Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus, elves, flying reindeer and lots of love

North for the Winter by Bobby Podesta

July 16, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Cbr17bingo N (N is for North and Nobody will believe what our main character does!) North for the Winter by Bobby Podesta is probably one of the best books I’ve read this year. I love the historical aspect (the birth of tracking Santa because of a misprint in an advertisement in 1955) and while maybe it was not the most original with the grief and family connection/friend interaction, the ending was worth that familiarity of grief and the healing process. It is fun and quirky. […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, History, Young Adult Tagged With: Bobby Podesta, cbr17bingo, celebrations, christmas, Christmas Eve, Continental Air Defense Command Center, family, friendship, grief, Holiday, Reindeer, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:331 · Genres: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, History, Young Adult · Tags: Bobby Podesta, cbr17bingo, celebrations, christmas, Christmas Eve, Continental Air Defense Command Center, family, friendship, grief, Holiday, Reindeer, Social Themes ·
Rating:
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Celebration of storytelling

The Girl and the Robot Heart by Neal Hoskins

May 31, 2024 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I was reading up a storm the other day and found an online reader copy (due late September 2024) called, The Girl and the Robot Heart.  It is a terribly lovely story that is not easy to read or to view. It is not a one time read, but a multiple time read where you need to break things down. First read the text, then read the art and finally the two together (or whichever order you would like to do). And though set at […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fiction, Poetry Tagged With: celebrations, christmas, feelings & emotions, Holiday, Monika Vaicenaviciene, Neal Hoskins, robots, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR16 Review No:229 · Genres: Children's Books, Fiction, Poetry · Tags: celebrations, christmas, feelings & emotions, Holiday, Monika Vaicenaviciene, Neal Hoskins, robots, Social Themes ·
Rating:
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Gift a read

Joy to the World: A Christmas Song by Sara Gianassi

Silent Night: A Christmas Song by Sara Gianassi

The Last Slice: A Three Kings Day Treat by Melissa Seron Richardson

December 6, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

If you like giving books for the holidays, these two board books illustrated by Sara Gianassi are adorable! They capture the more traditional feelings and ideals of the season, but also are just nice books. Perfect for stocking stuffers, these are practically must haves for everyone. They do include the full text (or at least a few verses) of each song (therefore a few lines might not be as familiar to some people) and have the sweetest images for illustrations. Okay, maybe too sweet for […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Cooking/Food, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Religion Tagged With: family, Holiday, Melissa Seron Richardson, Monica Arnaldo, music, Sara Gianassi, Social Themes, traditions

BlackRaven's CBR15 Review No:855 · Genres: Children's Books, Cooking/Food, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Religion · Tags: family, Holiday, Melissa Seron Richardson, Monica Arnaldo, music, Sara Gianassi, Social Themes, traditions ·
Rating:
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We gonna celebrate with you!

Luke & the Longest Night: A Wheel of the Year Book by Kathleen Converse

November 22, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I recently read an article (which of course now I cannot locate) about how pagan celebrations are not really shown in children’s books, and how a company was started to create books on the subject. I was intrigued. I might not be a pagan, or really know anyone who is, but I am interested in books about other holidays, celebrations, religious beliefs, and so forth. I asked my local library to see if they could find me one (or more) of them. So far, the […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Cooking/Food, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry Tagged With: Hanna Sultanova, Holiday, Kathleen Converse, pagan, Science & Nature, winter, winter celebrations, Yule story

BlackRaven's CBR15 Review No:829 · Genres: Children's Books, Cooking/Food, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry · Tags: Hanna Sultanova, Holiday, Kathleen Converse, pagan, Science & Nature, winter, winter celebrations, Yule story ·
Rating:
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Get your Ho-Ho on a bit early

A Creature Was Stirring by Heather S Perczynski

The Christmassy Cactus by Beth Ferry

June 16, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Christmas 2023 is coming in over 190 days. And I found two books that will be coming out sooner than that. Both of the below titles were read via an online reader copy, but I will be getting copies when they come out in mid-September 2023 as they are too cute not to own several copies, give as gifts and read as many times as you can. Normally I am not a “rambunctious child” fan. But with A Creature Was Stirring, the mischievous mouse is […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fantasy, Fiction, Poetry Tagged With: A.N. Kang, Bedtime & Dreams, Beth Ferry, celebrations, christmas, Heather S Perczynski, Holiday, Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance, Skylar Hogan, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR15 Review No:424 · Genres: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fantasy, Fiction, Poetry · Tags: A.N. Kang, Bedtime & Dreams, Beth Ferry, celebrations, christmas, Heather S Perczynski, Holiday, Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance, Skylar Hogan, Social Themes ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Read them books!

Tzimmes for Tzipporah by Megan Hoyt

Just One Little Light by Kat Yeh

June 7, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

It’s time for another picture book round up review. This time there are two books I enjoyed reading, but did not feel I could honestly do a full review of. Both stories are sweet, but are not necessarily for everyone.  Are you looking for a new book about getting out and about on the farm? Well Tzimmes for Tzipporah is a new book (or will be in September 2023) dealing with a farm during harvest time. It is written by Megan Hoyt and Christine Battuz […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Cooking/Food, Fiction, Health, Poetry, Religion Tagged With: celebration, Christine Battuz, Holiday, Isabelle Arsenault, Kat Yeh, Megan Hoyt, Rosh Hashanah, Social Themes, Values & Virtues

BlackRaven's CBR15 Review No:410 · Genres: Children's Books, Cooking/Food, Fiction, Health, Poetry, Religion · Tags: celebration, Christine Battuz, Holiday, Isabelle Arsenault, Kat Yeh, Megan Hoyt, Rosh Hashanah, Social Themes, Values & Virtues ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
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Recent Comments

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