Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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The Schlemiel Kids Save the Moon by Audrey Barbakoff

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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 […]

Bears and Burnout

Angelica and the Bear Prince by Trung Le Nguyen

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Angelica is an overachiever. She can’t help herself. She loves to be counted as someone people can rely on. But she’s not relying on her body failing her, and after burnout leaves her too numb to do much else besides lie in bed, she gets into therapy and decides to choose one project to focus on instead of ALL the projects! She lands an internship at a local theatre which is celebrating its anniversary by mounting its very first show, an adaptation of East of the […]

I wrote a long review about two books and it’s longer than the books probably…

Sun, Moon, and Star: A Folktale from Korea. by Nancy So Miller

Beatrix and Her Friends by Anne Lambelet

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Folktales have always been a go-to read for me. I enjoy learning about other cultures and seeing how they have been interpreted. Plus, I enjoy comparing them with other cultures’ stories. One true folktale (it even says so in the title) is  Sun, Moon, and Star: A Folktale from Korea. The other, while not a pure folktale, I consider her stories to be folktale adjacent. It is a biography of Beatrix Potter, aptly named, Beatrix and Friends. Nancy So Miller took an established story of […]

Sometimes a beautiful cover and a simple story are enough

The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke

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CBR 17 BINGO: Purple (see cover) Illustrated by Victoria Sawdon It’s been five years since the publication of Piranesi, and 21 years (!) since the release of the spellbinding Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, so I know I’m not the only fan who squealed with delight at the arrival of a new (tiny) book by Susanna Clarke. I love the existence of this book, but I must warn you up front that it’s a short story, and barely that. You can read it in 20 […]

Culture has many forms

The Runaway Pancake by Tiny Fisscher

Sleep Here, Wake There by Caio Zero

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cbr17bingo Culture (Runaway Pancake) and Work (Sleep Here, Wake There) When you are a reader of the children’s genre you find all types of books. One of my favorites are picture books as they are fun, unique and quick reads. Still, they can have deep messages and/or be quirky and fun.  The Runaway Pancake by Tiny Fisscher and illustrated by Sophie Pluim (currently available but read via an online reader copy) (CULTURE) is a fun and quirky one with a  fun take on the Gingerbread […]

Whisper Sweet Nothings About Chopin All Day Long

The Unforgivable and Other Writings by Cristina Campo

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This collection of short stories was the product of an unusual author.  Campo, born in Italy in 1923, had been a sickly child (heart condition) and grew up secluded by her wealthy family in a villa in Tuscany.  In the 1960s, she moved to Rome, and lived in a convent for long periods of time until her untimely death in 1977. Some of her earlier work borders a little too closely to twee for my taste, and I do not share her enthusiasm for Catholic […]



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