Peter H. Reynolds – BookBunnies

Marshmallow reviews The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds

A couple years ago, Caramel reviewed Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid, a 2005 book written by Megan McDonald and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. Soon after, Marshmallow reviewed Judy Moody Goes to College, yet another book written by McDonald and illustrated by Reynolds. But Peter Reynolds is not just an illustrator who works on other people’s books; he has his own books as well. Today Marshmallow reviews one of his most cherished books, The Dot, on its twentieth anniversary. Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Marshmallow, can you tell us a bit about this book?

Marshmallow: This is a book about creativity and artistic expression, even when you do not think you have it in you to be creative.

S: That is a neat recap of this book Marshmallow. So maybe let us go a bit into details. What exactly is the plot?

M: There is a little kid named Vashti and she thinks she cannot draw. So at the end of art class, her paper is still empty. And her teacher says, just make a mark and see where it takes you. And so she does. She stabs the paper and makes a dot.

S: Okay, then what happens?

M: Her teacher tells her to sign it.

S: Just a dot?

M: Yes.

S: Then what happens?

M: Well, I don’t want to give away the full story, but her teacher supports Vashti by showing that she values Vashti’s work even when Vashti does not think much of it. And then Vashti gets inspired to create more and more. And in the end, we see her encouraging another young person like her, who believes they are not creative at all, by telling them to “just make a mark and see where it takes you”.

S: So the idea is that you just get started, and then things go from there. Right?

M: Yep. You do not have to feel creative, you do not have to think you know what you are doing. But just get started, and just make your mark. The rest will follow.

Marshmallow is reading The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. — Marshmallow is reading *The Dot* by Peter H. Reynolds.

S: The author / illustrator dedicated this book to Mr. Matson, his seventh grade math teacher who “dared” him “to make [his] mark”. So even though the book is about art, it could be seen as a fable that is about any other thing we are not confident about, no?

M: Yes, I think so. I think the book is really inspiring.

S: I agree. What do you think of the illustrations and the visual aspects of the book?

M: I really like Peter Reynolds’ style. It is very simple, minimalistic, and sparse. But with the very few strokes of his pen, he draws really effective images.

S: Agreed.

M: I also like the way he uses color. Most of the book is in black and white but there are several well-placed splashes of color, which bring attention to specific items on the page. They add a lot to the feel of the whole book. By the way, the illustrations were apparently done with water color, ink, and tea. I wonder how he uses tea.

S: I have no idea!

M: I would like to know. But anyways, all in all I think this is a really neat book.

S: I agree. But Marshmallow, this is a picture book, and you do not review picture books much anymore. Do you perhaps not think this is for young bunnies only?

M: No, I think it can be inspirational for any bunny. Everyone needs some encouragement now and then.

S: Alright, that works for me. Maybe it is time to wrap up this review. What do you want to tell our readers?

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

Marshmallow enjoyed reading The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds and recommends it to all bunnies little and big who need a little bit of courage to get started. — Marshmallow enjoyed reading *The Dot* by Peter H. Reynolds and recommends it to all bunnies little and big who need a little bit of courage to get started.

Marshmallow reviews Judy Moody Goes to College by Megan McDonald

After Caramel reviewed Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid by Megan McDonald, Marshmallow decided it was time for her to review a book about the one and only Judy Moody, the big sister of Stink. Below she shares her thoughts on one of her favorite Judy Moody books: Judy Moody Goes to College, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds.

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

Marshmallow’s Summary (with spoilers): Judy Moody’s substitute teacher sends her home with a note that saying that she needs help with her math. Judy’s parents decide that this means that she needs a tutor. Her annoying brother, Stink Moody, teases her about how the tutor is going to have her count jelly beans and play baby games. Little does she know that her tutor, Chloe, is in a college. When Judy finds out, her mood about tutoring is changed. She eventually enjoys tutoring and she learns a lot about math.

Judy brags about how she goes to college and so her friends, Rocky, Frank, and Jessica (a frenemy) start to stay away from her because they think that she is acting like she thinks that she is better than they are. Her tutor helps her in her school life and Judy and her tutor eventually become fast friends and towards the end Stink starts to ask if he can “go to college” like Judy.

Marshmallow is reading Judy Moody Goes to College by Megan McDonald.

Marshmallow’s Review: This is a good book because it is very lifelike. Judy, her tutor (Chloe), Stink, Rocky, Frank, Jessica, and other characters are all so realistic. Judy is like a real 3^rd grader.

