Marshmallow’s reviews – Page 3

Marshmallow reviews Spooky Classics for Children: A Companion Reader, as told by Jim Weiss, and with Dramatizations by Chris Bauer

This week both of the younger book bunnies wanted to review spooky books to honor Halloween 2025. So on Wednesday, Caramel reviewed a cute picture book about a zombie and a brain. And today, Marshmallow reviews Spooky Classics for Children: A Companion Reader, as told by Jim Weiss, and with Dramatizations by Chris Bauer, which offers modern adaptations of three classic short stories.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you are looking for a fun book to read with your family during the fall season, then this is the book for you!

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): This book is divided into several sections. The Preface introduces the stories and explains that the book can be used in three ways: listen, read, and speak. The first section has the stories laid out in a normal picture book-like fashion; this is Part I: Three Spooky Stories. The second section (Part II: Three Spooky Plays) provides scripts for each story and a guide for how to perform each one.

The first story is called “The Canterville Ghost”, and it was originally written by Oscar Wilde and published in 1887. The story is set in Britain. The American Otis family (Mr. Otis is the American ambassador to Great Britain) moves into the Canterville Chase, a famous old ancestral castle. The catch is that the estate is haunted by the Canterville Ghost. Lord Canterville warns the Otis family of the haunting, but they do not believe in “mumbo-jumbo.” However, when the ghost’s existence becomes undeniable, they react in a relatively kind, well-mannered way. Eventually, the story ends happily—which I was initially not expecting! (Readers interested in the original Wilde version can check out this Project Gutenberg link.)

The second story is called “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” and was originally written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and published anonymously in 1837. The story is about five friends who are in their older years. Dr. Heidegger invites his four friends over to his house and offers them water from the Fountain of Youth. All four of his friends lived lives of sin and are full of regret. However, Dr. Heidegger himself does not drink the water; he merely wishes to see what happens when they do. They drink the water and age backwards, regaining their beauty and energy. However, they did not follow Dr. Heidegger’s advice to record for themselves some lessons learned before they drank the elixir, and so they do not remember the wisdom that they were supposed to have learned throughout their lives (though it is not that they forgot it, it is mostly that they did not gain it in the first place). The story ends with a clear message, and this story made me think a lot more than I was expecting to at the end. (Interested readers can check out this Project Gutenberg page for Twice-Told Tales, a collection that contains, among many others, the original story by Hawthorne.)

The third story is called “The Sending of Dana Da” and was originally written by Rudyard Kipling and published in 1888. The story is set in India a long time ago. A British man named Richard Evans meets a local wizard named Dana Da whom he treats generously. Dana Da offers the man help in return, asking him if he needs help in dealing with anyone he loves or hates. Evans eventually admits that he loathes a man named Everett Lone. Dana Da’s sending is a magical energy that he can shape into whatever he wishes; for this case, he shapes it into cats that appear in Lone’s life constantly (Lone hates cats). This magical story ends in a quaint way and wraps up the first section of the book nicely. (The original version by Kipling is somewhat different and may or may not be appropriate for young bunnies, so we will not link to it from here.)

Marshmallow is reading Spooky Classics for Children: A Companion Reader, as told by Jim Weiss, and with Dramatizations by Chris Bauer — Marshmallow is reading *Spooky Classics for Children: A Companion Reader, as told by Jim Weiss, and with Dramatizations by Chris Bauer*

Marshmallow’s Review: Overall, I would highly recommend this book! I really enjoyed listening to the audio recording that came with it, and it was a really great experience. Jim Weiss is a great voice actor! (We loved his readings of the Harry Potter books many years ago.) But even if you do not have access to the recordings, the text itself is really engaging on its own. This book is accessible and appropriate for all ages, so I think it would be really fun to read or listen to as a family. I liked the drawings, but I especially liked the writing style; I found it energetic, engaging, yet simple at the same time.

