Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

What I read to my students this week: Two versions of “We Shall Overcome”

We Shall Overcome: The Story of a Song by Debbie Levy and Vanessa Brantley-Newton

We Shall Overcome by Bryan Collier

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Every year around Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I teach my elementary music students the song “We Shall Overcome,” and we discuss the song’s history in conjunction with the Civil Rights Movement. I use Debbie Levy’s book, “We Shall Overcome: The Story of a Song” to introduce the song and spur a discussion. This book traces the history of the song from a spiritual sung by enslaved workers, to a hymn popular in Black churches, to a beloved freedom song of the Civil Rights movement, […]

From hustle and bustle to buzz and whirr

Nightsong by Sally Soweol Han

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Nightsong by Sally Soweol Han is a story about a young boy who is tired of visiting the adults with his adult (assuming mother). But soon it is time to go home and the adult and child head for the bus, hop on and are leaving the city behind. Until the wheels on the bus don’t go round and round, and one needs to be fixed. A long day got longer, but our young boy decided to listen to the sounds around him and explore […]

A little hope goes a long way

Two Pieces of Chocolate by Kathy Kacer and illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard

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Two Pieces of Chocolate by Kathy Kacer and illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard is not an easy book to talk about. It is a story about strength and survival illustrated by imagery that brings to life the situation realistic, but also does soften the seriousness. But after that if you tell what happens, it really tells the whole story and you will not need to read it. Based on real events that happened to a young girl, her mother and fellow prisoners in their final concentration […]

For the Trees!

Franklin's Trees by AJ Schenkman

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In July 2024 Franklin’s Trees was published. I wasn’t able to read a (online) copy until early 2025. Now, it is not a book I went WOW over, or feel that it was worth waiting for, but it is a book that is a nice book when you find it. It never really wowed me, but AJ Schenkman’s book did interest me. I was not sure what to expect, but went about it with an open mind. We know some about Franklin D. Roosevelt, but […]

Anda one book; anda two book; anda three!

The Eidi Bag by Shazia Afzal

The Jellyfish Bus by Suhyeon Lee

What if Marty Doesn’t Like My Party? by Katie Arthur

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Three books I enjoyed, but am not really able to give a full review to each individual are below. This is because if you try to write up a “full review” you just end up telling the story. And then, you, the reader of this review, will not want to read the actual books!  (Each one was read via an online reader copy.) Starting with The Eidi Bag  by Shazia Afzal and illustrated by Shiva Delsooz, we have a book (currently available) that dives into […]

When your dream turns to a nightmare

Dreamover by Dani Diaz

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Dreamover by Dani Diaz was another book won in a galley grab I entered. I had seen a few things about it, but wasn’t really sure what it was about.  It sounded a little more realistic than it turned out to be. But  I guess you cannot have a “Dream World” where you don’t have at least a little fantasy to it.   When all was said and read, this was a coming of age story where “true love” finds you, but the dream starts becoming […]



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