Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


A cray-sea life

You Brought Me The Ocean by Alex Sanchez

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You Brought Me The Ocean. Seems simple enough of a title. The story that Alex Sanchez created is not as simple as that. This is a fun book about love and being true to yourself. Two characters quickly find love with each other, but their small community and local high school classmate will challenge that. Also, friends will come into question, what is family, and what are the markings on one of the young teen. Jake Hyde is drawn to the ocean, but his mother’s […]

Superheroes, family, friendship, and Aerialists. Oh My.

The Lost Carnival by Michael Moreci

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I have wanted to read The Lost Carnival for a while now. It was not because it was about Dick Grayson or DC Comics or about a (future) superhero. It was not because Michael Moreci wrote it, or Sas Milledge and Phil Hester illustrated. No, it was because I wanted to know why the character was upside down and in a flower on the cover. That was the draw. Okay, maybe superficial, but that crazy, busy, simple coloring of yellow, blue, and gray just called […]

Big Ideas and Big Friends

Big Dreams, Small Fish by Paula Cohen

Gibberish by Young Vo

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Culture is an interesting subject. And when you come from one and go to a different one, things get interesting.  The publisher Levine Querido has stories that are about cultures we may/may not be familiar with. In the process of reading them, there is a lot to learn about how we are not only different, but the same, too. Shirley is a child with big ideas, her family are immigrants, they live over their grocery store, and they cannot sell their gefilte fish. Her parents […]

He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother

Bad Sister by Charise Mericle Harper

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An interesting story of siblings and how a younger brother showed his older sister a few things. And that is what you are supposed to get from Bad Sister by Charise Mericle Harper. What I got was another poor, put-upon big sister, getting the blame for having an annoying, bratty, spoiled younger sibling (can you guess which one I am with me and my sister?) Seriously though, both Harper and the world see Charise (the character) as “in the wrong” (and she even goes as […]

Father and son doing art

Growing an Artist: The Story of a Landscaper and His Son by John Parra

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Growing an Artist: The Story of a Landscaper and His Son by John Parra is a neat book. I was not sure what to expect, but it was not what I got. I really liked this book. It is sentimental and inspiring. And has lovely illustrations that are fun, cozy, and active. Parra’s story is based on his growing up in California and helping his father in his landscaping business. Parra’s young boy of the story observes the things around him. He notices people his […]

See if you like this book

See You Someday Soon by Pat Zietlow Miller

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In See You Someday Soon a child misses someone who is very far away from them. The prose poetry of the text talks about the feels, thoughts, and questions they have. They tell of ways that they could go and visit that person (rocket ship, letter, plane, or jet pack).  Pat Zietlow Miller has a thoughtful, somber, and still hopeful tone to the text. The story is simple but has a lot going on with it.  While there is not a lot of traditional action, […]



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