This a great example of a book where the character(s) have an opinion but eventually their opinion changes as the book continues. Judy does not want to be tutored first but Chloe eventually becomes her role model.

This is a really good read for those who enjoyed some of the other books that Megan McDonald wrote. Judy Moody Goes to College is part of a series that many have enjoyed reading. If you have read one of the books then I encourage you to read more since they are such realistic books that show how kids in elementary act in situations.

I enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend it for anyone but it might be the best for 1^rd up until 3^rd grade. It is not very hard to read and it is not very long. The author does a very good job of explaining to the reader what type of personality Judy has. The author also does an excellent job of making Stink annoying in the Judy Moody books. If you read Caramel’s review of one of the Stink Moody books you know that in those books, Judy is very mean to her brother and often very sly. She tricks Stink to dye his hair orange for example. But in the Judy Moody books, he does annoying actions too, like taking her mood ring.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 95%.

Marshmallow rated Judy Moody Goes to College by Megan McDonald 95%. — Marshmallow rated *Judy Moody Goes to College* by Megan McDonald 95%.

Caramel reviews Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid by Megan McDonald

Caramel loves picture books and big-format non-fiction books, but he is also reading some chapter books these days. This week he is talking about the first book in Megan McDonald’s Stink series: Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. Sprinkles is taking notes and asking followup questions.

Caramel reviews Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid, written by Megan McDonald and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. — Caramel reviews *Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid*, written by Megan McDonald and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds.

Sprinkles: So Caramel what do you want to tell us about this book? What is this book about?

Caramel: This book is about a boy named Stink.

S: Is Stink his real name?

C: No. It’s a name his big sister gave him. She is mean.

S: Yes, naming your little brother “Stink” is not a very nice thing to do, is it?

C: No. And she killed his class pet, too.

S: Wait, how did that happen?

C: It went down the drain!

S: So Stink, wait, what is his real name?

C: No idea.

S: Let us see. I’m sure we can figure it out. Hmm, look, here is the letter he wrote to the governor.

C: Yes. He signed the letter James E. Moody. So that must be his name.

S: But then why is the book called Stink?

C: His big sister calls him Stink.

S: Oh yes, and who is his big sister?

C: Judy Moody.

S: Yes, so maybe some readers will have met this little boy in the Judy Moody books, right? And in those books, everything is told from Judy’s perspective, and Judy thinks her little brother is annoying.

C: But this book is about the brother, and we read Stink’s own ideas.

S: Yes we finally get to meet this little person for real and see things from his perspective a bit. Do you like that?

C: Yes. But I have not read any of the Judy Moody books. Marshmallow has read many, but she has not yet reviewed any for this blog.

S: Maybe she will one day. But let’s get back to Stink. So this is a chapter book, so there are many different things that happen to James E Moody, right?

C: There are seven chapters, so seven different stories. But they are all about Stink.

S: Which one is your favorite?

C: I don’t know. They are all a little different. But they are also all about Stink wanting to grow taller.

S: Yes, I guess that is why the book is titled the shrinking kid. Because Stink thinks at the beginning that he is shrinking. Do you think that is really happening?

C: He shrank a quarter of an inch!

S: How could that have happened?

C: No idea.

S: What would you do if you found out you were shrinking?

C: I would be scared. I’m already small. I’m a little bunny.

S: Yes, that is true… Hmm. Tell me more about the book. Tell me about the pictures.

C: Many of the pictures are supposed to be drawn by Stink. I like them. They are funny.

S: Yes, I saw the one where the sink that the class pet disappeared in became a monster, according to Stink’s drawing.

Caramel is reading the page in Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid (written by Megan McDonald and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds) where Stink is introducing us to the Jaws Monster, which is basically the sink that ate up his class pet newt (or rather, his big sister Judy Moody dropped the newt and then it went down the drain). — Caramel is reading the page in *Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid* (written by Megan McDonald and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds) where Stink is introducing us to the Jaws Monster, which is basically the sink that ate up his class pet newt (or rather, his big sister Judy Moody dropped the newt and then it went down the drain).

S: So do you think this is a fun book to read?

C: Yes. I might even read it again and again. But now, it’s time to wrap things up.

S: Yes. So you have something to say, right?

C: Yes! Stay tuned for more book bunnies adventures!

Caramel has enjoyed reading Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid, written by Megan McDonald and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. — Caramel has enjoyed reading *Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid*, written by Megan McDonald and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds.