Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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:

The courage to sing

Songbird in the Light: A Picture Book by Billy Porter and Chris Clarkson

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Access to online readers is not really an issue for me if I play around with my work computer. However, I am not able to access all that I do wish to read. Thankfully I had access to Songbird in the Light: A Picture Book by Billy Porter and Chris Clarkson. This March 2026 picture book talks about the life and times of performer Billy Porter in a roundabout way. We do not do a deep dive, but we get the overall picture of someone […]

Do the Dino

The Dino Door by Josh Funk and Renée Kurilla

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The online read The Dino Door  by a favorite author of mine, Josh Funk, was enjoyable, but did not  WOW me. I do like the very end with the silly image that gives a fourth wall break, in one of the pictures on the bedroom wall of the child, so that boosts the overall simplicity, but getting there was not my thing.  And when I say simple I mean simple as there are maybe a dozen or so words on the pages total. Writing a […]

We means We

While We the People Is All the People: A Picture Book by Howard W. Reeves and Duncan Tonatiuh

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While We the People Is All the People: A Picture Book talks about an important subject, I did not feel there was anything new or fresh added. Howard W. Reeves knows what they wanted to say and that comes across. They wanted to show how we are a community, that freedoms belong to all, and in a poetic fashion shows how we can accomplish this. But we have heard similar things before. However, the presentation of the illustrations by Duncan Tonatiuh was interesting and did […]

Colton Fox liked my Instagram picture for these

Witch Hazel by Colton Fox and Beige Blum

Witch Hazel Trouble at TCAF by Colton Fox and Beige Blum

Witch Hazel: Seasons of the Witch by Colton Fox and Beige Blum

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A few months ago, my Silver Sprocket subscription selections mostly hit the mark. One that was really good was the Witch Hazel series by Colton Fox and Beige Blum. The one I read was a stand alone, but also a continuation of three others. The first aptly named, Witch Hazel, the second Witch Hazel Trouble at TCAF (or One Shot, I’ve seen both) and the third Witch Hazel: Seasons of the Witch. (Or that is the second and TCAF is the third … I am […]

I’m not the audience. Are you?

Magical Beatdown, Vol 1 by Jenn Woodall

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I think it is time to either pause or cancel my Silver Sprocket subscription. I had gotten several books that I enjoyed and never would have read otherwise if it hadn’t been for this subscription. But in a recent shipment I had nothing but disappointing reads. The first I read was Magical Beatdown, Vol 1 by Jenn Woodall. It is a short zine that is created with light (almost faded, but still popping) blue and pink colors, quickly drawn looking lines and is overly simplified. […]

Yaaaaaass Queen! You ruled!

What Kind of Queen?: A Royal Biography of Drag Queen and Activist José Sarria by Kyle Casey Chu, Andrew W. Shaffer and Cindy Lozito

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The subject of being a queer kid in a children’s book, even a picture book, is not new. However, the format of What Kind of Queen?: A Royal Biography of Drag Queen and Activist José Sarria gives things a fresher feeling and makes a relatively unknown person accessible. The extras add to the bigger picture of who and what Jose Sarria was, but before you get there, to the end of Sarria’s life and accomplishments he was a child who knew how to be himself. […]



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