Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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When you write over 300 words for a book that does not have one

The Fisherman & the Whale by Jessica Lanan

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How do you write a review for a wordless picture book? Especially a 250 word one? You could start by saying that the title is The Fisherman & the Whale and is by Jessica Lanan. They are also the illustrator. Or should say this book is by Lanan period. It was published in May of 2019. And it was a pretty wild ride. The wordlessness is usually the first thing that turns me off on a book. Yet, there are a handful of books that […]

“A sound can move anything if it’s strong enough.”

Song For a Whale by Lynne Kelly

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Iris has always had a slight connection to whales, because she was named in honor of one. The day she was born, a whale beached itself in their hometown, and her family named her the same name scientists gave the whale, as its life left the world when hers began. But Iris’s connection to these creatures truly clicks when her teacher shares a video about a very unique whale, called Blue-55 by scientists, sometimes called the loneliest whale. Blue-55 is a hybrid breed, and sings […]

An homage to Granny, the world’s oldest known orca, who lived to be 105 years old!

Wild Orca: The Oldest, Wisest Whale in the World by Brenda Peterson

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Wild Orca: The Oldest, Wisest Whale in the World has a little quirk that at first, I missed (looking back, it was pretty obvious). The Granny the young girl speaks of is not her Granny, but Granny the orca whale that is the matriarch of three different pods of whales called J, K and L. My first clue something was up was the fact Granny might not show up if she was busy, and since she was busy being 105 years-old, that might be the case. […]

If there is a whale, there is a way

Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly

Heartbeat by Evan Turk.

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I was a bit disappointed with the end of Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly. I would have liked Iris (our hero of this adventure) to have done something other than what she did at the end. While it was understandable the choice she made (as her options both had valid arguments), her choice was in line with the theme of going out on a limb, out of our comfort zone and trying something new. Kelly has written a well written and fairly non-preachy […]



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