Review of Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures
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Review of Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures
Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures by Catherine A. Pete is a children's book that follows Mary Grace and her younger brother Donny who has Down syndrome. They live in Wichita, Kansas with their parents Mr and Mrs Miller in a home filled with so much love. Fastforward Mr and Mrs Miller break the news to their kids that they will be going on a mission in Kenya for two years, thus they will go and live with their grandparents in California. Donny as usual with his charismatic and jubilant attitude towards life took the news with excitement and saw the move as a new adventure that awaits, while as for Mary Grace she was not so thrilled but rather heartbroken and found it unfair.
In California Mary Grace continued to take good care of her little brother, while at the same time juggling challenges of her own. From feeling homesick, being the new girl, hard time making friends and an unknown bully who is not only threatening her but Donny as well. Mary Grace loves to solve mysteries and with the help of the Grandma gang, her detective hat is back on. Read this amazing book to find out more about the Grandma gang and if Mary Grace was able to solve her own mystery.
Among the many positive attributes of this book, what stood out the most is the author's excellent writing skills and her ability to make it an easy read for it's targeted younger audience, but at the same time still interesting enough for adult readers to enjoy.
Despite having Down syndrome, Donny's enthusiasm and his ability to shine the light wherever he went, won my heart over. I particularly appreciate the way Catherine A. Pete phenomenally represented people with Down Syndrome and disabilities in general.
Mary Grace is such a well grounded young lady with such a big heart and that shows how well Mr and Mrs Miller raised their kids. Parents can learn some amazing parenting skills from them. The author addresses bullying which is a very relatable topic, having experienced it myself, I love how the book advocates against bullying. Most importantly this book teaches kids about kindness and respect which I strongly stand for.
I can strongly say that this book is well represented, greatly narrated from a children's perspective and it teaches great values and morals which we can all learn from. Hence I did not find anything in particular to dislike about the book.
This book reminds us of challenges faced by children and more specifically those with special needs. Since this book is inspired by real life events, it makes it interesting, motivating and relatable. I recommend this book to all children who like adventure and mystery, but also children who may have experienced difficulties with adapting to a new school and a new town. I also recommend this book to teachers and principals because they can learn how to better handle bullying situations in schools and they can also learn how to take care of children with special needs.
Not only did this book reach my expectations and more but it allowed me to think about kids with special needs by putting myself in their shoes. Not only does it set as a reminder to be more kind towards them, but to do everything we can to make them feel like they are just like everyone else. Just like how Donny's family make him feel. This book focuses on complex life lessons which both children and adults can learn from. This book is well researched and it shares insightful facts about Down Syndrome and I respect how the author raises awareness about it. This book is very relatable and Mary Grace shows it quiet well how she felt about her parents going to Kenya. It helps us to see and understand children's emotions and how we can be there for them and make them feel better. Having thoroughly read the book, I will like to applaud the editing team because the book is exceptionally well edited. I did not come across any errors so for that and the reasons listed above, it gives me great joy to rate this book a very well deserved 5 out of 5
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Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures
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- Masechaba Molokomme
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