Review of Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventure

[Mbali Qalinge]

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

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4 out of 4 stars

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Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventure by Catherine A. Pepe introduces Mary Grace, a ten-year-old girl protective of her little brother Donny who has Down Syndrome. The two siblings are close, and they love doing their penguin dance and reading Dr. Seuss books together. Their parents get assigned to be missionaries in Kenya and must make a tough decision. They decide to go to Kenya and have their children live in California with their grandparents. Mary Grace is sad and thinks this is the worst thing that could happen, while Donny, ever optimistic, thinks about all the fun they can have in California. On her first night in California, Mary Grace, unable to sleep, gets her grandmother to tell her how she and her friends solved a crime and got dubbed the Grandma Gang. Being the new girl at school, Mary Grace becomes a victim of bullying and finds herself feeling unsafe, sad, and lonely. The only way she can deal with the bullying is by treating it as a mystery, and with the help of the Grandma Gang, Mary Grace finds the bullies leaving mean notes at her desk.

Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventure is a children's book with many themes and lessons. Love and family are the prevalent themes demonstrated by the family dynamic between Mary Grace, Donny, and their parents in the book’s early chapters and later with their grandparents. The book also shows bullying, its effects on the victim, and how a school with a zero-tolerance policy for bullying handles it. The book also has wonderful characters that made me smile, with Mary Grace and Donny being my favorite. Mary Grace is a smart, kind, and empathetic girl, and her brother Donny is an enthusiastic kid who makes everyone smile.

The one thing that I liked the most about this book is its inclusiveness. Firstly, characters with disabilities aren’t depicted enough in books, so it was nice to read about Donny, who was inspired by the author’s brother who had Down Syndrome. Another part of the book that demonstrated its inclusiveness was when it mentioned Father Randall and his husband Bill in passing. This wasn’t even made a big deal; it was a completely normal thing as it should be in real life. This is worth mentioning because there are still many communities that do not accept gay people and seeing them in books, children's books even, is a rare occurrence unless you're searching for it. The last part that demonstrated inclusiveness for me was with Mary Grace’s friend Penelope who’s from China and speaks English and Mandarin. People coming from other countries are often stigmatized, but this book only shows the great friendship between Mary Grace and Penelope.

There’s nothing that I disliked about this book. It was wonderful from start to finish. One thing that I think could have been helpful was if the book contained some information about Down Syndrome. The book mentions that Donny's teacher explained the facts about Down Syndrome to the bully and his father, and this is where it could have been helpful if those facts were mentioned so that young readers who do not know about down syndrome could learn a bit about it. What was mentioned was how even though Donny is in a special class, he is still a wonderful boy with many skills.

This book is worthy of the four out of four stars I give it. It’s a beautiful book filled with great characters and meaningful lessons. I also found no errors in the book, so I can say that it was well edited. I recommend it to children eight years and older and adults who enjoy reading children’s books with worthwhile lessons.

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Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventure
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[Jacqui Halimana]

Books about inclusivity and tolerance are short, especially amongst children's books. I think I would also appreciate this aspect of the book. It is very important that we make children aware of such important social issues from a tender age. Well done on such a great review.

[Margi zuu202]

Your parents have something to tell you always scary word for kids to hear.. especially when the something is they're going to be missionary overseas for two years and you're going to live with your grandparents in California will it be fun , will the kids be friendly good reviews

[Ohna Martin]

This is a magnificent story. Don't and Macy Grace are close and they look out for each other which is good. Nice review.

[Ilze Herholdt]

Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventure is a children's book with many themes and lessons. Love and family are the prevalent themes demonstrated by the family. Thanks for your review.

[Avishi]

According to the review, the book is unique for children, with many new lessons to learn. Along with family love and bonding, it also addresses bullying issues. This would teach the children the difference between what is right and wrong.

[JuliusOnyango]

I am not a big fan of children's book but your review made me pick this book. I everything about this book.