Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Sun reigns; desert shapes

Sundust: (A Caldecott Honor Book) by Zeke Peña

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The minimalistic text and illustrations of Sundust: (A Caldecott Honor Book) by Zeke Peña  packs a punch. It is a “you experience it by what you bring to the table” book. Therefore, no two people read the same book, and even no two readings by the same reader will be the same book, either. The siblings of the story leave the comfort zone of their home, community, safety, and wander into the desert. Here they not only see things you can’t find in society, you are […]

Munchies and Crunchies animal friendly

Picadillo for Paulina by Ruth Behar, Gabriel Frye-Behar, Erika Rodriguez Medina

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Picadillo for Paulina by Ruth Behar, Gabriel Frye-Behar, and Erika Rodriguez Medina    Having a vegetarian base to the character is a unique way of introducing a food “lifestyle” (for health or personal reasons). The addition of the recipe shows how you can adapt one dish for this traditionally Cuban meat dish. Overall, sweet, I like the tension without it being too confrontational. The images are soft, and bubbly to help soften a somewhat serious story. That is a basic description of the story. I […]

Young rebels

Little Rebels by Yuyi Morales

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Cbr17bingo Citizen (as a citizen it is our duty to help the community we are a citizen of and we are a citizen of the Earth, the land, the people on it). To be honest, I do not remember if I requested the reader’s copy of Little Rebels by Yuyi Morales or if it was just sent to me, but either way I got a lovely surprise when it arrived at my work via the USPS mail. It is due in early September 2025, therefore […]

What’s scarier than a cucuy?

The Unlikely Aventuras of Ramón and El Cucuy: An Illustrated Chapter Book by Donna Barba Higuera

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The Unlikely Aventuras of Ramón and El Cucuy: An Illustrated Chapter Book by Donna Barba Higuera and some funny illustrations by Juliana Perdomo is a fun story about family and a bit of mythology, that I read via an online reader copy.  Our narrator/main character is a young monster on the eve of his first assignment to scare a human child. They are the youngest in their class, and one of the few cucuys who do not have a Clump or name. Therefore, they must […]

Magic!!! (jazz hands)

Pacheco and the Witch of the Mountain: A Graphic Novel by Juan E. Zambrano

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We have seen this story before: Boys cannot do magic. They cannot be witches. The non witches also think witches are evil and bad. Witches think non witches are beneath them and if they have any trace of magic it is not pure and therefore not worthy of paying attention to.  But in Pacheco and the Witch of the Mountain: A Graphic Novel by Juan E. Zambrano (due June 2025) this story is told with a bit of fun and humor, plus a few twists […]

I wanna be her when I grow up!

Wanda Hears the Stars: A Blind Astronomer Listens to the Universe by Amy S. Hansen, Wanda Diaz Merced and Rocio Arreola Mendoza

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Of course astronomers are not people we see a lot in biographies for children and especially women astronomers. But when you find a book called Wanda Hears the Stars: A Blind Astronomer Listens to the Universe you think, “Did I see that right? A female astronomer?”  Then you see the word “blind” and realize she was also blind. What the fudge…..????? And, yes, we read that right. Amy S. Hansen with Wanda Díaz Merced, and illustrated by Rocio Arreola  Mendoza created a book about Merced. […]



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