with her paternal grandmother Agnes Menetti since her parents’ death. Maya doesn’t remember too much about her parents, especially her mother Ellie. But she does know that her grandmother hated her mother and that she blamed her for the death of Maya’s dad. Agnes has destroyed everything about Ellie, cutting her out of pictures and throwing away her belongings. The only thing in the house remaining which belonged to Ellie are her toy horses, and only because Maya has kept them a secret.

Maya’s grandmother Agnes likes to control everything: people, things, lives. For example she has never had a housekeeper for very long because she’s always been dissatisfied; she believes everything in the house must be kept a certain way and it is hard for people to live up to her expectations. Of course it’s not always the housekeepers’ fault. Maya seems to have a habit of sabotaging the housekeepers’ jobs. For example one time Maya put a blue sweater in the white laundry to get one of the housekeepers fired.

Maya also has a habit of lying. When the new housekeeper discovers her playing with the toy horses, she lies about how her parents died and why she’s hiding the horses. But the housekeeper tells the grandmother anyways. So Maya sabotages her job, too. After that housekeeper is fired and a new one is hired, Agnes starts acting differently and showing signs of memory loss. Eventually, one morning, she collapses into her breakfast, and soon we learn that she has passed away from a stroke.

Afterwards, Maya is sent off to live with her mother’s family. Her mother‘s family lives in the open fields in Wyoming and rides horses. Maya has never met these people before except for when she was a baby and so she’s very nervous. Living with her new family will lead to some changes. She will have to adapt to survive.

A second thread of the book develops around a wild horse named Artemisia. Several chapters, including the first one, have the reader follow Artemisia and the other mustangs as they go through their lives in the wilderness of Wyoming.

As you can expect, the two storylines eventually do merge together and we see Maya and Artemisia forge a strong bond. But not all is fun and games. There is serious trouble ahead.

Marshmallow is reading Paint the Wind by Pam Muñoz Ryan. — Marshmallow is reading *Paint the Wind* by Pam Muñoz Ryan.

Marshmallow’s Review: I think that Paint the Wind is a neat book. The plot line is very intriguing and the whole book is overall very informative. I learned a lot of new things about horses which I didn’t know before. I can see how this would be a great book for bunnies who love horses. I am not especially interested in horses, not more than any other four-legged creature, but I too found the book compelling.

I also found the characters interesting and unique. Though Maya starts out as a lying and inconsiderate person, the book does show us how she transforms into a person who cares about people and living creatures other than herself.

I found the repeated theme about ghost horses interesting: Maya remembers a story about them told by her mom Ellie, and this comes up a few times throughout the book. However I was a little confused about the ending. I wanted to know more about the ghost horses.

The author Pam Muñoz Ryan also wrote Esperanza Rising, which I recently reviewed. The two books have a similar writing style, and they both involve a young girl being forced to leave the life she was used to, though the plots and the characters are very different. I do have to admit that I found Esperanza Rising a lot more touching.

Marshmallow’s rating: 90%.

Marshmallow rates Paint the Wind by Pam Muñoz Ryan 90%. — Marshmallow rates *Paint the Wind* by Pam Muñoz Ryan 90%.

Marshmallow reviews Marley Dias Gets It Done And So Can You! by Marley Dias

Today Marshmallow reviews Marley Dias Gets It Done And So Can You, the 2018 book by Marley Dias. Sprinkles is asking questions and taking notes.

Sprinkles: So Marshmallow, tell us about this book.

Marshmallow: Marley Dias Gets It Done And So Can You! is an inspirational book that encourages the readers to be active and to make a difference in the world. The author is a teenager who was 14 when this book came out. She started a campaign called #1000BlackGirlBooks when she was a sixth grader because she noticed that not many books had protagonists who were black girls like herself. Maybe we can put the publisher’s video here for our readers?

S: Sure. Here it is:

Marley Dias Gets It Done – And So Can You! by Marley Dias – YouTube video by publisher.

M: I think readers might find it interesting to see the author and it gives a sneak peek into the book.

S: It seems like a pretty colorful book.

M: Yes it is. There are many pictures, a lot of photos of Marley Dias herself, and her family, and a lot of other people doing good things to improve the world. The pictures make the book a lot more engaging and much easier to read.

S: So does she talk about how she started her campaign?

M: Yes. She talks about that in the first couple chapters. The first chapter is called Herstory: Who I Am, How This All Began. The first few chapters of the book are about what she has done with the #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign. Then she talks about how to properly use social media and other internet resources to make a difference in the world. The last few chapters are about how to make a difference more generally. She talks about how important it is to read a lot and learn about the world. She uses the phrase “woke” in the sense of “politically aware”, and writes about how the readers can become that way.

S: That term has been used and abused a lot in a lot of different ways in the intervening years (Wikipedia tells a bit about the evolution of the word.) But you are right, she uses it in the meaning you point out, and it would be a good thing for young bunnies to be politically aware and think about what is happening in the world.

Marshmallow is reading Marley Dias Gets It Done And So Can You! by Marley Dias. — Marshmallow is reading *Marley Dias Gets It Done And So Can You!* by Marley Dias.

S: You said this was an inspiring book. Can you open that up a bit?

M: It’s inspiring because it shows that children can make a difference. It also gives you ways to make such change, and Marley Dias herself is an example of doing this. So you see her example and she explains all that went into how she was able to make a difference, and you can think about your own context, your own community, your own resources, and your own passions. What you care about, what you wish were different, and so on.

S: That sounds really inspiring. Did you think about something you would like to work towards changing?

M: I am worried about climate change, and I would like to be able to do something about helping the world’s many species that are going extinct.

S: This reminds me of the last book Caramel reviewed: The Aquanaut.

M: Yes, I think I might need to read that one some day. I also would like to help children around the world who do not have access to fresh and clean drinking water and enough food.

S: So did reading Marley Dias’s book help you think about how you could help in either of these causes?

M: A little. It has motivated me to do more, because I have always thought you had to grow up first to make a difference, but maybe I don’t have to wait.

S: I think this is wise Marshmallow and indeed inspiring. So if you were to rate this book, what would you rate it at?

M: I rate it at 95%.

S: Okay, then what would you like to tell our readers as we wrap up this review?

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

Marshmallow rates Marley Dias Gets It Done And So Can You! by Marley Dias 95%. — Marshmallow rates *Marley Dias Gets It Done And So Can You*! by Marley Dias 95%.