The stories were also surprisingly deep. The first story made me think a lot about generosity while the second made me think a LOT about wisdom, living life in a meaningful way, and appreciation. I also wondered a lot about youth and age afterwards. The third one teaches a lesson about logic and magic, but also friendship and kindness. I would explain more but I think that might give the ending away.

The second section with the screenplay versions of the stories adapted by Chris Bauer would also be a great help for theatre programs for little children. I can see it helping set up a great show for children to watch and / or perform in. Of course I could also see a family doing it among themselves, too, just for fun. There are a lot of useful suggestions for either scenario.

As a whole, this book was really enjoyable, and I would completely recommend it to everyone! I know this is a bit late, but it would also make for a perfect Halloween book!

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates Spooky Classics for Children: A Companion Reader, as told by Jim Weiss, and with Dramatizations by Chris Bauer 100%. — Marshmallow rates *Spooky Classics for Children: A Companion Reader,* as told by Jim Weiss, and with Dramatizations by Chris Bauer 100%.

Marshmallow reviews Teen Innovators: Nine Young People Engineering a Better World with Creative Inventions by Fred Estes

This week Marshmallow is talking about Teen Innovators: Nine Young People Engineering a Better World with Creative Inventions, written by Fred Estes, illustrated by Kavel Rafferty, and published first in 2022.

Marshmallow reviews Teen Innovators: Nine Young People Engineering a Better World with Creative Inventions, written by Fred Estes and illustrated by Kavel Rafferty. — Marshmallow reviews *Teen Innovators: Nine Young People Engineering a Better World with Creative Inventions*, written by Fred Estes and illustrated by Kavel Rafferty.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like non-fiction books that are both informative and inspiring, then this is the book for you!

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): This book is composed of several parts. It starts off with a warm, welcoming introduction that matches the tone of the rest of the book. Then there are six chapters in total, which are each around twenty to thirty pages long—they are relatively quick to read due to the large font and highly comprehensible writing. In each chapter, the author presents a young protagonist and the problem that they faced and / or wished to resolve. The author describes their process and the innovations and inventions they made, highlighting the experiences of young people in STEM.

Essentially, each chapter is a story about a young person who invented something successful that helped the world. The six stories are “Jack Adraka and His Improved Cancer Test,” “Gitanjali Rao and Tethys, Her Lead Detection Sensor,” “William Kamkwamba and the Windmill,” “Austin Veseliza and the Talking Glove,” “Deepika Kurup and Purifying Water through Sunlight and Science,” and finally “Cristian Arcega, Lorenzo Santillan, Oscar Vasquez, Luis ARanda, and Stinky, Their Champion Robot.”

I cannot choose one that I liked over the other because I loved reading about all of them! However, William Kamkwamba’s windmill struck me as especially remarkable given how limited his resources were and how he taught himself most of what he knew! (Incidentally, William Kamkwamba is 39 years old today, and his life continues to be impressive. You should definitely check out his two TED talks at https://www.ted.com/speakers/william_kamkwamba.)

These stories show that there are people who are driven to do good at such a young age! I also liked how the book ends with an inspiring call to action. The author describes problems in the world, but says that one can always take action to fix them. I hope to be like them one day!

Marshmallow is reading Teen Innovators: Nine Young People Engineering a Better World with Creative Inventions, written by Fred Estes and illustrated by Kavel Rafferty. — Marshmallow is reading *Teen Innovators: Nine Young People Engineering a Better World with Creative Inventions*, written by Fred Estes and illustrated by Kavel Rafferty.

Marshmallow’s Review: I really liked Teen Innovators and I would highly recommend it to any and all readers because it is a fun, fascinating, and fulfilling book!

I read Teen Innovators during a time when I was starting to think about STEM as a career path. I am still not fully decided on a specific path, but this book really shows how STEM can be an extremely powerful force for good. I liked how this book highlighted inventors and innovators who are around the same age as the people who will read the book (most likely!) This is really inspiring.

More specifically I would highly recommend Teen Innovators to all who are worried about the future and feel disappointed in humanity. Even though humans do a lot of bad stuff and there is indeed a lot to worry about, books like this and people like the ones in these true stories show that there is a lot of good in the world, too!

