Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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Stand next to a princess

Modern-Day Princesses (Egalitè) by Luis Amavisca, Dolores Brown, and Sonja Wilmmer

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Before I started the picture book Modern-Day Princesses (Egalitè) by Luis Amavisca and Dolores Brown I thought that the woman in the top left corner of the cover was the actress Diona Reasonover (if you are unfamiliar with her, she plays Casey on the original NCIS television series). I felt this was a good sign and it meant I needed to read the book as I like Reasonover’s character, she is cute and I like a good omen. After reading the actual book, my first […]

I really wish I could read Vietnamese because it’s really a neat looking language!

Mindful Tots: Loving Kindness (Bilingual Vietnamese & English) (Barefoot Bilinguals) by Whitney Stewart

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My book dealer from Barefoot Books is at it again. Several months ago I received a package of goodness (or books) and accidentally put it with my Christmas goodies, so I didn’t find it until recently. Then just the other day, I had a new package with more amazing titles. Between the two I found a few that I have read (but physical copies now) and many new ones. One of the new ones was  Mindful Tots: Loving Kindness (Bilingual Vietnamese & English) (Barefoot Bilinguals) […]

Cool drink of love

Zamzam for Everyone: Sharing Water at Hajj by Razeena Omar Gutta

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I was going to cut back on the number of reviews I did this year, but then well, books happened! Books like Zamzam for Everyone: Sharing Water at Hajj by Razeena Omar Gutta and illustrated by Bassent Dawoud (due January 2026, read via an online reader copy). There are several books on the Islamic faith for the younger crowd. However, they are mostly repetitive and hit the “big events” and there is nothing wrong with that, but I needed something different and I found it […]

Hiking through boyhood “shoulds”

When You’re a Boy by Blake Nuto

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We know the stereotypes of what “boys and girls should be.” And there are several books out there that talk about how girls should break that mold and be bold, brave, aggressive, smart, funny, and basically be “like a boy” and not the shy, demure “should be” of a girl. This time Blake Nuto takes that concept, but for boys. A boy should be like the cruel wild, but the narrator is also saying they have learned about kindness. There are several parts to this […]

A girl and her dog learn what loves got to do with it

What's Love All About, Minimoni? by Rocio Bonilla

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While What’s Love All About, Minimoni?, written and illustrated by Rocio Bonilla, is a bit idealistic, it is also cute. When a young girl asks about what love is, she has a mature journey to finding it. What she learns is what many adults do not even realize: Love is a little bit of everything that is good. And she can imagine sharing that with the world. As I said, it is a bit idealistic, but it does have some silly moments, too. This means […]

Ok I’m bragging, but who will if I don’t? Cannonball #9

The Duel: A Story about Peace by Ines Viegas Oliveira

A Stronger Home by Katrina Chen and Elaine Su

My Dear Sea by André Carrilho

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I was reading picture books recently and found that all had a strong theme, but I was not sure if I really liked them. I knew I liked the idea of them, but did I like how they were done? So, I present to you them and see what you think. All were read via an online reader copy. The first was The Duel: A Story about Peace by Ines Viegas Oliveira, and translated by Rosa Churcher Clarke (due mid-November 2024). The theme sounded obvious […]



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