Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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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. […]

New School, New Situations, Old Story

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass: The Graphic Novel by Mel Valentine Vargas and Meg Medina

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cbr16bingo Rage Rage is an obvious choice once you read this book. The rage of the bullies. The main girl is being targeted because of an angry classmate. The rage of our main character against her classmate, her mother and the secrets, and of course, the rage of a teenager not being heard. Even the mother has rage, due to her assumptions on what a “good girl/daughter” should do, what she assumes her daughter is doing, and even perhaps to the man who is Piddy’s […]

From Lima, Peru for Sunny City, California

Vampirita and the Angry Mob (Book 1): A Charming Tale of a Young Vampire's Adventure in California by Mariana Llanos

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Vampirita and the Angry Mob (Book 1): A Charming Tale of a Young Vampire’s Adventure in California by Mariana Llanos and illustrated by Laura Brenalla is the story of a “new kid in town” but has a slightly different twist to it with a vampire as our main character. However, the relatable issues of homesickness, not fitting in, and trying to be nice when you want to be anything but, is familiar. However, regardless of how much we know this story, the author has fun […]

A week of family

Family Poems for Every Day of the Week : Poemas familiares para cada dia de la semana by Francisco X. Alarcón

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I have been holding onto over 1000 emails that have at least one online reader copy. At least one of those had four. I was skimming the titles, looking at the links… nope nope nope…. Delete, save, nope nope, next time…. Until I came to  Family Poems for Every Day of the Week : Poemas familiares para cada dia de la semana.  The other books were a mix of genres, but this said “Poems.” Okay, that is what I need. Something short and hopefully fun. […]

I’m With the Mariachi Band

Adela’s Mariachi Band by Denise Vega

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I decided that when I got an email from Charlesbridge (a publisher) I would read some of the twelve online picture book reader copies included. I ended up reading ten (one had been previously read, so technically nine). I didn’t read two because the covers didn’t “speak to me” but I saved the links in case they someday would. One of the reads was Adela’s Mariachi Band. Due in mid-August, this story by Denise Vega and illustrated by Erika Rodriguez Medina was not what I […]



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