Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


What the flying monkeys did I just read?

Big Girl, Small Town by Michelle Gallen

by 5 Comments

There no traditional action in Big Girl, Small Town. Yet, you are drawn into the book from page one. Michelle Gallen made me fall in love with a fictional character. She made me see myself in her. She made me want to root for this character who (on the surface) is not an overly likable person. Or at least, not at first. You watch as Majella (our heroine) live her life. Or what passes for living in a Northern Ireland town after “The Troubles” have […]

Three books, one review, (almost) endless reading

The Couch Potato by Jory John

Jabari Tries by Gaia Cornwall

A Garden in Your Belly: Meet the Microbes in Your Gut by Masha D’yans

by Leave a Comment

A short laundry list of picture books is what you’ll find here. These books, while are good, just do not lend themselves for a nice long solo review. I will start off with two that have a theme to them: A Life Lesson. A Life Lesson #1 is The Couch Potato by Jory John. This is the fourth in The Bad Seed series by John. It is a cute story about having an indoor and outdoor balance to one’s lifestyle. It is nice to be […]

A Walk To Adventure

Timo the Adventurer by Jonathan Garnier

by 1 Comment

Timo the Adventurer is, to say the least, an odd book. The theme is mostly obvious with the question of “What a hero truly is” as its main point. However, there are also the themes of learning to trust others; asking for help; giving help; learning to forgive others along with yourself and learning from your mistakes. Jonathan Garnier crafted a book that might appeal to most kids ages 8 to 12 (or young 13). There is action, fantasy violence and even the tiniest bit […]

“I actually look for things to smile about.” ~ Dr. Ruth

Roller Coaster Grandma: The Amazing Story of Dr. Ruth by Dr. Ruth Westheimer

by Leave a Comment

I have a little soft spot for a sassy, Jewish-German doctor by the name of Dr. Ruth Westheimer. The fact that she was a bit controversial at the time (gasp! She’s talking about S-E-X!) flew over my head. But when a customer ordered two different books by Westheimer, I was interested. These were children’s books. What could she talk about? The first, was a picture book that I never looked at (Crocodile, You’re Beautiful! Embracing Our Strengths and Ourselves), but quickly skimmed Roller Coaster Grandma: […]

Take a look, it’s in a book (or five)

My America by Karen Katz

Sheep Dog and Sheep Sheep: Baaad Hair Day by Eric Barclay

One More Hug by Megan Alexander

Roly Poly by Mem Fox

The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig

by Leave a Comment

What do you do when you can’t write a review to fit your needed word count? You combine several together to let people know that there are some grand books out there, but trying to write over 200 words just is not going to happen with books only a 100 words themselves (if that). My America by Karen Katz: This is a nice book. It is cozy. It is sweet. It is comfortable. It talks about people from the POV of children. All (with one […]

Two different books creating feelings

I'll Be the Water: A Story of a Grandparent's Love by Alec Aspinwall

Crying is Like the Rain: A Story of Mindfulness and Feelings by Heather Feinberg

by Leave a Comment

Two interesting books, but not enough for me to find the word limit for each solo, therefor I am going to do “two books one review” for these little numbers. The connection I find with both titles is that they both have a somber theme and/or feeling to them. I’ll Be the Water: A Story of Loss, Greif, and a Grandparent’s Love is obviously about the loss of a beloved grandparent. However, it is also a hopeful story. We see all the wonderful things that […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo