Morgan Reviews E. Aster Bunnymund And The Warrior Eggs At The Earth’s Core!

E. Aster Bunnymund and the Warrior Eggs at the Earth’s Core! by William Joyce

Write 6 words you would put on this book if it were in the “Blind Date With A Book” shelf. Eggs, Chocolate, Imagination, Love, Friendship, Help

Color Palette:

Genre: Children/Fantasy/Action

Who was your favorite character and why? E. Aster Bunnymund because he was quick-thinking and funny.

Who was your least favorite character and why? Pitch, because he was evil.

Did it grab you immediately or did it take a while? It grabbed me immediately and I was intrigued the whole way through.

Was it plot or character driven? A good mix of both.

What did you think of the ending? Perfect!

What was the moral of the story? Love and friendship are very powerful things.

Favorite quote: “…fear was an enemy that must always be conquered.” –Narrator

What would you change? The title. I would take the exclamation mark out of it.

Have you read other books in the series? Yes, I am reading the whole Guardians series. Check out my review of Nicholas St. North And The Battle Of The Nightmare King.

Who would you recommend it to? Those who have read the first book (Nicholas St. North and the Battle of The Nightmare King) or those who like Easter and fantasy.

Number of unknown words: 4

Craft/Activity: Make your own dazzling egg.

What is a stronger weapon: Love or Fear?

Brigette and Morgan Review The Prophet Of Yonwood

The Prophet Of Yonwood by Jeanne DuPrau

Describe it in 25 words or less.

Brigette: The prequel to The City Of Ember and what happened about a half a century before it.

Morgan: A girl with high expectations for her “new life” in Yonwood, tries to accomplish her goals in life but ends up making many mistakes.

Any particular reason for choosing this book?

Morgan: I’m reading the whole Ember series.

Genre:

Brigette: Children’s Literature/Drama

Morgan: Science Fiction/Drama/Children’s Literature

Who was your favorite character and why?

Brigette: Nickie’s dad because, although you only hear from him in postcards, he’s the only one with any sense in the whole book.

Morgan: Grover because he thought for himself and didn’t pay any attention to all the nonsense around him, but I could also relate to Nickie a fair amount.

Who was your least favorite character and why?

Brigette: Brenda Beeson because she thinks she speaks for God.

Morgan: Brenda Beeson because she bugged me thinking that God was ALWAYS the answer.

Did it grab you immediately or did it take a while? Was it worth the wait?

Brigette: This has been the slowest paced book of the series so far and I really think it was unnecessary.

Morgan: It didn’t take too long and it was pretty intriguing from beginning to end. There was always a mystery or new idea along the way!

Was it plot or character driven?

Morgan: I’d say more character driven.

What did you think of the ending?

Brigette: The last 3 pages were the only necessary part of the entire book.

Morgan: The ending was the only part that really connected up to the other books in the series, so I’d say it was necessary.

What was the moral of the story?

Brigette: Don’t just blindly follow someone else’s version of right and wrong.

Morgan: Even though you might make mistakes and follow wrong ideas, you will eventually accomplish your goals. The moral really connected with me because I make a lot of mistakes myself.

Favorite quote:

Brigette: “You should think about what’s the right thing to do. Not just take someone’s word for it.” – Grover

Morgan: “Life is messy. There’s no way around it.” – Granny Carrie

Have you read other books in the series?

Brigette: I’m reading the whole series. Check out my review of The City Of Ember and The People Of Sparks.

Would you like to see it adapted into a film?

Brigette: Maybe if it made it more exciting and more relevant to the rest of the series.

Who would you recommend it to?

Brigette: Eleven year old girls who are feeling that mixture of independence and insecurity for the first time.

Morgan: Any young person, really, or anyone who doesn’t think for themselves.

Number of unknown words:

Brigette: 1

Morgan: 3

Craft/Activity: Constellation Jar

Recipe: Hot Chocolate

What do you do to make the world a better place?

The Family Reviews The Croods

The Croods

Describe it in 25 words or less.

Pete: A story about a cave family who are forced to face change.

Brigette: A prehistoric family must evolve to survive.

