Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


Actor, activist, and author

My Lost Freedom: A Japanese American World War II Story by George Takei

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Named after an English king, he would go on and represent Asian Americans in Hollywood and beyond. Some know him as the “Oh my!” guy, some know him as a human and GLBTQ+ rights advocate, some know him as a playwright, but most probably know him as Mr. Sulu on Star Trek. His name is George Takei. He would live through several years of some of the worst American history during World War II. While we were fighting for Liberty in Europe and Japan, we […]

Monsters live

Janus Silang and the Creature of Tabon volume one in the Janus Silang Saga by Edgar Calabia Samar

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Janus Silang and the Creature of Tabon volume one in the Janus Silang Saga by Edgar Calabia Samar, Natasha Ringor (Illustrator), and Carljoe Javier as the adaptor is more of a 2.5 than a two. There was this “niggle” as I was reading saying, “This is good, pay attention.” But another part of me was saying, “you are so missing something about this book” and therefore I cannot give it a 3 but also, there was too much I did like to just give a […]

Climate change and one result

Wildfire by Breena Bard

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The graphic novel Wildfire by Breena Bard has a heavy push of environmentalism and that which causes them, and how to try and fix them. Which is, of course a fantastic subject, but at times it felt a smidgen pushy. However, overall it is well done and introduces the subject well. I had a few spots where I had wished something else had happened or was handled differently, but I enjoyed things. A modern tone with bubbly, colorful, minimal detailed illustrations to help counter the […]

Once upon a time there were two emails

The Magic Box: A Book of Opposites by Charles Ghigna

What Love Looks Like by Laura Obuobi

Danté Plays His Blues by Allen R. Wells

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Once upon a time there were two emails in my work email that said, “Please give our books a chance!” So I did. And out of the almost 10 titles I read via online reader copies, I found three I enjoyed and wanted to review.  The Magic Box: A Book of Opposites by Charles Ghigna and illustrated by Jacqueline East had potential. However, due to the minimal text, it missed the OMG BBE (Best Book Ever) mark by a smidgen. There were not as many […]

Happy April and Happy Poetry Month

All of Those Babies by Mylisa Larsen

Aunt Sue's Stories by Langston Hughes

Bless Our Pets : Poems of Gratitude for Our Animal Friends by Lee Bennett Hopkins

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Happy April and Happy Poetry Month. I am sure I will find other poetry books for kids, but I will start with three that I just found. All are available (or with the last one “soon” in April 2024) but all have been read via online reader copies. The first is All of Those Babies by Mylisa Larsen and illustrated by Stephanie Laberis . This book is one solid poem that rhymes and has repetition. The idea is how all babies, be they lizard, human […]

A winter walk

A Quiet Conversation with the Snow by Lori Colvin

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A Quiet Conversation with the Snow by Lori Colvin and illustrated by Lee Steadman has a few tones and levels to it. The first thing I noticed was the repetition of the images. There is a lot of white and blue. When other colors come out, it is usually red and specifically the red of a male cardinal. This bird is on almost every page, allowing for the listener (and reader) to find it. Sometimes it is obvious and is the center of the back […]



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