Newberry – Page 5 – BookBunnies

Marshmallow reviews Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

Today Marshmallow reviews another classic, Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O’Dell, first published in 1960 and awarded the Newberry Medal in 1961. She has been reading a school copy of this book with her class and she was fascinated to learn that the story was based on a real young Native American girl who lived alone for many years on San Nicolas Island during the 19th century.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about finding friends in unexpected places, or young people surviving very difficult situations, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with spoilers): Twelve-year-old Karana has lived on the Island of the Blue Dolphins for all her life with her family. So when her father, the chief, is killed, her tribe’s new chief decides that he will leave the island. He does not return and then white missionaries come and tell them that they need to pack up and get on their ships. When the boats are leaving, Karana realizes that her brother Ramo is not on any of the boats. When she runs to find him, she learns that he had left to find his fishing spear. Then they realize that the ships have left without them.

Later while they are on the island alone, Karana leaves to collect needed items and comes back to find Ramo dead. Wild dogs had killed him and so she decided that she would take revenge on the wild dogs. So she builds weapons, which is against her tribe’s laws because women are not allowed to make weapons. So as she continues to try to get revenge she eventually makes friends with one of the wild dogs, whom she names Rontu.

Eventually she makes a hut (my favorite part) and a fence around it to make something sort of like a yard. And so she gets used to living on the island. But still she wonders if the ships will return.

Marshmallow is reading Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell. — Marshmallow is reading *Island of the Blue Dolphins* by Scott O’Dell.

Marshmallow’s Review: This is a sad and well-written book. It is so sad how Karana’s father and brother die and she is left alone on the island without any one else. I felt really sad that Karana was left alone and she had to survive all by herself.

Island of the Blue Dolphins is a very moving book that every bunny should read at some point. It is a very good book for (probably older) readers. It might be sad for younger ones.

Reading Island of the Blue Dolphins can make the reader wonder what they would do if they were in Karana’s situation. I think that it would be very difficult for me to do all she has done, especially to build a house all by myself because I’m a bunny.

The book shows that humans can be very cruel to each other because people who had come to hunt otters on Karana’s island killed Karana’s father. But it also shows that humans can be very resourceful because Karana is very young but manages to survive on the island all by herself.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 95%.

Marshmallow rates Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell 95%. — Marshmallow rates *Island of the Blue Dolphins* by Scott O’Dell 95%.

Marshmallow reviews Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo

The book bunny household has enjoyed almost every book they read of Kate DiCamillo. Today Marshmallow reviews one of her favorites: Flora and Ulysses, published in 2013 and awarded the Newberry Medal in 2014.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you liked reading any other book by Kate DiCamillo, such as Because of Winn-Dixie, The Tale of Despereaux, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, and Mercy Watson, or if you like books about unexpected friendships, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with spoilers): “Cynic” Flora Belle Buckman’s knowledge is put to the test when her neighbor runs over a squirrel with a vacuum. She knows a lot of things about tumors and other things that can go wrong in life. But one thing that she has yet to learn is how to perform CPR on a squirrel. Which is exactly what she does.

While the vacuum is about to suck up the squirrel, his only thought is, “FOOD!” Not, “I don’t want to die!” or “This is the end.” As the squirrel is waking up, he hears a voice, Flora’s, saying, “Breathe!” And so he does.

When he wakes up he is a different squirrel. And he is very, VERY hungry. So Flora sneaks him into her house. And she names him Ulysses after the vacuum that sucked him up (the Ulysses 2000X).

When Flora and her mother go to sleep, Ulysses goes and raids the pantry and then starts to type on Flora’s mother’s typewriter. He writes:

“Squirtel! I am. Ulysses. Born anew.”

Flora’s mother gets upset because she doesn’t know about Ulysses, and so she thinks that Flora typed it. When she eventually finds out about Ulysses, she tells Flora’s dad (they are divorced), to put Ulysses in a sack, then hit Ulysses on the head with a shovel (which will “put him out of his misery”), and then bury him with the shovel.

When Flora hears about this plan, she gets very upset. She is not only upset that her mother could be so cruel to a squirrel but also because she is upset about Mary Ann, her mother’s lamp. Flora’s mother says that she loves Mary Ann with all her heart even though she never says that about Flora. Flora is understandably upset, but she tries to ignore it by saying that she is a cynic and she doesn’t care, but she actually really does.

Marshmallow is reading Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo. — Marshmallow is reading *Flora and Ulysses* by Kate DiCamillo.

Marshmallow’s Review: This book is both heartwarming and funny. Kate DiCamillo did a very good job of writing a funny book that can also make the reader happier.

Flora and Ulysses has a lot of interesting characters. For example, Ulysses the squirrel is a very interesting character and it is very funny how his only thought before he got sucked up by the vacuum and became smarter was, “FOOD!” Flora is also a very interesting character. She likes reading Incandesto, a comic book about a janitor who fell into a large pool of a cleaning liquid and became a superhero. And Flora really likes reading the comic strip that is at the end of every Incandesto book, called Terrible Things Can Happen to You! which is how she determines that she is a cynic.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo 100%. — Marshmallow rates *Flora and Ulysses* by Kate DiCamillo 100%.

Marshmallow reviews Holes by Louis Sachar

This week Marshmallow wanted to write about a book she has borrowed from her school library. Below she shares her thoughts about this book: Holes, by Louis Sachar, first written in 1998 and awarded the Newberry Medal in 1999.

