Review of Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventure
Posted: 15 Jul 2022, 18:11
[Following is a volunteer review of "Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventure" by Catherine A. Pepe.]
Mary Grace Miller and her brother, Donny Miller, live with their father, who is a priest, and their mother, who is a civil engineer in Wichita, Kansas. The book begins with an announcement at Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas, stating that Donny Miller is missing and describing the missing child. Mr. and Mrs. Miller, along with Mary Grace, are worried about him, especially since he was born with Down Syndrome. Donny, who is known as a happy child, is later found.
As the story continues, Mr. and Mrs. Miller tell their children that they have been assigned a mission in Africa and would have to leave their present place of residence for two years. They tell the children they would have to go to California to live with their grandparents for a while. Mary Grace, especially, is very angry as she does not want to leave Wichita, but she agrees to go soon after. What adventures await the children in California?
The first thing I loved about the book Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures is that Catherine Anna Pepe talks about a character who is disabled in her story. As she mentions at the beginning of the book, there are only a few books that have characters who are disabled or suffer from disabilities. This makes it appear like people with disabilities are not part of our world. They are not brought into our stories most time. The character, Donny, was born with Down Syndrome, and this, along with the fact that he was a happy child, made him special. The book is very easy to understand, and the intended readers will find it easy to follow the book and learn from it because of the author's narrative style. One thing I liked about her narrative style was how some words were italicized for emphasis. While reading, I tried to imagine what the author must have had in mind while writing the book.
The book contains a lot of lessons. One of the lessons in this book is not to judge a book by it's cover. I loved that the book had lessons in almost every chapter. I loved the way the author portrayed her characters. For example, Mary Grace's behaviors and reactions were typical of children her age, while her brother acted like a typical 5-year-old. I found the part where Donny asked, “who is Africa?” extremely funny. I found even more humorous Mary Grace's attempt to be smart when she said her holey trousers would be okay for church because they are “holey.”
I found no negative aspects in this book. It contained no error; hence, it was exceptionally well edited. Based on the foregoing, I rate the book four out of four stars. The book was well written, and I had no reason to deduct a star from my rating.
I recommend this book to children between the ages of seven and twelve. Although teenagers would be able to read this, I think children between the ages I mentioned would have a better understanding of the book. I also recommend it to anyone looking for a book filled with lessons.
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Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventure
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Mary Grace Miller and her brother, Donny Miller, live with their father, who is a priest, and their mother, who is a civil engineer in Wichita, Kansas. The book begins with an announcement at Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas, stating that Donny Miller is missing and describing the missing child. Mr. and Mrs. Miller, along with Mary Grace, are worried about him, especially since he was born with Down Syndrome. Donny, who is known as a happy child, is later found.
As the story continues, Mr. and Mrs. Miller tell their children that they have been assigned a mission in Africa and would have to leave their present place of residence for two years. They tell the children they would have to go to California to live with their grandparents for a while. Mary Grace, especially, is very angry as she does not want to leave Wichita, but she agrees to go soon after. What adventures await the children in California?
The first thing I loved about the book Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures is that Catherine Anna Pepe talks about a character who is disabled in her story. As she mentions at the beginning of the book, there are only a few books that have characters who are disabled or suffer from disabilities. This makes it appear like people with disabilities are not part of our world. They are not brought into our stories most time. The character, Donny, was born with Down Syndrome, and this, along with the fact that he was a happy child, made him special. The book is very easy to understand, and the intended readers will find it easy to follow the book and learn from it because of the author's narrative style. One thing I liked about her narrative style was how some words were italicized for emphasis. While reading, I tried to imagine what the author must have had in mind while writing the book.
The book contains a lot of lessons. One of the lessons in this book is not to judge a book by it's cover. I loved that the book had lessons in almost every chapter. I loved the way the author portrayed her characters. For example, Mary Grace's behaviors and reactions were typical of children her age, while her brother acted like a typical 5-year-old. I found the part where Donny asked, “who is Africa?” extremely funny. I found even more humorous Mary Grace's attempt to be smart when she said her holey trousers would be okay for church because they are “holey.”
I found no negative aspects in this book. It contained no error; hence, it was exceptionally well edited. Based on the foregoing, I rate the book four out of four stars. The book was well written, and I had no reason to deduct a star from my rating.
I recommend this book to children between the ages of seven and twelve. Although teenagers would be able to read this, I think children between the ages I mentioned would have a better understanding of the book. I also recommend it to anyone looking for a book filled with lessons.
******
Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventure
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon