Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


Join the CBR18 Book Bingo Reading Challenge—Now Underway!   

Bingo #4

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

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In an effort to read some spooky literature for this, the high holy season of Halloween, I went for one of my comfortable standbys, good old Neil Gaiman. Winning both the Hugo and the Nebula awards in 2003 and 2004 for best novella, Coraline deserves all the acclaim it received. Clocking in at only a little over 100 pages, Gaiman works his magic to build a terrifying little universe in a short space. Even though this book was in the children’s section of my library, […]

You are invited to a Tea Party for Mr. Pumpkin and his friends

Mr. Pumpkin’s Tea Party by Erin Barker

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I am sorry to say I was disappointed in the story of Mr. Pumpkin’s Tea Party. A child will probably enjoy the counting aspect and enjoy seeing all the goodies and people that are coming to the tea party, but this story has been done before. This is not to say Erin Barker’s book is bad. Far from it. It is a delightful Autumn story. It is great for Halloween without being SPOOKY. But not really spooky-spooky, you know? It is a cozy book. It […]

It’s the most wonderful time of year when that day called Halloween comes around

Snowmen at Halloween by Caralyn M. Buehner

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I am not usually a fan of the Snowmen books. I mean, I like them, but can take them or leave them. This time, the Snowmen at Halloween had the Halloween theme a tad forced to make it possible for the snowmen come to life at Halloween. Now, living in New England, I know you can get snow in October (we “old timers” still talk about the storm of 1987), and I have had more than one costume “disappear” under winter jackets, but I would […]

Ah, the sweet autumnal smell of love. (CBR11 Bingo)

Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell, Faith Erin Hicks

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I was always going to love this book. If there was a book created for me, this would be it. All its missing to make it absolute perfection is a focus on the color purple. Its set in my favorite season, specifically on my personal high holy day (Halloween), featuring an adventure, some unrequited/unacknowledged love, pumpkins, snacks, and a goat on the loose. Seriously, Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks nailed this delightful story of two friends spending their last night at work together before […]

Ghoulia is a cute story with charming art, perfect gift to give a young reader next Halloween

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Several years ago, Neil Gaiman suggested celebrating All Hallow’s Read around Halloween.  You celebrate the Halloween season by giving seasonally appropriate books to friends and family.  Either directly about the holiday, or perhaps spooky and scary books that fit this time of year’s mood.  I’ve done this for the past three years now with my girls.  This year was a bit of a challenge for my newly turned seven year old.  She loves Halloween but really, really does not like to be scared.  She is […]

An epic tale about the hopelessness of being The Other

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[BINGO!] I’ve been mulling over this review of Frankenstein for a couple of weeks now and I have so many thoughts and feelings! I’ll first admit that I had never read Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus before this year, and truly believed that the gothic horror story was just the same as James Whale’s Frankenstein movie. And it is not. At all. The same. Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley wrote her epic tale about the hopelessness of being The Other, of the misery of the life unwanted, and uncared for. The monster is a […]



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