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

Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures by Catherine A. Pepe is a children's book that tells about the adventures of Mary Grace and her younger brother, Donny. Set in California and Wichita, the story also told in current time and from a third-person point of view.

The story opens when Donny, Mary Grace, and their parents were visiting the zoo in the town where they live, Wichita. Donny is a child who has Down Syndrome and was separated from his family at the zoo. However, thanks to the kindness of the people around him and Mary Grace's pretty good memory, Donny was finally found. Donny and Mary Grace were very happy and wanted to go back again to the zoo soon. But sometime later Donny and Mary Grace had to receive some unpleasant news. Their parents decided to join their church missionary and had to go to Africa for 2 years on a mission to help hungry people. Mary Grace and Donny had to be left with their grandparents in California. Even though it was hard for Mary Grace to move school and be a new student again, she still had to go through it and also the various challenges she and her brother faced at her new school.

One thing that I like the most about this book is the character of Mary Grace, who is very mature as a sister while she is still only 10 years old to accept all these circumstances patiently and still taking care for her brother. In fact, she was also able to face the challenges of bullying at school in her own good way.

I didn't find anything I didn't like about this book. I enjoyed plot and storyline in this book, which I think is very good. The story flows perfectly, making it hard to put this book down. The author adds spices to make the story more interesting and there is a climax that makes the reader curious about the adventures of what Donny and Mary Grace will do next.

I would rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. I didn't find any grammatical or typo errors. This book seems exceptionally well-edited. For a children's book, this is perfect because there are many themes raised and good messages in it. I will recommend this book to children and parents, especially those whose job is a teacher. Because how the teachers handle situations like bullying in this book can be an example.

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Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures
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This book has very important messages in many ways. In addition to highlighting the essentials of communication and values that are so valuable for parents and their children, and also for teachers when teaching in the classroom.

I will soon be reading this book.

Thanks for your review.

Great review! I think you hit the nail on the important messages presented in the book. I like how it shines a light on a good book that checks all the boxes. The message of handling bullying at such a young age is a hard thing to introduce to children yet this book and this review do a good job of highlighting its importance. Great job again!