Morgan: A story of a family of cave-people with a modern twist.

Gable: A family of cavemen called the Croods are forced to go on a journey because their world is about to change dramatically.

Any particular reason for choosing this film?

Morgan: It was up for an Oscar this year, and I was interested in seeing it.

Genre:

Pete: Animated Family Adventure Comedy

Brigette: Animated/Adventure

Morgan: Comedy/Family

Gable: Action/Adventure/Family

Who was your favorite character and why?

Pete: Grug was my favorite because he was the bravest and eventually had to make the biggest change.

Brigette: Grug because his heart was in the right place.

Morgan: Belt because he was cute.

Gable: Guy because he was creative and funny and hard not to have as a favorite character.

Who was your least favorite character and why?

Pete: I loved all the characters in this film in some way.

Brigette: Gran because she didn’t really do much for the story.

Morgan: Grug because he did not find any change good.

Gable: Belt, Guy’s sloth friend, because he was annoying with that dramatic music he did all the time. That’s all Belt really said: dramatic music.

How was the casting?

Brigette: Odd.

Did it grab you immediately or did it take a while?

Pete: It grabbed me immediately and gradually increased in intensity.

Brigette: It was immediately interesting and it’s momentum only increased as the film progressed.

Morgan: Grabbed me immediately and had me at other parts throughout the film.

Gable: I got into it immediately. It was very intense. Every time you think everything had calmed down, it ramped up again.

Favorite quote:

Pete: “Release The Baby!!!” – Grug

Brigette: “We changed the rules, the ones that kept us in the dark, and because of my dad who taught us that anyone can change…well, sort of.” – Eep

Morgan: “The last thing my parents told me was don’t hide, live. Follow the sun , you’ll make it to tomorrow.” –Guy

Gable: Thunk: It likes me. AHH! It’s biting me!
Grug: Try hiding from it in the tall, dry grass.

What would you change?

Brigette: The voice cast.

Gable: I would get rid of Belt because he had no reason to be in there.

How was the soundtrack?

Brigette: Shine Your Way by Owl City and Yuna is the only song. It’s a bit sickly sweet but suits the film.

How was the ending?

Pete: It held my attention, was a bit of a roller-coaster-ride, intense and also heart warming.

Brigette: A hard-fought-for happy one.

Morgan: Pretty much perfect.

Gable: Bittersweet and happy. I have to admit that I did cry at the ending because it was so touching. When the film was done, Dad brought up the part that I cried at and I cried all over again. Yes, I’m really emotional…

What was the moral of the story?

Pete: Change is the only constant; you may as well embrace it.

Brigette: You can’t do everything, all the time, all by yourself; sometimes you need help and sometimes you need to try something different.

Morgan: Change isn’t always a bad thing.

Gable: To never give up on the ones you love.

Who would you recommend it to?

Pete: Anyone who has ever been afraid of change.

Brigette: Families with children who are at that age when family is suddenly uncool.

Morgan: People who like funny, colourful animations.

Gable: People who need a good cry, dads who feel like they are failing as a parent, and/or teenage girls who think their lives suck.

Won’t Eat Their Cereal Moment: Ryan Reynolds Won’t Eat His Cereal

Beer pairing: (Pete’s specialty)

Any of the beers from Caveman Brewery.

Favorite Architectural Detail: (Pete’s other specialty)
Grug’s aeroplane

What is the biggest change you’ve ever had to accept?

Brigette and Morgan Review The People Of Sparks

The People Of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau

Describe it in 25 words or less.

Brigette: The people of Ember finally make it to the surface only to face almost insurmountable hardships.

Morgan: Two twelve-year-olds discover a way out of their crumbling city that turns out may not been exactly what they had expected.

Any particular reason for choosing this book?

Morgan: I am reading the whole series.

Genre:

Brigette: Children’s Literature/Science Fiction

Morgan: Science Fiction/Action/Drama/Children’s Literature

Who was your favorite character and why?

Brigette: Maddy because she was always calm and very sure of herself.

Morgan: It would have to be Lina because I could relate to her the most but I also thought Maddy was a kind and wise person.