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates Teen Innovators: Nine Young People Engineering a Better World with Creative Inventions, written by Fred Estes and illustrated by Kavel Rafferty, 100%. — Marshmallow rates *Teen Innovators: Nine Young People Engineering a Better World with Creative Inventions*, written by Fred Estes and illustrated by Kavel Rafferty, 100%.

Marshmallow reviews An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

The book bunnies household have learned a boatload of chemistry from Hank Green’s Crash Course Chemistry series on YouTube. So they all were excited to discover that Green had also published a couple of novels way back when. This summer, first Sprinkles, then Caramel, and finally Marshmallow got their paws on the first of these books, and once started, could not put it down until they were done. Today Marshmallow shares with our readers her thoughts on this book, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, first published in 2018.

[Starting this week, we are moving our weekend posts to Sundays. We hope you will continue to follow us with our new schedule.]

Marshmallow reviews An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green. — Marshmallow reviews *An Absolutely Remarkable Thing* by Hank Green.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like science fiction books that are fun, fascinating, and feel almost real, then this is the book for you!

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): April May is an artist. Unfortunately, after going to a private art school, she is now in a lot of debt. Working at a start-up under a very bad contract, April is struggling to find time to make her own art. Her appreciation for true pieces of art is what draws her attention to Carl. While this may sound like the start of a romantic relationship, it is anything but. Carl is a giant, ten-foot-tall, metal sculpture that appears one day on a sidewalk in New York City. Late at night, April walks by it and—thinking that it must be the work of a fellow artist—coerces her friend Andy to record her in a video highlighting how wonderful the piece is, despite the lack of interest from the other passersby. They post this video on YouTube and go to sleep.

The next morning, April and Andy wake up amidst a maelstrom of news. It turns out that sculptures just like Carl (which is the name April used during the video to describe the sculpture in New York) suddenly showed up all over the world; there are sixty four of them in total, all standing perfectly still in plain view on sidewalks in major cities. The news and the Internet are reeling in confusion. Security checks and video surveillance cameras in each area where a Carl appeared went dark for five minutes before the sculptures showed up. The rather impossible, illogical arrival of the Carls leaves the world in need of an explanation.

Since April was the one who “discovered” New York Carl, she becomes somewhat of a celebrity. Soon, she and Andy start raking in thousands from their video and interviews. The attention, especially on social media, is overwhelming, but April’s sort-of girlfriend (Maya) helps her cope, advising her to slow down the speed at which April is exposing herself to the world. But the overwhelming attention is also addictive; to keep it coming, April and Andy hatch a scheme to keep themselves poised as the go-to experts on the Carls. April, Maya, and Andy all met at their art school and are all experts in designing brands. April decides that she will brand herself as the curious, yet calm human person in contrast to the other-worldliness of the Carls. And I mean that literally. Miranda, a material scientist at UC Berkeley, reaches out to April and they realize that the characteristics of the Carls cannot physically exist because there is no existent or create-able material that matches it. The Carls must have come from out of this world!

As April and Miranda work together, they start realizing that there are sequences, or puzzles, that seem to be left by the Carls for humanity to solve together. Many of them are in the Dream, a shared experience that almost every human on the planet starts to have during sleep. The Carls have yet to say a word, yet the world is holding its breath. Driven by ambition, curiosity, and a little bit of arrogance, April May plans to be the one who uncovers why the Carls are here and what they really are.

Marshmallow is reading An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green. — Marshmallow is reading *An Absolutely Remarkable Thing* by Hank Green.

Marshmallow’s Review: This was an absolutely remarkable book (see what I did there?) I would highly recommend An Absolutely Remarkable Thing to all readers to read at some point. However, it is not quite appropriate for young bunnies because it does use a lot of bad words and it does make a lot of references to sexual activity (though, luckily, none is shown!)

