Review of Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures
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Haime Alshaef
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Review of Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures
[Following is a volunteer review of "Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures" by Catherine A. Pepe.]
Imagine walking into a new school and feeling like you don’t belong. A swarm of new faces stares back at you as you try to blend in with the crowd. That’s how ten-year-old Mary Grace felt after moving to California.
Mary Grace has a 5-year-old brother named Donny. Donny has Down syndrome, and that makes life a little hard for him. Mary Grace and her parents are very protective of him and do their best to make sure that he’s safe and happy. However, one day, Mr. and Mrs. Miller got an urgent phone call. The bishop wanted to send them to Africa for two years to be missionaries for the Episcopal Church! That meant that Mary Grace and Donny would have to move from their comfortable life in Wichita, Kansas, to California to live with their grandparents. Donny handled it with ease and excitement, but Mary Grace was devastated. She didn’t want to leave all her family and friends, but alas, she had no choice, so she tried to make the best of it for Donny’s sake. For a while, everything goes well. She made two new friends and had a great time in California. But when she started getting threatening notes in her locker, everything she’d worked hard for started to crumble away. Will these notes reach her younger brother? Or will she be able to solve the mystery of who wrote them first? How will Mary Grace deal with all of this? Donny and Mary Grace’s California Adventures by Catherine Anna Pepe is a wonderful children’s book that teaches kids about bullying and its consequences.
I truly enjoyed this book! Catherine Pepe masterfully weaved dark topics, such as bullying, into a children’s book. She used smaller words to get her point across, so each sentence was descriptive but simple to understand for a child. I also loved the messages that were conveyed within the story. When Mary Grace was upset at her parents’ plan to leave, instead of telling her to get over it, they sat down with her and validated her emotions. They told her they understood why she felt the way she did, but instead of giving in to her, they gave her solutions that would make her feel better, such as writing down all the things she loved about Kansas and giving her ways to communicate with them.
I also loved how the author handled the topic of bullying. It can be very hard in real life to ask for help when you’re being bullied. Whether it’s shame, guilt, fear, or something else that’s holding you back, it takes a lot of courage to ask an adult for help. Pepe made sure she explained these feelings and how brave it was for Mary Grace to come forward and talk to her grandma. Throughout the fun and intrigue of the mystery, Pepe also made sure to convey how serious bullying was and the effects of it if it were to happen when they were adults. The teachers brought in officers to explain the consequences, and they made sure that the students behind the notes were punished, even though they had their reasons and were just young kids that were hurting. They made sure that the punishment fit the crime while also providing them with the resources required to deal with their pain.
While I loved this book, there are three small areas that I want to mention. The first is that though this is marketed towards children, I do think that children from 5-7 should have this read to them by an adult. It can be difficult to fully understand the importance and seriousness of the topics mentioned, and an adult could explain these things better and answer any questions the children might have. One thing that I think would improve the storytelling experience is if there were more pictures. This would better capture and maintain the kids’ attention while also giving a small break now and then from the heavier aspects. One last thing that confused me a bit was Mary Grace. She was ten years old, but she acted much older. I understand that this is meant to show her maturity, but a ten-year-old is a child and should be treated as such. For example, at the beginning of the story, Donny gets lost at the zoo, and Mary Grace wanders off on her own to find him. This is meant to show her maturity, but she’s only a child herself and shouldn’t be wandering off on her own. I think this story could've benefitted by treating her like a child a bit more because if any children her age read this book, they might believe that they should act the same way, and that can be dangerous.
However, despite these few things, I do still think that this was an incredible story that was wonderfully written. It combined the fun of a mystery with the seriousness of bullying in a way that children could understand. In addition, I didn't find a single error, so I can confidently say that this book was extremely well-edited.
For all of these reasons, I’m happy to rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. As I've mentioned before, kids under 7 would best benefit from being read this book by an adult, while older kids could read this on their own. I'd also recommend this to kids who are experiencing some of the topics, such as moving to a new state or school or being bullied. Hopefully, this book could teach them how to handle their emotions and give them the courage to seek help.
