nonfiction – Page 2 – BookBunnies

Caramel reviews The Little Book of Bees: Buzzy Wit and Wisdom by Sandra Lawrence

Today Caramel is chatting with Sprinkles (and a new friend!) about a little yellow book about bees: The Little Book of Bees: Buzzy Wit and Wisdom, compiled and written by Sandra Lawrence and published first in 2021.

Sprinkles: So we are talking about a little book about bees today.

Caramel: Yes! And that is why my friend is here with me.

Bee-positive the bee: Hello, Sprinkles and the book bunnies fans! I read this book first, to make sure Caramel would not be learning anything wrong about me and my folks. It seemed fine. There are six chapters. I like the first introductory one the most because it is called The Joy of Bees. Because we bring joy everywhere we go.

S: Except when you sting someone, but of course that is not a thing you like doing. I understand it is only a matter of self-defense and last resort.

C: Sprinkles, the stinging usually kills the bee, so maybe it is a bit morbid to be talking about that.

S: Okay, yes, you have a point, Caramel, how thoughtless of me… What kind of a hostess am I being? Welcome, Bee-positive, to the book bunnies blog.

B: Happy to be here!

S: I am glad you and Caramel read this book together.

C: Yeah, I really liked being able to share it with Bee-positive.

Caramel and Bee-positive the Bee review The Little Book of Bees: Buzzy Wit and Wisdom by Sandra Lawrence. — Caramel and Bee-positive the Bee review *The Little Book of Bees: Buzzy Wit and Wisdom* by Sandra Lawrence.

S: Okay, so Bee-positive started us off with the contents of the book. Maybe tell us a bit more. What are the other chapters like?

C: Well, the second chapter is called “Nectar of the Gods: Bees in myth, folklore and superstition”. So here I learned all kinds of weird things about bees. For example, Alexander the Great was buried in a sarcophagus filled with honey, did you know that?

B: But of course it is not true!

S: Hmm, I wonder… Anyways, I guess that is why the chapter is titled myth, folklore, and superstition.

C: Yep, probably.

S: Though honestly, I for one would not have wanted to lie down in a pool of honey. You know I love honey but …

C: Then again, it might be soft and comfortable and smell good too!

S: Hmm. No. Not for me.

B: Hey, it is a bit rude, don’t you think? We don’t make our honey so folks sleep in it or put old things in it.

S: Agreed.

C: Alright, let us move on then. The third chapter is “Hive World: Of bees and beekeeping” There are many facts about beekeeping here.

B: And the fourth chapter is “What’s the Buzz: Bees of the rich, powerful, famous and fashionable”. This is about the posh part of the family, the bees associated with rich and famous people.

C: Yeah, so this is where we learn about how Napoleon’s symbol was the bee.

S: Huh, I guess there is something to be said about bees being hard-working and so on. But apparently, according to Wikipedia, Napoleon chose them as a symbol for immortality and the resurrection of the empire and such. That is so interesting!

C: Yeah, I had no idea, either. Then the fifth chapter is called “A Taste of Honey”.

S: Hmm, I think I might like that chapter. Me and Winnie the Pooh.

C: Yes, you might. We did too. There are many facts in the chapter about honey.

S: Can you share with us something new that you learned about honey?

C: Sure, for example, they found jars of honey in the Valley of the Kings, 3500 years old.

S: Wow! That is old! I wonder how it tastes… as far as I know, honey does not spoil, really.

C: Well, we can never really keep it long enough to see; we eat it all up.

Caramel and Bee-positive the Bee are reading The Little Book of Bees: Buzzy Wit and Wisdom by Sandra Lawrence. — !Caramel and Bee-positive the Bee are reading *The Little Book of Bees: Buzzy Wit and Wisdom* by Sandra Lawrence.

C: Okay, now the last chapter. This one is called “Listen to the Bees: Advice for Life”.

B: Wait, maybe this is my favorite chapter!

C: Well, it is kind of one of my favorites too. It is full of interesting facts and proverbs and quotes from people who think about what the bees can tell us.

S: Can you give us an example?

C: Ok, here is an Arabian proverb: “When you shoot an arrow of truth, dip its tip in honey.”

S: Oh, cool. Can you tell our reader what you think it might mean?

C: To be kind when you tell the truth, like honey-coat it.

S: That makes sense. People might be too overwhelmed with pain to get your point if you don’t try to be gentle with them when telling them hard, painful truths.

