Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Friends, pets and understanding

Calvin and the Sugar Apples by Inês F. Oliveira

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Calvin and the Sugar Apples by Inês F. Oliveira and a few illustrations by Vanessa Balleza is a cute story about friendship and loss. There are a few illustrations that help highlight a few points of the story. The story is a hit or miss for most people (a few might be in between, like I was, but I don’t see a lot of middle ground). Our young heroine is a girl who might be on the autism scale, or is just a bit young/naïve […]

Moms and Dads are rad

Some Moms by Fifi Abu

Some Dads by Fifi Abu

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I had a few minutes before bed the other night and had a need for a quick read, so I picked up two goofy, lovable picture books by Fifi Abu. Find an image of Abu, as they look everything like a Fifi, but nothing like what I expected (which is fantastic, as the author is half the fun of a book for me). And  if you found that image on the book, well, read the book(s)!  As well as the author burb. Spoiler: as a […]

A little trippy, but fun

Tiny Troubles: Nelli's Purpose by  Sophie Diao

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Meet best friends, Nelli and Worthi. While Worthi is not the brightest plant out there (though do follow their advice about staying hydrated), they are terribly sweet and a loyal friend who is willing to go on an adventure to help Nelli find her purpose in Tiny Troubles: Nelli’s Purpose.  Sophie Diao’s characters, two young plants, are doing what plants do (enjoying the day, soaking up some sun) when Nelli asks if Worthi knows what a purpose is. The explanation is done as best as […]

Home is where your body is

Homebody by Theo Parish

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Perhaps the first thing I noticed about Homebody (outside of the “removal of color” and the use of color in a non-traditional fashion) was how open Theo Parish’s story was. They are not giving you the “down and dirty details” (unless you count one of the cats giving themselves a um… down there … bath) but they allow you into their world. We also are not given all the “bad things,” just honesty that they were there. The third was, how they do not use […]

The very spirited spirit of the Dark Castle

Wolfgang in the Meadow by Lenny Wen

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All the wonderful goodness of this story is how the theme of being yourself has been illustrated in a manner that takes the story in a fresh new direction.. The story is cute, but we’ve seen it before. Wolfgang is a ghost who loves spooky things, and has worked very hard to become scary like his idol. But he also likes flowers, stargazing and being with his meadow friends hugging all the trees (even the trees with eyes). So Wolfgang in the Meadow is happy. […]

New chapter reader series

Seashell Key volume one by Lourdes Heuer

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Seashell Key is going to be a new series and volume one will be out by the end of April 2024. Lourdes Heuer and illustrator Lynnor Bontigao made three cute stories about six friends, a big shaggy doggy, a turtle and the fun (and slightly crazy) adventures they get into, the coconut water they drink and the mangos that have been eaten (by the turtle). As my copy was a physical reader’s copy, the artwork was incomplete, but notes do say that it will be […]



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