******
Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Imagine walking into a new school and feeling like you don’t belong. A swarm of new faces stares back at you as you try to blend in with the crowd. That’s how ten-year-old Mary Grace felt after moving to California.
Mary Grace has a 5-year-old brother named Donny. Donny has Down syndrome, and that makes life a little hard for him. Mary Grace and her parents are very protective of him and do their best to make sure that he’s safe and happy. However, one day, Mr. and Mrs. Miller got an urgent phone call. The bishop wanted to send them to Africa for two years to be missionaries for the Episcopal Church! That meant that Mary Grace and Donny would have to move from their comfortable life in Wichita, Kansas, to California to live with their grandparents. Donny handled it with ease and excitement, but Mary Grace was devastated. She didn’t want to leave all her family and friends, but alas, she had no choice, so she tried to make the best of it for Donny’s sake. For a while, everything goes well. She made two new friends and had a great time in California. But when she started getting threatening notes in her locker, everything she’d worked hard for started to crumble away. Will these notes reach her younger brother? Or will she be able to solve the mystery of who wrote them first? How will Mary Grace deal with all of this? Donny and Mary Grace’s California Adventures by Catherine Anna Pepe is a wonderful children’s book that teaches kids about bullying and its consequences.
I truly enjoyed this book! Catherine Pepe masterfully weaved dark topics, such as bullying, into a children’s book. She used smaller words to get her point across, so each sentence was descriptive but simple to understand for a child. I also loved the messages that were conveyed within the story. When Mary Grace was upset at her parents’ plan to leave, instead of telling her to get over it, they sat down with her and validated her emotions. They told her they understood why she felt the way she did, but instead of giving in to her, they gave her solutions that would make her feel better, such as writing down all the things she loved about Kansas and giving her ways to communicate with them.
I also loved how the author handled the topic of bullying. It can be very hard in real life to ask for help when you’re being bullied. Whether it’s shame, guilt, fear, or something else that’s holding you back, it takes a lot of courage to ask an adult for help. Pepe made sure she explained these feelings and how brave it was for Mary Grace to come forward and talk to her grandma. Throughout the fun and intrigue of the mystery, Pepe also made sure to convey how serious bullying was and the effects of it if it were to happen when they were adults. The teachers brought in officers to explain the consequences, and they made sure that the students behind the notes were punished, even though they had their reasons and were just young kids that were hurting. They made sure that the punishment fit the crime while also providing them with the resources required to deal with their pain.
While I loved this book, there are three small areas that I want to mention. The first is that though this is marketed towards children, I do think that children from 5-7 should have this read to them by an adult. It can be difficult to fully understand the importance and seriousness of the topics mentioned, and an adult could explain these things better and answer any questions the children might have. One thing that I think would improve the storytelling experience is if there were more pictures. This would better capture and maintain the kids’ attention while also giving a small break now and then from the heavier aspects. One last thing that confused me a bit was Mary Grace. She was ten years old, but she acted much older. I understand that this is meant to show her maturity, but a ten-year-old is a child and should be treated as such. For example, at the beginning of the story, Donny gets lost at the zoo, and Mary Grace wanders off on her own to find him. This is meant to show her maturity, but she’s only a child herself and shouldn’t be wandering off on her own. I think this story could've benefitted by treating her like a child a bit more because if any children her age read this book, they might believe that they should act the same way, and that can be dangerous.
However, despite these few things, I do still think that this was an incredible story that was wonderfully written. It combined the fun of a mystery with the seriousness of bullying in a way that children could understand. In addition, I didn't find a single error, so I can confidently say that this book was extremely well-edited.
For all of these reasons, I’m happy to rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. As I've mentioned before, kids under 7 would best benefit from being read this book by an adult, while older kids could read this on their own. I'd also recommend this to kids who are experiencing some of the topics, such as moving to a new state or school or being bullied. Hopefully, this book could teach them how to handle their emotions and give them the courage to seek help.
******
Donny and Mary Grace's California Adventures
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Freddy Finds a Friend by Charles W. Page MD