B: Now, that would be a good use of honey. I approve.

C: Me too.

S: So this was a neat book for you, right, Caramel? You got to hang out with your new friend Bee-positive and learn a whole lot of new facts.

C: Yes, it is a very good book, and we had a lot of fun reading it. Right, Bee-positive?

B: Yeah, totally!

S: Okay, maybe this is a good time to wrap up this review. What would you like to tell our readers as we wrap up this review, Bee-positive?

B: See you guys, maybe, later! I will be the one buzzing around on those flower beds.

S: And how about you, Caramel?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel and Bee-positive the Bee loved reading The Little Book of Bees: Buzzy Wit and Wisdom by Sandra Lawrence together and recommend it to all other little bunny friends! — Caramel and Bee-positive the Bee loved reading *The Little Book of Bees: Buzzy Wit and Wisdom* by Sandra Lawrence together and recommend it to all other little bunny friends!

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 Digital SAT Manual (Version 8.0) by The Princeton Review

Today, Marshmallow is doing something different. She is writing about Digital SAT Manual by The Princeton Review, a test preparation manual.

[This is not meant as an advertisement or customer review. We felt that even though Digital SAT Manual is a different kind of book than our usual fare, it is undeniable that Marshmallow has spent a lot of time with it in these past few months. She also felt strongly that she had something useful to say about it.]

Marshmallow reviews Digital SAT Manual (Version 8.0) by The Princeton Review. — Marshmallow reviews *Digital SAT Manual* (Version 8.0) by The Princeton Review.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you are a student planning on taking the SAT, then this is the book for you!

Marshmallow’s Summary (with no Spoilers): The SAT (or what used to be called the Scholastic Aptitude Test) is a standardized test used in the United States for college admissions. There is a lot of hype about it and many many rumors and myths. But ultimately, it seems to me that the SAT is not a measure of intelligence, but rather a measure of how good you are at utilizing tricks and the nuances of the testing type. It does seem to gauge, up to some level, how well you will do in college; this is true. If your score is below a certain level, many colleges will deem you unfit for entrance. The way to increase your score is to study, not just the material, but also the test itself.

Enter the Digital SAT Manual! The book starts off with a description of the SAT and the logistical details. It shows what the test will look like and how long each module is. This helps the reader gain a sense of familiarity with the testing format, which helps create a calmer experience during the actual exam. Then the book starts actually going into the specific types of questions that appear on the test and the strategies for each type. Before reading this book, I did not know that there were different question types. I kind of figured that the questions were all randomly ordered and were all random types. It turns out, though, that there is a lot of rhyme and reason behind the SAT, which is crucial to learn when preparing for the test.

Marshmallow is reading the Digital SAT Manual (Version 8.0) by The Princeton Review. — Marshmallow is reading the *Digital SAT Manual* (Version 8.0) by The Princeton Review.

Marshmallow’s Review: It may be clear already that I’ve recently taken the SAT. These past few months, the SAT has definitely been a topic close to the forefront of my mind. With many colleges and universities going back to requiring standardized test scores for admission, the importance of the SAT has only escalated. The best way to feel prepared is to know what is on the test and how to deal with it when you come face-to-face with it.

In the United States, the SAT marks a major landmark in many students’ lives—a point after which they are closer than ever to their college dreams. Of course, many withhold the fact that you need to study for the SAT. Many high-scoring students claim to have gone into the test without so much as opening a study book. However, anyone who has taken an SAT and examined the way it works will tell you: it is a test that scores how good you are at taking tests. As a bunny who took a couple practice tests and used study books before taking the actual digital SAT, I can confidently say that it is next to impossible for someone to get an outstanding score with no study; it is perhaps possible to get between a 1450 and 1500 first try but, above that, one must have studied.

I found the Digital SAT Manual to be extremely useful and effective; it helped me go from the mid-1400s to the 1500s. I really liked how it explained everything and was very transparent about the nature of the test. It detailed the different question types and had step-by-step instructions on how to answer each category. The practice sections were extremely helpful in helping me solidify my ability to understand the processes the book was teaching me. I did not always follow through with all of the book’s steps though; I felt like some annotation steps were superfluous and spent more time than I needed to or had. I also was a little surprised by how fast the test goes by; I definitely needed to go faster when taking it as opposed to when I did practice problems (for reference, I would generally finish the problem sets early, but found myself running out of time on longer practice tests).