Marshmallow’s Overview: If you like books about treasure and family curses and children, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with spoilers): Stanley Yelnats (his last name spelled backwards is Stanley) gets arrested for stealing the shoes of Clyde Livingston, a famous baseball player who is usually called “Sweet Feet”. The shoes were going to be donated to the shelter in which he was raised. Stanley is actually innocent but his explanation is not very believable: the shoes fell from the sky and he tried to run home to give them to his father who was trying to invent a way to recycle shoes. Stanley “had thought that they were God’s blessing” and that God had given them to Stanley to deliver to his father.

So Stanley is accused and he has two options: going to prison or going to Camp Green Lake to dig holes to improve character. Stanley and his parents choose him to go to Camp Green Lake to dig holes.

After an eight-hour ride to the camp, he is introduced to other kids who have been at the camp for a long time and have experience in digging holes. The Camp has no lakes, and is not green.

Every day the kids at the camp have to march out on the nonexistent lake and dig a hole that has to be 5ft deep and 5ft wide. They measure the holes with their shovels that are 5ft long. They are supposed to do this everyday including Saturday and Sunday.

At the Camp, Stanley meets Zero, a strange kid who apparently likes to dig holes and does not know how to read. Zero is the fastest digger and makes a deal with Stanley to dig his hole for him if he teaches him how to read. Stanley and Zero becomes good friends.

Camp Green Lake is run by the Warden. She has poisonous nail polish made with rattlesnake venom. Everyone at the camp thinks that she can see everything. Eventually Zero and Stanley find out that the Warden is after something. They realize that all kids digging are working to help the Warden find the loot of Kissing Kate Barlow. And Zero and Stanley figure out that if the Warden finds the treasure, she will probably not use it for good.

Who will find the treasure first?

Marshmallow is reading Holes, by Louis Sachar. — Marshmallow is reading *Holes*, by Louis Sachar.

Marshmallow’s Review: I loved this book. It is very well written and the plot is fantastic. I had heard that this was a fantastic book and it really is. Kids under 5 might get scared at some points, but overall it is not too scary.

This is a great read for anyone to read alone or to read aloud. I expect I will read it again.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates Holes, by Louis Sachar, 100%. — Marshmallow rates *Holes*, by Louis Sachar, 100%.

Marshmallow reviews Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

Recently, Marshmallow reread the 1939 classic, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, which is about a man (Mr. Popper) that is sent a penguin by an Arctic/Antarctic explorer (Admiral Drake). A Newberry Honor recipient from 1939, this book was one of the first full-length books Sprinkles and Marshmallow read together many years ago. Written by Richard Atwater and Florence Atwater, and illustrated by Robert Lawson, the book still amused Marshmallow when she reread it recently, and she wanted to write about it for the book bunnies blog.

Marshmallow’s Overview: If you like books that are about penguins, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary: One day, Mr. Popper of Stillwater, Minnesota, received in the mail a penguin. The penguin was mailed to him by the famous Antarctic explorer Admiral Drake. Mr. Popper often dreamed of polar explorations, and he had written to Admiral Drake about penguins.

Mr. Popper named the penguin Captain Cook because he kept on making a funny sound like “cook” when he came out of the box and because Mr. Popper loved explorers. (Captain Cook was named after a famous explorer named James Cook.) Mr. Popper had the fridge emptied so then Captain Cook could live inside of it. But soon the penguin started getting sick. Mr. Popper learned from the zoo that maybe Captain Cook was lonely. Then the zoo sent him a female penguin named Greta, and Captain Cook was no longer alone.

Soon Captain Cook and Greta had a family. After some time they had a total of twelve penguins to feed and Mr. Popper decided he needed to find a way to take care of them. He trained then to do tricks like climbing up and down a ladder or marching when Mrs. Popper played the piano. Eventually the penguins became a part of the Popper family.

The back cover of the book summarizes the story well:

It was hard enough for Mr. Popper to support himself, Mrs. Popper, Bill and Janie Popper. The addition of twelve penguins to the family made it impossible to make both ends meet. Then Mr. Popper had a splendid idea. The penguins might support the Poppers. And so they did.

Marshmallow is showing the back cover of *Mr. Popper’s Penguins*, written by Richard and Florence Atwater, and illustrated by Robert Lawson.

Marshmallow’s Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a really cute book. It is also a classic, a timeless tale that will definitely warm the reader’s heart.

This is a great read for those who are looking for a book about penguins. It is a fiction book so it does not have facts about the intriguing species of different penguins, like the Blue Fairy Penguin or the Emperor Penguin, but Captain Cook and the rest of the his penguin family will entertain and intrigue the reader to learn more about penguins. (These flightless birds are adorable!) I especially liked how the authors made the penguins realistic and gave them personalities. For example, Captain Cook is a very curios penguin who likes to explore everything that he can lay his wings on.

I also like the pictures in the book that show the events in the book happening. The pictures are like photos that are snapped right when the events are happening. For example, in one of the scenes Mr. Popper trips on Captain Cook’s leash and the picture in him falling down to the sidewalk he is walking on while Captain Cook is waddling away from the scene.

Marshmallow is pointing at one of the illustrations in Mr. Popper's :Penguins, written by Richard and Florence Atwater. The illustrations were made by Robert Lawson. — Marshmallow is pointing at one of the illustrations in *Mr. Popper’s Penguins*, written by Richard and Florence Atwater. The illustrations were made by Robert Lawson.

I think that this book is for any age and is an easy read. Even so it is a book that will make people want to read and reread it over and over again because it is such a sweet story. It is, like I said an easier book to read, so I think it would be great for ages 6-9 but I think that adults would also enjoy it.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates Mr Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater 100%. — Marshmallow rates *Mr Popper’s Penguins* by Richard and Florence Atwater 100%.