Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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One of the books from the “nope, not going to read, well maybe I will…” list

Ride / Đạp Xe by Bao Phi and Thi Bui

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Most of the time if I decide to read a book after thinking I won’t read it, I end up liking it. Usually a lot, too. And that is the case with Ride / Đạp Xe by Bao Phi and illustrator Thi Bui. It turned out to be more fun, interesting and more enjoyably clever than I had imagined.  The overall theme is learning to ride a bike. Of course, that means falls and frustration, but the father and mother of the story keep patient […]

Brutally beautiful historical fantasy

A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing by Alice Evelyn Yang

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I was immediately drawn to this book, but struggled with eyeball reading, so I was so glad when I got an advance listening copy as well, especially so I wouldn’t be butchering the Chinese words and intonations. This is really intense and deals with a lot of really difficult topics, and it’s hard to say any of the characters (though especially Ba) were likable, but the ending left me with a feeling of hope and healing. Told through three (four?) perspectives, A Beast Slinks Towards […]

2024 is going to be a busy year

Our Nipa Hut: A Story in the Philippines by Rachell Abalos

I Am Both : A Vietnamese Refugee Story  by Kerisa Greene

Two Homes, One Heart  by Jessica Young

All About Color by Elizabeth Rusch

Of Words and Water: The Story of Wilma Dykeman—Writer, Historian, Environmentalist  by Shannon Hitchcock

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It is a picture book reviewing round up time! My theme is that of cultures. Of course we know the concept of “country and culture” but sometimes a culture can be something you do not immediately think of.  Yelena and Papa take care of their nipa hut and it takes care of them in Rachell Abalos’s picture book, Our Nipa Hut: A Story in the Philippines. Due in February 2024, I was lucky enough to have my book dealer send me a finished copy, as this is a book that needs […]

Making Friends one paw at a time

Madeline Finn and the Therapy Dog by Lisa Papp

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Have a box of tissues ready if you plan on reading Madeline Finn and the Therapy Dog by Lisa Papp.  This is a “hard tug” at the heartstrings picture book. Madeline Finn and her dog, Star, must pass three tests for Star to become a therapy dog. And while most people take to Star (and him to them) at the nursing home where he is taking his tests, there is one person that seems to be immune to Star’s charms. But Madeline Finn knows what […]

To Grandmother’s Garden We Go

Grandma's Gardens by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton

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I am not either a fan or not fan of Hillary Rodham Clinton and her daughter Chelsea Clinton. However, we had a copy of a book at work that had this grandmotherly looking lady on the cover that was bright, oversized and had garden in the title.  I am not a gardener, but this year I became a “plant mom” for the second time (my first was years ago and a Venus fly trap. It did not go well. Let’s say, do not accidently shut […]

A New Classic? Maybe. A New Fun Read? Yes!

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White Whale! Timeless: Diego and the Rangers of the Vastlantic is the result if The Invention of Hugo Cabret meet Steampunk with “something else” that I cannot put my finger on. Armand Baltazar has mixed fantasy, realism and adventure that surrounds our hero Diego and his friends. When different times (past present and a little of the future) have clashed together causing a brand-new world, the different factions fight over to create their own order in this not always safe world. However, when five kids from […]



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