Who was your least favorite character and why?

Brigette:Most of the townspeople of Sparks because very few of them did the right thing.

Morgan: I hated Torren. The way they described him annoyed me and the way he behaved also bugged me. Tick was also very stuck-up. I hated him even more at the end. One thing I like about all the characters, though, is that you get to know them as the book goes on, not just straight away; like you would with real people.

Did it grab you immediately or did it take a while? Was it worth the wait?

Brigette: I had thought that The City Of Ember was excruciatingly slow because I’d seen the film first, but I’m beginning to realize the whole series runs at a pace that is far too slow for me. It would probably suit 8-11 year olds though.

Morgan: The more the book went on, the more I liked it. I guess I could say it caught me almost immediately.

Was it plot or character driven?

Morgan: Plenty of both.

What did you think of the ending?

Brigette: Unrealistic and slightly unsatisfying somehow.

Morgan: A relief, really.

What was the moral of the story?

Brigette: Fear is the root of all evil.

Morgan: Don’t fight back. If you want something to stop, stop it in a good way not with more negativity.

Favorite quote:

Brigette: “You approach people like an enemy and bam! They turn into one, whether they were to begin with or not. If you ask me, making friends is a better defense than making enemies.” – Maddy

Morgan: “That’s how it goes, doesn’t it? Someone pushes, someone pushes back. Pretty soon everything’s ruined.” – Dr. Hester

Have you read other books in the series?

Brigette: I plan to read the whole series. Check out my review of City Of Ember.

Would you like to see it adapted into a film?

Brigette: I’ve read that the plans for making this film have been put on hold due to the box office failure of the first film. I think this one has the most important message, though, so it’s a bit of a shame.

Who would you recommend it to?

Brigette: People who have read The City Of Ember or anyone who would like a better understanding of immigration and all the issues that arise with it.

Morgan: Everyone who is old enough to understand at least a little about human society or politics. Any tween, teenager, young adult or adult should read this. It has a great message, plenty of action and lots of things that expand your mind in a new and amazing way.

Number of unknown words:

Brigette: 0

Morgan: 2

Craft/Activity: Make your own electrical generator

Recipe:
Pickled Carrots
Pumpkin Bread

How do you provide for others when you yourself don’t have enough?

Pete Reviews Locke and Key: Head Games

Locke & Key: Head Games by Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez

Describe it in 25 words or less. The second installation of the Locke & Key graphic-novel series.

Any particular reason for choosing this book? I’m reading the entire Locke & Key series.

Genre: Graphic Novel/Science Fiction

Who was your favorite character and why? Rufus because he seems to be the most intelligent.

Who was your least favorite character and why? Zack because of his deceiving ways.

Did it grab you immediately or did it take a while? An immediate attention grabber both with story and illustrations.

Was it plot or character driven? It becomes a little more character driven in this volume.

What did you think of the ending? Interesting enough to make me want to immediately grab the next book in the series.

What was the moral of the story? Be careful what you say to people, especially in moments of anger or frustration.

Favorite quote: : “Fear. I want to take out the fear that’s in there.” – Kinsey to Tyler

Would you read it again? Yes, the magic in the illustrations is enough to bring me back. I could spend hours looking at just a few pages.

Have you read other books in the series? I’m going to continue reading the remainder of the series. Check out my review of Locke & Key Welcome To Lovecraft.

Have you read other books by the same author? I’ve read all (3) of Joe Hill’s novels. Check out my review of NOS-4R2.

Would you like to see it adapted into a film? I think I would be disappointed if this was ever made into a film (unless it was animated by Gabriel Rodriguez).

Who would you recommend it to? Comic book, Joe Hill or Stephen King fans.

Song Recommendation:  Foreigner’s Head Games

Number of unknown words: 0

Favorite Architectural Detail: Inside Bode’s Head.

Beer pairing: Burleigh Brewing’s Big Head

Recipe: Fettuccine Alfredo

Artwork: Jackson Pollock Number 8

If you could place the knowledge contained in one entire book directly into your head which book would you choose?