Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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The Friendship Train: A True Story of Helping and Healing by Debbie Levy and Boris Kulikov

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When you think of World War II you don’t usually think of a sweet story about friendship, hope and caring, but that is what The Friendship Train: A True Story of Helping and Healing after World War II is about.  Author Debbie Levy tells of how after the devastating world war, Europe faced a brutal winter. Low on supplies, food, and practically everything needed for survival, it was figured most would not make it. But in an attempt to help, (from publisher description) spearheaded by […]

The story in grandmother’s attic

A Family Secret by Eric Heuvel and Lorraine T. Miller

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Due to the familiarity of the story presented in A Family Secret by Eric Heuvel and Lorraine T. Miller (Translator), things were not as impactful as it could have been. However, if this is your first or near first time reading a WWII / Holocaust story, it is good. The images are busy, so take your time with them. The ending is a smidgen idealistic, but it’s also a nice touch. I am now curious about the sequel / companion graphic novel. I would have […]

Unbury the secrets

Rubble: The Hidden Letters of the Warsaw Ghetto by Elisa Boxer and Oksana Drachkovska

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The book Under the Rubble: The Hidden Letters of the Warsaw Ghetto by Elisa Boxer and illustrator Oksana Drachkovska did not give me a warm and happy feeling. It gave me a cold and sad feeling. The theme is obvious by the title as we know what the Warsaw Ghetto was. Now, one would think that this is not a book for kids, and it is not for the very young or frankly overly sensitive. But when you know your child (or classroom) is ready, […]

“We had no shield. I had to become one.”

Queen of Exiles by Vanessa Riley

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After the death of her husband and the coup ousting her family from power in the new nation of Hayti, Queen Marie-Louise Christophe and her daughters flee to Europe, where they must learn how to navigate a racist society as Black royalty. I’ve been excited to read this book, because it follows a woman and an area of history I’m not familiar with, and because as a Black monarch, I knew Louise would provide a radically new perspective on the Regency period, which I’ve read […]

Silent music for peace

Music and Silence: The Passion and Protest of Pablo Casals by Christy Mihaly

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Music and Silence: The Passion and Protest of Pablo Casals is just a WOW book. It is beautifully written, beautifully illustrated and beautifully presented.  Christy Mihaly and illustrator Mariona Cabassa made this (due mid/later April 2026) book about a person and story I do not think I had ever heard of before. It is more emotional than an action story, but there are events that have the action, too. We see how the power of music can try and topple governments. We see how one […]

A piece of the story

Song of a Blackbird by Maria van Lieshout

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To be honest, I have a lot of books that get misplaced. I put them in safe places and well, they are so safe even I can’t find them. But there is always a way to find them. And with Song of a Blackbird by Maria van Lieshout that way was the library and interlibrary loan.  A powerful and beautifully done story of family and the horrors of war unfolds across the pages. As it is told via a blackbird, things at times become almost […]



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