Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Are you Team Planet or Team Wrong… I mean Dwarf Planet

Pluto!: Not a Planet? Not a Problem! by Stacy McAnulty

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Are you Team Pluto is a Planet or Team Pluto is a Dwarf planet? Me? Planet all the way! But it does not matter which way you tilt, you will find that Pluto is still really awesome in the picture book Pluto!: Not a Planet? Not a Problem! by Stacy McAnulty. Things are upbeat, bouncy and give all the facts with some fun attached as well. Part of McAnulty’s Our Universe series, Pluto is proud to say, “Who cares if you don’t think me a […]

“Even though the world is ending in the spring, that’s still two quarters of a school year away. And school years last forever.”

The World Ends in April by Stacy McAnulty

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I got this book somewhat randomly (from a box of books to be thrown out) but ended up really enjoying it. I do love a solid middle grade novel where everyone learns a lesson, and this had that in spades. The World Ends In April follows Eleanor, who’s having a hard time in middle school — her mother is dead, she hates everyone at school, and her one best friend Mack might be leaving to go to another school. She deliberately tries not to interact […]

Word of the Day: Kindness

Can Sophie Change the World? by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace

A Small Kindness by Stacy McAnulty

Hundred Feet Tall by Benjamin Scheuer

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Kindness is the word of the day. Or, at least, the word of the review. Sophie wants to give a gift for her grandfather. He says he does not want anything, but when she insists, he asks her to perform a good work and change the world (a mitzvah). She does not know how she can change the world. She is just a kid and not able to do big things. But when she tells her grandfather of the acts she did while trying to […]

Hungry or thirsty? Read a book.

Brains! Not Just a Zombie Snack by Stacy McAnulty

Blood! Not Just a Vampire Drink by Stacy McAnulty

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Good thing I am not a zombie, as it would have made me very hungry to see the delicious brain in all its glory on the pages of Brains! Not Just a Zombie Snack by Stacy McAnulty. Our zombie friend/chef is the nicest zombie you will ever meet, but you better not even let them smell your brain as it is a very important item for our survival (such as running away from zombies and telling us to get our thumb out of a vampire’s […]

Strap on your tiara and wear your pirate sword

Beautiful by Stacy McAnulty

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Beautiful by Stacy McAnulty was published around 2016. “Back in the day” when books for girl power were still somewhat new. Therefore, reading this gem now feels a little cliched. However, it is still relevant and a kick-butt tale. This dual aspect made me think I would love to see the reverse side of the story for boys. Have him “be tough” as he gently plays with a doll. Or “proper attire” and is in top hat and tails (of course, if he/they wish to have […]

Two books, two ways of telling the same story

Ocean! Waves for All by Stacy McAnulty

The Sea Knows by Alice B. McGinty

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cbr12bingo How-To How does a person who likes children’s books find a “how-to book” that is not dull or confusing? I have found several “how to” books or even science or craft kits, and thought, “I’m college educated, and I have no idea what is going on here, how is a kid supposed to figure it out?” But I put my thinking cap on and while waiting for those few minutes at the end of the day to go by (that 10 minutes you can’t […]



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