Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Caribbean Rapunzel

The Magic Callaloo by Trish Cooke

December 24, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

The book, The Magic Callaloo by Trish Cooke and illustrated by Sophie Bass is one of those books where I picked it apart to make my overall score. First, I looked at the big picture which is almost a 5. The only reason it wasn’t a full 5 (and a 4.75) is because the text was crowded on the page and it was a smidgen on the longer side. The details included made me wonder if it would have been better as a novel, or […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fantasy, Fiction, Poetry Tagged With: adaptations, Caribbean, family, folktale, parents, Social Themes, Sophie Bass, Trish Cooke

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:565 · Genres: Children's Books, Fantasy, Fiction, Poetry · Tags: adaptations, Caribbean, family, folktale, parents, Social Themes, Sophie Bass, Trish Cooke ·
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That Rumpelstiltskin is my name

Rumpelstiltskin by Mac Barnett and Carson Ellis

November 25, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Do you like fairy or folk tales? Do you like pure telling of said fairy tales with a small change? And do you like Rumpelstiltskin? Or at least the story, it is a little hard to like Rumpelstitskin. And if you answered yes to any of the above, you should read Mac Barnett’s version of the story. It is the story we know: king meets a miller, who brags about how awesome his daughter is, the king is greedy and wants the spun gold, the […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fantasy, Fiction, History, Mystery, Religion, Suspense Tagged With: adaptations, Carson Ellis, folktales, Germany, legends, Mac Barnett, Mac Barnett and Carson Ellis, Rumpelstiltskin

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:525 · Genres: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fantasy, Fiction, History, Mystery, Religion, Suspense · Tags: adaptations, Carson Ellis, folktales, Germany, legends, Mac Barnett, Mac Barnett and Carson Ellis, Rumpelstiltskin ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Origin story for human civilization

The Children of the Sun: An Inca Legend by Micaela Chirif

November 11, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

The Children of the Sun: An Inca Legend is based on the original mythology of the Incan people. Author Micaela Chirif created this book so it is able to be adapted to allow multiple ages to relate to it, but it does lean towards an older reader or listener as its audience. It can be intense in the way it talks about the god-like children (who are fully grown) who wander to find the first home (or make the first city)  for the humans. It […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fantasy, Fiction, History, Poetry, Religion Tagged With: adaptations, Caribbean, Fables, folklore, Incan, indigenous, Juan Palomino, Latin American, legends, Micaela Chirif, myths, peru, retellings

Genres: Children's Books, Fantasy, Fiction, History, Poetry, Religion · Tags: adaptations, Caribbean, Fables, folklore, Incan, indigenous, Juan Palomino, Latin American, legends, Micaela Chirif, myths, peru, retellings ·
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Big Brother is watching Part Two

1984: The Graphic Novel by George Orwell and Fido Nesti

November 11, 2025 by BlackRaven 2 Comments

When I saw the cover for 1984: The Graphic Novel adapted by Fido Nesti, I thought I would enjoy reading George Orwell’s book this way. I requested it via interlibrary loan. I did mention that there was another one done by  Matyás  Namai,, but I would prefer Nesti. So, what did I get? Both! I started with Namai’s just because it was due first. After reading it, I was not impressed by the style. It was too busy. Yet, it was an experience I was […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, History, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction Tagged With: adaptations, classic, Dystopian, Fido Nesti, George Orwell, George Orwell and Fido Nesti, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:497 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, History, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction · Tags: adaptations, classic, Dystopian, Fido Nesti, George Orwell, George Orwell and Fido Nesti, Social Themes ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

Big Brother is watching Part One

George Orwell's 1984: The Graphic Novel by George Orwell and Matyas Namai

November 11, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Even though I was an English major in college, my contemporary classic reading was minimal. Going to a small school meant I repeated professors and they repeated the authors and texts they liked, therefore I did not always get the most expansive exposure to a variety of classics. Because of this 1984 missed my radar. When I found free time for reading, the classics never appealed to me for two reasons. The first, the language was not contemporary and therefore was lofty. It was not […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, History, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction Tagged With: adaptations, Children's Dystopian Fiction Books, classic, George Orwell, George Orwell and Matyas Namai, Matyas Namai, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:496 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, History, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction · Tags: adaptations, Children's Dystopian Fiction Books, classic, George Orwell, George Orwell and Matyas Namai, Matyas Namai, Social Themes ·
Rating:
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Parents! Whatcha gunna do?

The Schlemiel Kids Save the Moon by Audrey Barbakoff

October 21, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

A year back the book The Schlemiel Kids Save the Moon by Audrey Barbakoff and illustrated by  Rotem Teplow came out. I found it hidden in my online reader links, so I had the pleasure of reading it that way. When I finished reading I felt that it was a cozy, silly folktale, and the usual antics that can be labeled as way too over the top and frankly stupid, were not there. I was, okay the adults are not the brightest people, but nobody […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fiction, Poetry Tagged With: adaptations, Audrey Barbakoff, community, Fairy Tales, family, folk tleas, jewish, Rotem Teplow, siblings

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:460 · Genres: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fiction, Poetry · Tags: adaptations, Audrey Barbakoff, community, Fairy Tales, family, folk tleas, jewish, Rotem Teplow, siblings ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
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