Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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I am me and you are you and both are awesome so lets be friends!

Lili Macaroni by Nicole Testa

Danbi Leads the School Parade by Anna Kim

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Self-esteem, acceptance, and emotions are usually the main themes of most books these days and picture books are no exception. The below titles take those familiar themes and magically combines them into two different tales. I picked up Lili Macaroni as I wanted to take a photo of the cover and send to a friend of mine. I asked her if the girl looked familiar to her, too. And yes, we thought it looked like her youngest child. And yes, Lili of the story was […]

Familiar faces and story with a twist

Manu by Kelly Fernandez

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Best friends, magic and religion mix for a fantastic fantasy graphic novel called Manu by Kelly Fernandez. The themes, landscape and feeling of the novel itself is based in the author/illustrators Dominican and American heritage. This is a modern fairy/folk tale that combines classic story and new imagery. Manu was a foundling. Manu is always getting into trouble. Manu is a bit “too much” for her classmates. But Manu is loved by the headmistress and her best friend, Josefina. This is a school for magical […]

When Boy Meets Boy and Sparks fly….maybe

Heartstopper V01 by Alice Oseman

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I have tried multiple times to start the first book in the Heartstopper series. However, I learned that my trick of “starting on a random page to see if it can grab me” did not work. This book is one you must start with page one and work your way through it. And actually, one should read it slowly as, even though there is little text, and frankly little traditional action, you do not want to rush it. There is a lot going on and […]

Kip is a quiet girl in a loud city and now now her fun pencil eraser is talking to her.

The Odds by Matt Stanton

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When the imagination goes wild, it goes really wild for Kip in this 8- to 10-year-old reader graphic novel called The Odds. In this first volume of a new series by Matt Stanton, lives up to its name, The Odds. Kip, our main character, wakes up one morning to see several characters from her dad’s game from his phone, from the television, from her books, a dinosaur her dreams/nightmares, her dad’s comic character, the alien eraser from her pencil, plus a pink elephant that really […]

A new Alphabet

From Archie to Zack by Vincent Kirsch

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From Archie to Zack is a GLBTQ+ story and a sweet friendship story. You can say that Archie and Zack do have a crush on each other (as a description mentioned the joys of a first crush) or they are just dear, close friends, who care deeply for each other. This flexibility normalizes feelings and boys having them. It is also about acceptance as the whole school knows that the boys have this relationship. And when Zelda, Zinnia, and Zuzella find letters that Archie has […]

My feathered and not so feathered friends

Bird Boy by f Matthew Burges

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Bird Boy is marketed as an “Inclusive Children’s Book.” And while I am not sure what the criteria is for that, the results of Matthew Burgess and Shahrzad Maydani’s book is one that shows you how to be yourself and shows that we are all different but similar at the same time. We are rainbow colors, and maybe use wheelchairs or have glasses, but we can play, have fun, and enjoy nature, and be ourselves with our friends. What happens when you are a shy […]



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