Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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About BlackRaven

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I am a Professional Book Pusher. Reading is a passion, as is writing, bragging about nephews, and alligator wrestling. My first year participating was 2018. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: BlackRaven's Quick Questions interview.)

BlackRaven's Reviews:

Silent music for peace

Music and Silence: The Passion and Protest of Pablo Casals by Christy Mihaly

November 25, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Music and Silence: The Passion and Protest of Pablo Casals is just a WOW book. It is beautifully written, beautifully illustrated and beautifully presented.  Christy Mihaly and illustrator Mariona Cabassa made this (due mid/later April 2026) book about a person and story I do not think I had ever heard of before. It is more emotional than an action story, but there are events that have the action, too. We see how the power of music can try and topple governments. We see how one […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir, Children's Books, History, Non-Fiction Tagged With: Christy Mihaly, europe, Mariona Cabassa, Pablo Casals, Social Activists, Social Themes, Spain

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:523 · Genres: Biography/Memoir, Children's Books, History, Non-Fiction · Tags: Christy Mihaly, europe, Mariona Cabassa, Pablo Casals, Social Activists, Social Themes, Spain ·
Rating:
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Music puzzle

Piece by Piece: How Stephen Sondheim Made Musical Puzzles Come Alive by Erin Frankel

November 25, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Picture books. Love them or hate them they are a genre that has expanded my knowledge over the years. I have learned about volcanoes, bats, famous artistic nuns, poems and more. And Piece by Piece: How Stephen Sondheim Made Musical Puzzles Come Alive by Erin Frankel and illustrator Stacy Innerst added to it with a poetic look at Stephen Sondheim and his works. While not a “pure biography” of the composer, the highlights of his work and life are addressed. Things are whimsical and a […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir, Children's Books, History, Non-Fiction Tagged With: Erin Frankel, LGBTQ, music, musicals, Oscar Hammerstein II, Performing Arts, Stacy Innerst, Stephen Sondheim, theater

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:522 · Genres: Biography/Memoir, Children's Books, History, Non-Fiction · Tags: Erin Frankel, LGBTQ, music, musicals, Oscar Hammerstein II, Performing Arts, Stacy Innerst, Stephen Sondheim, theater ·
Rating:
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I like cats. And drawings.

The Boy Who Drew Cats: A Japanese Folktale by Lafcadio Hearn

November 25, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

There are three main times when I swear. In no particular order, when I am tired and/or mad; when I want to make a point and when something is just so fudging (only I didn’t say fudge) good. And The Boy Who Drew Cats: A Japanese Folktale by Lafcadio Hearn is one of those fudging good books. Amazing story, amazing illustrations, amazing feeling to it, even an amazing back story of the author. Perhaps more for adults (collectors of art books, of Japanese folk tales, […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fantasy, Fiction, History, Poetry, Religion Tagged With: Anita Kreituse, art, drawing, family, folk tales, ghosts, Japan, Lafcadio Hearn, legends, mythology

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:521 · Genres: Children's Books, Fantasy, Fiction, History, Poetry, Religion · Tags: Anita Kreituse, art, drawing, family, folk tales, ghosts, Japan, Lafcadio Hearn, legends, mythology ·
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Sixty-six million years ago or Ya know the other day

One Cosmic Rock: The Story of the Asteroid that Changed Our World by Julia Vasileva

November 25, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Sixty-six million years ago, an asteroid hurtled through space toward an ancient Earth that looked very different from the one we know today. And in One Cosmic Rock: The Story of the Asteroid that Changed Our World by Karen Krossing we see how that came to be in poetic language for the picture book crowd.   Good for ages five and up, this book is a simple, but involved, non-fiction story that has interesting illustrations by Julia Vasileva. They are neither realistic or abstract, but a […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, History, Non-Fiction, Poetry Tagged With: disasters, history of science, Julia Vasileva, nature, prehistoric, science, space

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:520 · Genres: Children's Books, History, Non-Fiction, Poetry · Tags: disasters, history of science, Julia Vasileva, nature, prehistoric, science, space ·
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It’s the 1980s and punk is hot & so are Nina & Kerri. So, now what?

Punk Like Me by JD Glass

November 25, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Really the only part of Punk Like Me by JD Glass and illustrations by Kris Dresen is that the end happened a little too quickly, and (SPOILER) it was a little too neatly wrapped up. But that is really the only issue I have with the “overallness” of things. We follow Nina, a girl who will have many labels put on her (sister, daughter, friend, girlfriend, dyke, lesbian, swimmer, student, trouble maker, possible Annapolis bound) as she grows, but which is really her? What is […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, History, Religion, Romance, Young Adult Tagged With: family, JD Glass, Kris Dresen, LGBTQ, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:519 · Genres: Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, History, Religion, Romance, Young Adult · Tags: family, JD Glass, Kris Dresen, LGBTQ, Social Themes ·
Rating:
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Gnome for the holidays

Christmas Gnomes (Gnome for the Holidays) by Kelly Green and Lisa Alderson

November 25, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I was browsing through some titles the other day in an online catalog. I found Christmas Gnomes (Gnome for the Holidays) by Kelly Green and Lisa Alderson (illustrator). I did not know what the form was (and in fact, didn’t know the story) but knew I had to get it as a gift for my sister who is a gnome lover. In fact, she’s such a lover of the fuzzy capped beings that once I asked her if she minded me getting a gnome I […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fantasy, Fiction, Poetry Tagged With: board books, christmas, Concepts, counting, Fairy Tales, folk lore, gnomes, Kelly Green, Kelly Green and Lisa Alderson, Lisa Alderson

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:518 · Genres: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fantasy, Fiction, Poetry · Tags: board books, christmas, Concepts, counting, Fairy Tales, folk lore, gnomes, Kelly Green, Kelly Green and Lisa Alderson, Lisa Alderson ·
Rating:
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Recent Comments

  • Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
  • Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
  • Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
  • Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
  • Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.
See More Recent Comments »

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