Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


The stories of two young men

Hands by Torrey Maldonado

Garvey in the Dark by Nikki Grimes

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I needed a short read or two. I found two, while terribly short looking, books that also felt like they would have some “meat” to them. And those books were Hands by Torrey Maldonado and Garvey in the Dark by Nikki Grimes. I was familiar with Grimes, as they are the author of Garvey’s Choice and others I enjoyed reading. But Maldonado was new. Hands looked like it would be a boxing book. And it is, somewhat. But really what the book is about are […]

Birthday Cupcakes Gone Bad!

Forsynthia V01: Rise of the Cupcakes   by Rachel DiNunzio

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Working in an independent bookstore has a lot of perks. One is that you get emails telling you BOOK X is coming out! Request a reader’s copy today! And when I got an email telling me that Forsynthia V01: Rise of the Cupcakes  by Rachel DiNunzio was available I emailed the rep and asked if they had a finished copy. And they happily sent me one. Therefore, I read via a physical reader’s copy and glad I did. An online version would not have had […]

Pancakes, britches and home

Pancakes for Findus (Findus and Pettson) by Sven Nordqvist

The Van Buren Sisters vs. the Pants Police by J.F. Fox

A Garden Called Home by Jessica J. Lee and Elaine Chen

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Picture books are a great way to read books and have fun as well. You not only read a book (and can read several in a day: Think of a tailor and some flies and “seven in one blow”), but you can learn something. Like how to make pancakes out of your pants, or what britches are, and even that some plants need snow to help them grow. And not only that, you can just have a delightful story you can solo read or read […]

Extra Extra Read All about Frankie and her Hard News Investigating Crew!

Frankie and Friends V01 Breaking News by Christine Platt

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CBR16SweetChallenge #Cozy (the book turned into a cozy read) I picked up a slightly shelf worn copy of Frankie and Friends V01 Breaking News the other day, though I was not sure why. The cover was not “grabbing me” (there are toys and a girl who looks like a doll herself) but maybe it was because it was short, and I was looking for something that was quick and easy. When I needed a quick break from the more intense stories I was reading (a graphic novel about racism and […]

Fantastic Fantasy!

Faebound by Saara El-Arifi

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Saara El-Arifi immediately place herself on my auto-buy list with her debut, and this new world she’s created just confirms why I love her storytelling. The book starts with a myth telling of the three gods: Asase, the Wheat, god of the earth and creator of humans; Ewia, the two-headed Bat, god of the sun and creator of fae: and Bosome, the Water, god of the moon and creator of the elves. As far as anyone is aware, all that remains in the world are […]

May I Take Your Coat?

The North Wind and the Sun by Philip C. Stead

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Though the story within the pages of The North Wind and the Sun is one of “you get more bees with honey than vinegar” (I don’t like flies) is not new, but the way the author presents things takes on a fresh feeling. The art is child-like but far from childish. Perhaps more for an adult than the usual picture book crowd, this is a delightful book for anyone’s library. Philip C. Stead has adapted (or retold) a folk tale that I am unfamiliar with. Perhaps […]



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