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is both intensely entertaining and fast paced, but it also is also very thought-provoking. At the beginning of the book, I did not enjoy Green’s style too much, but I became more accustomed to it later on. His writing is very smooth and the story never has a single lull. The plot is fascinating and literally keeps you hooked until the end. Green builds a world around you and it is very hard to disassociate from it while you are reading. Green makes the book feel so real that there were times I stopped reading and forgot that there are not, indeed, Carls in the real world.

I think Green exceeded all expectations for a first-time writer. He excels in all standard aspects of storytelling, but I think the thing that stood out to me the most was the philosophical part of this book. The main character is definitely not perfect. She is very dis-likable, which I think is a testament to Green’s prowess because one ends up on her side at the end anyways. Every person in this book is so real and flawed and truly human that this could actually take place right now. Part of what I think made this book so realistic was the consistent themes of social media, celebrity, and people’s need for attention. I kept thinking of how much of Green’s own personal experience in the virtual world was reflected in the book.

I was mildly annoyed that An Absolutely Remarkable Thing ends in a cliffhanger because I wanted to know how things really end. Though many of the mysteries were resolved in this volume, there are a lot more that were not. Green wrote this to be the first in a two-part series so I am probably going to have to read the next one too!

April May, the main narrator, is a very honest yet blunt person. But I really liked how, through April, Green managed to make a convincing argument for humanity. I loved how he showcased both the bad and the good of characters and of humanity as a whole. There are a lot of too-real moments that mimic what politics and some industries look like now. I think overall An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is a work of art because it takes every broken, ugly part of humanity and glues it together with the beautiful parts to create something that is glaringly imperfect yet honest and meaningful.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green 100%. — Marshmallow rates *An Absolutely Remarkable Thing* by Hank Green 100%.

Marshmallow reviews Soseki Natsume’s I Am A Cat: The Manga Edition

Today Marshmallow reviews Soseki Natsume’s I Am A Cat: The Manga Edition, the graphic novelization of the Japanese classic I Am A Cat, originally written by Soeki Natsume in 1905-1906. This “manga edition” was retold and illustrated by Chiroru Kobato, translated into English by Zack Davisson, and published in 2021. Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

[In this post, we mention suicide as it relates to the content of the book, so if this is a sensitive topic for you, please consider not reading further.]

Marshmallow reviews Soseki Natsume's I Am A Cat: The Manga Edition, retold and illustrated by Chiroru Kobato, and translated into English by Zack Davisson. — Marshmallow reviews *Soseki Natsume’s I Am A Cat: The Manga Edition*, retold and illustrated by Chiroru Kobato, and translated into English by Zack Davisson.

Sprinkles: I am so excited we are finally talking about this book! I am very curious about it. So let us start with your standard overview.

Marshmallow: Sure! If you like thought-provoking and eye-opening books from other cultures and other time periods, then this is the book for you!

S: That is a great start. Okay, now please do tell us a bit about what this book is about.. Since the title is “I am a cat”, I am guessing it is probably about a cat.

M: Yes, actually the main character is a cat who narrates the whole story (which takes place in early twentieth century Japan). He was separated from his family at a young age and was taken in—reluctantly—by the family of an English teacher named Sensei Kushami. He describes his life with them and the silly human occurrences / things they experience.

S: So what kinds of things does he talk about?

M: Early on, he describes his near-death experience with mochi. He also watches the humans gossip a lot about a rich woman named Ms. Kaneda and her nose (which I thought was very insensitive). The woman, whom the cat calls Lady Nose, has a very ungrateful yet beautiful daughter who may marry one of Sensei Kushami’s friends. There is a lot of confusion that surrounds this affair though and a lot of false rumors and accusations get thrown around.

S: So the cat witnesses and talks about a whole lot of silly, trivial, petty things humans worry about.

M: Yes. In the original version of the book, according to this neat recap we found online, this makes him feel pretty superior. In this manga version, he also seems a little amused by their behavior; however, he seems a little less judgemental.

