Today Caramel wanted to talk about a book he read in the A Kids Book About series: A Kids Book About Change by David Kim. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.
Sprinkles: So Caramel, tell me about this book.
Caramel: This book is in the first person.
S: What do you mean?
C: The author says things like “I did blah blah”.
S: So yes, the author is talking about his own experiences and using the “I” pronoun. He is also using the “you” pronoun a lot, right?
C: Yes. He is talking to the reader, asking questions, like, “When a change happened were you scared or excited?” and so on.
S: So what is the book about then?
C: Well, it’s about change, it says so in the title. He talks about how things changed in his life when he was a kid.
S: And then he asks the reader to think about times when things changed for them, right? Can you think of a time when something changed in yours?
C: Sure. Every single day!
S: What do you mean?
C: In every bunny’s life something changes every single day.
S: For example…?
C: I read a different book almost every day.
S: But the book is about somewhat more important changes, I think.
C: Yes I guess so.
S: So can you think of a big change that affected you?
C: Being born.
S: I doubt you remember that though. So anything closer to today?
C: Distance learning. When the pandemic hit, my school (and it is also Marshmallow’s school) moved to distance learning.
S: Yes, that was a big change. So the author of the book wants you to think about this change. How did you feel? He lists a bunch of words for you to think about: Were you scared? excited? Sad?
C: I was sad. I am still sad. I miss being with my friends in our school.
S: I know. It is very hard. What does the book suggest you do when you are going through a change?
C: We can “resist change” or “ignore change”, but the author wants us to “embrace change”.
S: Hmm, what does that mean?
C: I think it means don’t fight it, take it.
S: Hmm, so what does it mean in your case, about moving to distance learning?
C: Eventually I started liking some parts of it actually. My teacher makes things a lot of fun, and she sometimes gives us little gifts when we go to pick up materials. And we also start school a bit later, which is nice, I get to sleep more! I also can share some of my Lego things which I could not take to school before.
S: But you still miss your friends and your teacher, a lot, don’t you?
C: Yes.
S: But you have embraced this change, I think. You are trying to see the good things, and trying not to get stuck complaining about the bad things.
C: Yes, and we are doing this so we can all stay healthy.
S: So then, this seems to resonate with the moral of this book. What would you say that that is? What is the main message of this book?
C: Don’t fight against change…
S: … and I think another important message is to talk to people who will listen when you are worried about a change.
C: And in my case that was you Sprinkles.
S: Thank you for sharing with me Caramel. I think you are handling this big change as well as any little bunny can. Did reading this book make you think of anything else?
C: What do you mean?
S: How about impermanence?
C: No, not impermanence, again!
S: I know. You and Marshmallow always complain when we are listening to wakeup videos on our meditation app, and they turn out to be about impermanence. Here is one we liked, about the seventy-two microseasons in traditional Japanese calendar:
C: They are all about impermanence! And especially Marshmallow does not like that.
S: Yes, but the point of those videos is almost the same as this book, right? That change is always happening, and to everyone?
C: Yes, in those videos they say: “an idea so important to mindfulness: impermanence, that is, that everything is changing in our minds, our bodies and the world around us.”
S: So change is the only constant, as an old philosopher once said. Then we’d better get used to it, and learn how to handle it well.
C: Impermanence is permanent!
S: Yes, that is true. So let us wrap this up then. What doesn’t change in our reviews is that I ask you to give me three words that describe this book.
C: Yes, you do always ask me that! Let me see. Colorful, because the letters are colorful.
S: It almost reminds me of The Book With No Pictures that you had reviewed before.
C: True. There are not many pictures in this one, either. There is only a picture of a bowl with some Korean food in it and a plate with a sandwich.
S: Yep, that is kind of why I thought of that book you reviewed before. Okay, you need to give me two more words…
C: Helpful… and impermanence!
S: I guess that last one needed to make it in, right? Okay, then. Let us call it done. What do you want to say to our readers as we end?
C: Stay tuned for more book bunnies reviews!
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