Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Puddles and Penguins

The Noisy Puddle: A Vernal Pool Through the Seasons by Linda Booth Sweeney

No Huddles for Heloise by Deborah Kerbel

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I write my reviews before I post. I might miss a few things (I am a horrible editor for myself), but I try to organize my thoughts. But when I counted out my review for The Noisy Puddle, it was less than 170 words. To fill the quota I’ve added a fiction book to go with the non-fiction one. Besides, it’s twice the fun in one review! And while many probably will like the first book, if you’re like Heloise, you don’t always follow the […]

A showdown of the scent… senses

Dogs vs. Humans: A Showdown of the Senses by Stephanie Gibeault and Bambi Edlund

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Dogs taste water.  Yes, water. And in Dogs vs. Humans: A Showdown of the Senses by Stephanie Gibeault and Bambi Edlund you will learn not only this fact (well, see it again) you will see if humans can taste water, too. And if they can see the same as dogs, and if dogs smell the same as humans, and if dogs really can detect earthquakes. Plus, why do dogs line up the way they do for taking their morning, noon, and night relief walk.  In […]

What is a detective’s favorite fruit? Clue-berries.

Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast V07 Whodonut?: A Holiday Mystery by Josh Funk and Brendan Kearney

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Josh Funk and Brendan Kearney had me at Miss Maple and lost me at gummy bugs! Okay, well, they didn’t lose me, just made me pause. But then they had me again at Elvis Parsley.  This seventh addition to the Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast series, Whodonut?: A Holiday Mystery is a fun, cute and different holiday story. While the “Who Dun-it” aspect and the idea of the last book in a series is not new, the way Funk and Kearney presents things is […]

Cornwall – the unchanging landscape

Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper

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Many years ago I wrote a review for The Dark is Rising which is the 2nd book in the sequence of the same name by Susan Cooper. This book is the first in the sequence but as I recommended then often better to be read second. I reread this on a recent holiday to Cornwall because in visiting the Cornish fishing villages/towns I immediately felt that sense of place I have with this book. If The Dark is Rising is a book that takes you […]

Meet the Met

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

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Every once in a while, I read a children’s classic I somehow never got assigned in school or got to on my own, just to see what all the hype was about. I don’t know how I missed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, but I wish I’d gotten to enjoy it back then. The book tells the story of Claudia and Jamie, siblings who run away from home (at older sister Claudia’s behest) and decide to live at the Metropolitan Museum […]

Colorful exploration of a colorful subject

Sex is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberg, Fiona Smyth

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The Digital Public Library of America, a fabulous organization working toward equitable access to ebooks, is running a Banned Books feature on their social media pages, inviting readers to share why they love and support a banned book. (They are taking submissions here!) As a longtime supporter of comprehensive sex education, I picked a sex ed book that frequently comes under fire: the wonderful tween title Sex is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberg with illustrations by Fiona Smyth. I reread it to provide my […]



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