As a whole, though, the Digital SAT Manual is irreplaceable. It is easy to understand and very interactive. I would highly recommend this book to all students. But above all, I would advise that you study for the SAT; trust me, the high-scorers are studying—even if they say otherwise!

Marshmallow’s Rating: 100%.

Marshmallow rates the Digital SAT Manual (Version 8.0) by The Princeton Review 100%. — Marshmallow rates the *Digital SAT Manual* (Version 8.0) by The Princeton Review 100%.

Marshmallow reviews Information is Beautiful by David McCandless

In June, Marshmallow reviewed Beautiful News: Positive Trends, Uplifting Stats, Creative Solutions by David McCandless, a beautiful book full of inspiring and visually stimulating infographics. Today she reviews an earlier book by David McCandless: Information is Beautiful, originally published in 2009 and revised in 2012.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like non-fictional books that are interesting and eye-opening, then this is the book for you!

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): A few weeks ago, I reviewed another book by David McCandless called Beautiful News. This book is a little different though. The author explains in the introduction:

“I went for subjects that sprang from my own curiosity and ignorance […] So, that’s what this book is. Miscellaneous facts and ideas, interconnected visually. A visual miscellaneum. A series of experiments in making information approachable and beautiful.”

That pretty much sums up this book! Every page (like the other book) is full of vivid colors, smooth and sharp shapes, and fascinating data.

One of the pages that stood out to me most contained a colorful spiral of increasingly smaller circles; each circle contained a cause of death and the chance of it occurring to you. Essentially, as you read closer to the center of the spiral, you see rarer and rarer ways of dying which was definitely interesting, but also terrifying. For some reason it felt like one of those choose-your-own-way books but a Wednesday Addams edition.

Another, less morbid and more cheerful page announced the most popular U.S. girls’ names–the following spread was about the most popular boy names too. Unfortunately, I didn’t see Marshmallow at the top.

I did really like one page that shows the global map and then covers what is succinctly described as “Man’s Humanity to Man” (philanthropy, free education, and other great things!) For example, I liked how it highlighted some bloodless revolutions like the Serbian Bulldozer Revolution in 2000. Not all the details are given, but I did learn a little bit about some things I didn’t know anything about.

Marshmallow is reading Information is Beautiful by David McCandless. Here you see her viewing the two-page spread titled "The One Machine: Map of the Internet". — Marshmallow is reading *Information is Beautiful* by David McCandless. Here you see her viewing the two-page spread titled “The One Machine: Map of the Internet”.

Marshmallow’s Review: Information is Beautiful is simply a beautiful book. I loved how every page is extremely visually appealing. That is definitely a reason to read the book on its own. I’m sure it would be a really fun picturebook for small bunnies! I did think it was interesting how the cover of this one is grayish and definitely less colorful than that of the other book of McCandless that I had reviewed earlier. Beautiful News was more directed and had a more specific message: hope. Information is Beautiful, on the other hand, is more about exposing the reader to the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I really enjoy books that reveal the depth and complexity of the world we are living in—something that is so easy to miss when all our screens seem to promise an abundance of simplistic solutions to boredom. In particular, the book brings together a great many disparate topics, and that opens the door to a room for the light of curiosity to explore. Basically, if you are interested in learning more about a topic you see in this book, you can Google it, look it up on Wikipedia, and go from there. In other words, this book can really be viewed as a collection of random bits of information, but I think it randomness is one of its strengths: there is bound to be something interesting for any bunny who looks inside.

I was a bit concerned about one of the displays called “Behind Every Great Man … Dictators’ Wives”. The display focused on the wives of the horrible dictators of the twentieth century, like Hitler, Stalin, Marcos, and so on. Honestly, I was disturbed by the title for the display, because these men were all terrible people. They themselves may have thought of themselves as great, but today historians would most likely not use that word, even in quotes.

But overall, I liked reading Information is Beautiful, and I appreciated the author’s goal to make information approachable and beautiful. But I must admit that I like McCandless’ other book a little more because it’s more uplifting. But this one is really fascinating in a different way, and I definitely recommend reading it!

Marshmallow’s Rating: 90%.

Marshmallow rates Information is Beautiful by David McCandless 90%. — Marshmallow rates *Information is Beautiful* by David McCandless 90%.