S: In that recap and also on the Wikipedia article for the book, we also learn that the Japanese version of the title “I Am A Cat” also has sort of this formal feel to it because it uses a particular version of the first person pronoun “I” that is “a very high-register phrasing more appropriate to a nobleman, conveying grandiloquence and self-importance”. I am guessing that also makes the book funny to begin with, the cat is kind of pretty full of himself.

M: I presume it does in Japanese, but of course, I didn’t quite catch that joke myself in English.

Marshmallow is reading Soseki Natsume's I Am A Cat: The Manga Edition, retold and illustrated by Chiroru Kobato, and translated into English by Zack Davisson. — Marshmallow is reading *Soseki Natsume’s I Am A Cat: The Manga Edition*, retold and illustrated by Chiroru Kobato, and translated into English by Zack Davisson.

S: English has a single first-person pronoun which makes it a lot easier to learn or speak it, but you also lose a lot of nuance in this way, I suppose. Anyways, so this cat is observing his humans, kind of like Garfield. Garfield is kind of self-important in a way, but maybe a bit less interested in the humans.

M: Yes. I felt like the main character here did seem to care about his human family, but they did not really seem to always care about him too much (Sensei Kushani originally did not want him in the house at all).

S: Hmm, that is interesting. So I know that when you first read this book, you were a bit disturbed by it. Can you tell us a bit about that?

M: I felt that the book made too many references to suicide too lightly. Several characters consider hanging themselves on a pine called the Hanging Tree. None of the main characters ends up killing themselves, but it felt like it was mentioned too many times in the course of such a short book.

S: I can see how that made the feel of the book kind of dark and uncomfortable for you. I am sorry about that. I had thought that this book is supposed to be satirical and philosophical, so I suggested that you read it.

M: It’s okay! It was a little dark and unexpected, but the rest of the book was amusing to read. I can see why people find it both satirical and philosophical. It is pretty amusing to read a cat pontificating about the silly ways of humans. Like we bunnies do sometimes. People-watching is one of my favorite hobbies.

S: I know, right? People-watching is fun! Okay, so tell us a bit about the satire or the philosophy then.

M: Okay, the philosophy part was also pretty dark and depressing though. Sensei Kushani and his friends in academia and one in business discuss the integration of Western ideals into traditional Japanese culture. They also say some very sexist things about women to their friend who just got engaged. Meanwhile, the cat narrating the book ponders about life and whether it is worth it. At some point, he reaches the conclusion (which I disagree with) that life is only suffering and that death is the only peace.

S: Okay, I can see that maybe these ideas are a bit too heavy for a “manga edition”. Maybe the original book deals with them with more nuance. So maybe let us now talk about the manga nature of the book. I know both you and Caramel have read a lot of graphic novels. But is this your very first manga?

M: I think so. I have never read a book that was meant to be read backwards which was a little difficult to adjust to.

S: Backwards for us of course, not for many other people around the world who read from right to left.

M: Yes, but I am still not sure whether I was supposed to start from the top of the page or somewhere else.

S: I can imagine that can be disorienting. I have read only one manga-style book and that was disorienting for me, too. But I am honestly disoriented by all graphic novels, so maybe it was also that. Anyways, so let us wrap up this review then. All in all, did you enjoy reading this book? Did you find it interesting?

M: This book was definitely interesting. It helped me understand a little bit more about Japan’s culture and its understated, natural aesthetics and style. I also liked how this version simplified a classic book into a format that was somewhat easy to understand and definitely a lot easier to read for people who can’t read Japanese. I liked how this made one of the great Japanese novels accessible to others! I would rate this book around 95%.

S: That is wonderful, Marshmallow. Then I am also glad you read it. What would you like to tell our readers as we end the post?

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

Marshmallow rates Soseki Natsume's I Am A Cat: The Manga Edition, retold and illustrated by Chiroru Kobato, and translated into English by Zack Davisson, 95%. — Marshmallow rates *Soseki Natsume’s I Am A Cat: The Manga Edition*, retold and illustrated by Chiroru Kobato, and translated into English by Zack Davisson, 95%.