Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

What can I say about Polly Diamond and the Super Stunning Spectacular School Fair?

Polly Diamond and the Super Stunning Spectacular School Fair by Alice Kuipers

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What can I say about Polly Diamond and the Super Stunning Spectacular School Fair? First, it is by Alice Kuipers. Second, it is illustrated by Diana Toledano. Third, it is the second book in the Polly Diamond series. Fourth, I wish I had read book one first. Fifth, it tries to be fun by making up words (yelly, fabuloso, splooshy) and educational (using/describing words like palindrome, alliteration, adjectives and similes). Finally, it falls flat with Polly’s bossy attitude at times. By flat I mean nothing […]

Tim Kaine would totally wear white Rockports

Tim Kaine Is Your Nice Dad: a work of dad fiction by Sara Benincasa

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This book was so cute. This book was so cute that while doing this review, I went back and read it again. I first discovered its existence during the 2016 election. I haven’t been able to find a copy anywhere until recently when it popped up on Kindle unlimited. So if you have Kindle unlimited, you can read this cute little thing for free. If you do pay for it, Benincasa will donate the proceeds to help mentor foster kids, though, which is pretty cool. […]

“I firmly believe that all human families are full of crazy people, and if your family doesn’t appear to have any, then there’s a high probability you lack situational awareness.”

The World's Largest Man by Harrison Scott Key

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This is a memoir about a boy growing up in the south, surrounded by guns and hunting and the Bible, and wanting none of it — while also wanting badly to fit in. “The South is a strange place, one that can’t be fit inside a movie, a place that dares you to simplify it, like a prime number, like a Bible story, like my father.” Harrison Scott Key grew up getting dragged out of bed at 4am to go sit in a deer blind, […]

And they won by a lambslilde!

Lambslide by Ann Patchett

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I tend to roll my eyes when here is a children’s book (or any book) by a famous adult author or person. You know that the book will either fly off the shelf or sit there because of who it is and not necessarily because it is a good or bad book. However, you pretty much know the outcome ahead of time: if you are in a liberal area you know Marlon Bundo’s Day in the Nation’s Capital will most likely not sell, but in […]

Welcome to your Feelings

The Happy Book by Andy Rash

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The Happy Book is very simple. The reader goes about exploring feelings via different “books” within the main story. The end. However, it is a smidgen more complicated that than. There are numerous puns (one narrator is Happy Camper, and yes, he is happy and an old school Boy Scout camper; the other is Happy Clam who is happy and well, a clam) the art of the illustrations has to be closely watched as there are details in the story’s art and  text (plus fun […]

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Happy Birthday too yoooooooooooou!

Ten Rules of the Birthday Wish by Beth Ferry

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Ten Rules of the Birthday Wish is a cute, funny and traditional birthday celebration. Tom Litchenheld’s has created colorful, funny and rowdy illustrations. It might not be the best gift to give as a birthday gift, but it would more likely be a fun read before you have a party. But make sure you or the person putting on the party has read it before you introduce it to the child. This is to make sure that you know all the rules and are prepared […]



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