Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


This reminds me of a younger Summer of My German Soldier

Enemies in the Orchard: A World War 2 Novel in Verse by Dana VanderLugt

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Enemies in the Orchard: A World War 2 Novel in Verse by Dana VanderLugt is a combination of a sweet and informative book. Perhaps it is also a bit idealistic, as it shows a part of World War II that is not known as well as other parts of American history, and is done in a “less intense” way. It is an interesting look at war and friendship nonetheless. There is a double POV story telling that is a familiar format, but adds to the […]

Our Universe

Sophie Shares the Stars by Heather Smith and Catherine Petit

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Sophie Shares the Stars by Heather Smith and Catherine Petit is an interesting book due to the different layers it has. First, it is an adoption story. Sophie has lived with “”My Michael” since she was three. And this is why she calls him what she does and his mother “Our Julia.” But the second level is he is a “real” parent as he does the things all good parents do, takes care of her when she is sick, helps her clean up messes, and […]

The community of solstice

Winter Solstice Wish by Kate Allen Fox and Elisa Paganelli

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I am not jumping up and down and saying Winter Solstice Wish by Kate Allen Fox and illustrated by Elisa Paganelli (currently available, but I read via an online reader copy) is the best solstice book ever, but I am jumping in to say this is a nice and slightly different approach to the subject. What I have seen for solstice books tend to show more winter scenes and events done to celebrate the seasonal moment. When we find the shortest day of the year, […]

Great for the Holidays and Any Days

The House Without Lights: A glowing celebration of joy, warmth, and home by Reem Faruqi

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I don’t think I saw The House Without Lights: A glowing celebration of joy, warmth, and home by Reem Faruqi and illustrated by Nadia Alam on my online reading site. If I had, I didn’t remember seeing and/or saving it. But one day I had an email that said, “Here is a book we are promoting and we hope you consider reading it.” I said, “Why not?” and I found an online copy. That is not where this book journey ends though. I will be […]

Powerful story of climate change

Dust by Alison Stine

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There was so much of this I loved, but also this was a book that felt really slow through most of the middle. Thea is partially deaf and after her family’s home in Ohio flooded, her dad brought them to Bloodless Valley in Colorado in order to live a simple life and return to basic farming lifestyle. But there is nothing simple about living in the Valley. There’s been a drought for a long time and corporate farms keep buying the water, making it harder […]

The Food Cart, The Girl and the Community

Noodle & Bao by Shaina Lu

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The story of Noodle & Bao is obvious (the little guy taking on the big guy/the small town getting taken over by big money), but overall it is fun and fresh. There were a few bumps in the flow of things and the animals and human living side-by-side is odd (maybe it is because the people are that type of personalities?) but it keeps things light as we see gentrification at work. The use of details and colors are minimal but important. The extras at […]



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