Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Classic of Classics: The Hobbit

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

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Mr. Lux and I both have clear, fond memories of our introduction to this book: discovering an old copy sitting on a picnic table in a Texas playground, and starting to read with no idea what was about to happen (him) and of nightly out-loud reading after everyone was showered and in bed (me.) We have had this lovely illustrated version for several years, waiting for our eldest, now 9 years old, to pick it up and discover it. We got impatient, so I told […]

Calvin and Hobbes or Jackson and Irwin adventures?

Jackson's Wilder Adventures V02 Dentistry and Dreams, by Sarah Davidson

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I found a series awhile back that I thought was one of the best I had read. It was Jackson’s Wilder Adventures by Sarah Davidson. It was clever and unique. A young boy, Jackson, and his Calvin and Hobbesesque Hobbes, called Irwin the Thylacine, were the perfect narrators. Davidson mixed time travel in a Dr. Who manner with fun educational facts. Granted, there is no actual Tardis (and/or fill in your favorite doctor), just an old cardboard box, but the adventures were as fun. We […]

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” ― Albert Einstein

Grimm's Fairy Tales Illustrated by Arthur Rackham by various, illustrations by Arthur Rackham

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This book is what it says on the tin; a collection of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, illustrated by Arthur Rackham. You have, of course, your old standbys; Rapunzel, Hansel and Grethel, The Bremen Town Musicians, Briar Rose, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, The Fisherman and his Wife, The Goosegirl, The Valiant Tailor, Red Riding Hood, The Robber Bridegroom, Tom Thumb, Rumpelstiltskin, Ashenputtel (aka Cinderella), The Elves and the Shoemaker, Snowdrop (also known as Snow White) and The Golden Goose. And some rarer ones: The Youth Who Could […]

“As cynical as I can be, there’s always a part of me that believes in love and the fairy tale.”

Fairy Tales From Many Lands by various, illustrations by Arthur Rackham

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As the titles says, this book contains assorted stories from several countries; eleven in fact. Each country gets one story, except for Japan which gets three. They are: England: Jack the Giant-Killer. The reasonably well known “killed three with one blow: story that even Mickey Mouse covered, only a little bloodier. Scotland: The Battle of the Birds. Which you would think would be about a fight between birds, but it’s a rather strange tale about a king’s son and the adventures he has finding, losing, […]

I wish that top image was mine (thanks internet) but the review is mine

Brume: The Dragon Awakens by Jérôme Pélissier

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Brume: The Dragon Awakens by Jérôme Pélissier, illustrated by Carine Hinder Due September 2025   Read via an online reader copy.  What it is about: Magic, mischief and mystery. Well, there is more than that. Like Brume herself. She is a (publisher says feisty, I say down right bratty at times) young girl who is convinced she can do magic. She wants to be the village witch now that the old village witch has gone missing for several years. She is a child found in […]

Big responsibility on little shoulders

The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko

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Hank Hooperman’s mother has been missing for a full week. It’s not the first time she’s been away from home, but it’s certainly the longest. Hank has done the best he can to take care of his three year old sister Boo, but they’re running out of food and money. When the property manager threatens eviction, Hank makes a desperate move and brings Boo to the emergency contact listed on a field trip permission slip, a mysterious woman named Lou Ann. Lou Ann turns out […]



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