Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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This is the party that never ends, it goes on and on my friends…. (but it has gorgeous illustrations)

King Winter's Birthday by Jonathan Freedland and Emily Sutton

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Though I did not cry reading King Winter’s Birthday by Jonathan Freedland and Emily Sutton (illustrator), I did get emotional.  It is a bittersweet story of loss and in the end, hope. The illustrations are lovely and though I do give it a five rating, there were a few odd flows to the text in a few places, otherwise it was perfect.  The story is about how a brother (King Winter) wants to spend the special occasion of his birthday with his siblings, King Summer, […]

Hey! I know you!

Dragonbreath V01 by Ursula Vernon

Harriet, Hamster Princess V01 Harriet the Invincible by Ursula Vernon

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Awhile ago, there as a post about T. Kingfisher here that made me curious about them as a writer. I started thinking I wouldn’t read anything they had written as it was horror and darker fantasy. Great genres, just not my usual reads. But then I heard the name Ursula Vernon. Okay….. I know that name….WAIT I do know the name! She is the Dragonbreath and Harriet, Hamster Princess author. Books for young children.  Okay, now you’re talking (writing) my language. Well, Dragonbreath, #1 and […]

A weird heartwarming story about dead people

Hotel Limbo V01 by Ben Harel

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Okay, Hotel Limbo V01 by Ben Harel….  What the h-e-double hockey sticks did I read? This is one confusing, wild, unusual and crazy book. In other words, it is a must read. Okay, readers. I cannot tell you the story. Sure I can but it then tells you everything you would experience and honestly you should go into this book with no preconceptions other than that it is a journey and experience. But I will say we deal with death. Except it’s funny. Until it […]

More Inspirational Than Adaptational

White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link

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Another great modern fairy tale collection, though very different than the Adelmann book. Link takes seven folktales and creates original, contemporary fairy tales inspired by them. “The White Cat’s Divorce” is the opener, based on my beloved Madame d’Aulnoy’s “The White Cat” – and Link’s version is actually VERY close to the original story, except for its conclusion (which is a delicious twist). But her narration sounds very “21st century d’Aulnoy,” and the basic premise is the same. So it surprised me when over half […]

Smart cookies

Vasilisa the Wise and Other Tales of Brave Young Women by Kate Forsyth

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Vasilisa the Wise is one of a half dozen or so fairy tale collections Kate Forsyth wrote for children (though I didn’t know its audience going into it, and other than the fact that the photo-illustrations feature children in the lead parts, I might not have figured that out). They are traditionally but lovingly told, with a few adjustments for the modern era, which the author discusses. Each story has background information, on why the author or illustrator picked it for the book, how they […]

An odd, not so little, little book or Why even though it is the day before Easter, you should go to the libary

Bog Myrtle by Sid Sharp

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You know you have a problem when you spend five days of the week at your job behind the scenes at a bookstore, then on Saturday you go to the library for a “change of scenery.” But I guess it could be worse.  Anyway, I was browsing the shelves, thinking that I had forgotten it was the day before Easter and there would be little rabbits hunting eggs and goodies, but thankfully they were outside. I was able to just look and see what jumped […]



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