Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

The very spirited spirit of the Dark Castle

Wolfgang in the Meadow by Lenny Wen

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All the wonderful goodness of this story is how the theme of being yourself has been illustrated in a manner that takes the story in a fresh new direction.. The story is cute, but we’ve seen it before. Wolfgang is a ghost who loves spooky things, and has worked very hard to become scary like his idol. But he also likes flowers, stargazing and being with his meadow friends hugging all the trees (even the trees with eyes). So Wolfgang in the Meadow is happy. […]

New chapter reader series

Seashell Key volume one by Lourdes Heuer

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Seashell Key is going to be a new series and volume one will be out by the end of April 2024. Lourdes Heuer and illustrator Lynnor Bontigao made three cute stories about six friends, a big shaggy doggy, a turtle and the fun (and slightly crazy) adventures they get into, the coconut water they drink and the mangos that have been eaten (by the turtle). As my copy was a physical reader’s copy, the artwork was incomplete, but notes do say that it will be […]

Ghostly friendship

The Ghost of Blanes Museum by Lau Moraiti

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The Ghost of Blanes Museum by Lau Moraiti (both text and illustrations) is due late May/early June 2024. I had a “do I/don’t I read it” relationship with this book.  I was not sure I really wanted to read it, but the cover kept pulling me in. I finally had one too many cosmic hints that said, “Read it already!” And I finally read it via an online reader copy. In the end I am not sure why I waited so long! Yet, I think […]

The other meaning

This is My Bag: A Story of the Unhoused by Roxanne Chester

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  If something is your bag, you are interested in it and do it for pleasure: Tennis isn’t really my bag, I’m afraid. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases. Making people excited and interested. This book is the other meaning of “This is My Bag” and in the understatement of the year is: This is My Bag: A Story of the Unhoused is a difficult read. However, as the authors note at the end says, it is a way to have a conversation starter for you […]

Climate change and one result

Wildfire by Breena Bard

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The graphic novel Wildfire by Breena Bard has a heavy push of environmentalism and that which causes them, and how to try and fix them. Which is, of course a fantastic subject, but at times it felt a smidgen pushy. However, overall it is well done and introduces the subject well. I had a few spots where I had wished something else had happened or was handled differently, but I enjoyed things. A modern tone with bubbly, colorful, minimal detailed illustrations to help counter the […]

Once upon a time there were two emails

The Magic Box: A Book of Opposites by Charles Ghigna

What Love Looks Like by Laura Obuobi

Danté Plays His Blues by Allen R. Wells

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Once upon a time there were two emails in my work email that said, “Please give our books a chance!” So I did. And out of the almost 10 titles I read via online reader copies, I found three I enjoyed and wanted to review.  The Magic Box: A Book of Opposites by Charles Ghigna and illustrated by Jacqueline East had potential. However, due to the minimal text, it missed the OMG BBE (Best Book Ever) mark by a smidgen. There were not as many […]



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