Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


Adopt from the Shelter for Slightly Magical Pets. It’s magically mischievous

Hocus and Pocus and the Spell for Home by A.R. Capetta

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cbr17bingo  Purple (cover) Recently I said in another review you can judge a book by its cover. Sometimes there is something about it that lets you know it is going to go in X direction (or XXX as a recent coloring book with an Alice from Wonderland in a dress so short you can tell if she was a natural blond or not). Thankfully the cover of Hocus and Pocus and the Spell for Home by A.R. Capetta and illustrator Charlene Chua tells a radically […]

Do you think I read a lot?

Clara the Triumphant Rhinoceros: A True Story by Jane Kurtz

Woody's Words : Woodrow Wilson Rawls and Where the Red Fern Grows by Lisa Rogers

Woods & Words: The Story of Poet Mary Oliver. by Sara Holly Ackerman

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Biographies are a fun genre.  You can find out fun facts about favorite authors, poets or even rhinoceroses. Yes, rhinoceroses can have a biography, too. After all, it is hard for them to hold a pencil in their hoof for them to write an autobiography. Therefore, I will start off with Clara the Triumphant Rhinoceros: A True Story (in case you doubt me that this is a biography of a rhino, there is “true story” in the title). Jane Kurtz created a story that gives […]

Halloween stories are not just for one day

Murray's Howl-o-ween: A Halloween Picture Book by E. G. Keller

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Unlike Murray in Murray’s Howl-o-ween: A Halloween Picture Book by E. G. Keller I love the country (though “after cow” isn’t my fave scent). Murray is a dog that likes the sounds and smells of home. He’s less than impressed with the odd smells, the weird  decorations and the company (a cat). But eventually, he will learn about the wonders of something called Halloween and the treats are much sweeter than the tricks of earlier. Due in July 2025, it will be out in time […]

This book went to the dogs

Smithy and Me by Darcy Day Zoells

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The illustrations are fun and colorful in Smithy and Me by Darcy Day Zoells. And while they are not overly detailed they are not lacking either. They set the tone, give the story the push along to make you wonder “what is next?” and keep the reader engaged. The story is “50/50” (you will or won’t like it). I might not have been the exact reader for it, but it is going to be a big hit and I see awards in the future. The […]

A showdown of the scent… senses

Dogs vs. Humans: A Showdown of the Senses by Stephanie Gibeault and Bambi Edlund

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Dogs taste water.  Yes, water. And in Dogs vs. Humans: A Showdown of the Senses by Stephanie Gibeault and Bambi Edlund you will learn not only this fact (well, see it again) you will see if humans can taste water, too. And if they can see the same as dogs, and if dogs smell the same as humans, and if dogs really can detect earthquakes. Plus, why do dogs line up the way they do for taking their morning, noon, and night relief walk.  In […]

Sisters, secrets and dog catchers

Ruff Day (Sixth-Grade Shape-Shifter) by Steven Scott

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Ruff Day (Sixth-Grade Shape-Shifter) by Steven Scott and illustrated by Lavinia Brandizi is due in August 2025. And in fact, perhaps the whole series is. It is possible then that when reading my online reader copy I was not starting with book one. This would make sense as there are several pieces of information that are missing and are only “filled in” as almost sidebars and/or to explain to someone when they find out the secret of our main character. The premise is that our […]



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