Review of Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures

[noelhope]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures" by Catherine A. Pepe.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures by Catherine Anna Pepe begins by describing how a five-year-old boy, Donny Miller, is lost somewhere at Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas. The family and the zoo official work together. They finally found him on the train ram.

Mary Grace, Donny Miller, and Mr and Mrs Miller are generally a happy family. Mr and Mrs Miller have to move to Kenya for two years, where they are assigned to be missionaries for the Episcopal Church in Africa. Mary Grace and Donny, therefore, have to move to California to live with Grandma Cathy and Papa Steve. Danny is enthusiastic about this, but it takes a while for Mary Grace to accept this change. While in California, Mary Grace receives insulting and threatening letters in school. It dampens her mood, but with the Grandma Gang and school administration, they work together to find the culprit.

There are numerous things I liked about this book. The characters were believable and memorable. The plot is simple, precise and easy to follow. I also liked Donny's character. He has down syndrome, and despite this, he is always in a positive mood. He is social and affectionate. It also helps that he has a loving family and a protective sister.

Bullying is one of the major themes in this book. It showed that bullying is not only physical but can be emotional. They are both a big deal and should be dealt with immediately. I liked how Mary Grace handled her bullies. She was not vengeful and wanted them to learn from their mistakes. She insisted that good should come out of the punishments given to the bullies.

There is nothing I disliked about this book. I, therefore, rate it 4 out of 4 stars. The book was exceptionally well-edited, as I encountered no errors while reading it. This book got some inspiration from some aspects of the author's life.

I recommend this book to children, and teenagers will enjoy reading this book. It's a book that shows kids how to make accommodations for those with disabilities. The book expresses a clear distinction between right and wrong. Therefore kids reading it will know what to pick up and what not to. The book teaches numerous lessons without being overly obvious and blunt about it. Children are clever and can pick up on what they are to learn without it being too obvious.

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Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures
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