Review of Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures

[Maliha Naveed]

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

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5 out of 5 stars

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Have you ever seen or spent time with a differently abled child? I'm sure that many of us have. Catherine Anna Pepe's Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures from the Grandma Gang series is a tale of a fantastic 5-year-old child Donny suffering from Down Syndrome. He and his highly compassionate 10-year-old sister, Mary Grace, embark upon a journey of adventure and thrill when their loving parents are sent as missionaries to Africa to serve humanity. The children go to California to live with their grandparents for almost two years. At first, Mary Grace is unhappy about the whole settlement. However, she comes to terms with their changed circumstances with the help of unique human beings around her. Not only that, both kids experience some unusual events and come out of them successfully. The story unfolds in a lovely way.

The author has done an amazing job of conveying such an important message to her readers that differently abled children are no less intelligent than the normal ones. All they need is our care and love. It was amazing to find out that the character of Donny is based on the writer's brother with the same name. This made me even more keen to read the entire book in one sitting. The language of the book is such that the ten-year-old kids will not only enjoy it but learn some wholesome lessons from it too. My favourite part of the book was the writer's attempt to highlight the issue of bullying in schools that many children face. I liked that she not only portrayed the problem of bullying but also guided the readers towards how to resolve it sensibly through the characters in the book.

I did not find anything negative in the book. There is not even a single typo in the entire text, which makes it exceptionally well-edited. For this reason, I would like to rate the book 5 out of 5 stars.

I recommend this book to everyone, whether they are children or adults. Sometimes, not just children but adults must thoroughly understand how to behave with children of challenged capabilities. Moreover, everyone needs to fully grasp the concept of bullying and its implications. After reading this book, children will learn how to empathize with their classmates, especially newcomers.

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Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures
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