Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

There’s a lot to unpack and my suitcase isn’t big enough

My Father, the Panda Killer by Jamie Jo Hoang

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After finishing My Father, the Panda Killer by Jamie Jo Hoang, I texted a friend to tell her I had finally finished the difficult book I was reading. It was difficult as the pacing felt slow to me and the subject is far from easy. The main character is the first generation to be born in the states after her parents fled war-torn Vietnam during/after the war. We, like the narrator Jane, learn about things in snippets with her having to fill in the blanks. […]

A friend recommended

One Little Goat: A Passover Catastrophe by Dara Horn

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A friend and I have talked about books for as long as we’ve known each other. She is a daughter, sister, mother, grandmother, author (both fiction and nonfiction, for both adults and teens), a reader and much much more. But one thing she was not was a graphic novel reader. Well, as you might know, I am a reader of the genre. So I said to her, give it a shot and here are recommendations, even sending her a few books. Well, one day she […]

The Wheat Whisper or Father of the Green Revolution,

Hero for the Hungry : The Life and Work of Work of Norman Borlaug by Peggy Thomas

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While back, an email came into my possession containing the (currently available) reader copy of Hero for the Hungry : The Life and Work of Work of Norman Borlaug  by Peggy Thomas and illustrator Sam Kalda. The first part of the first half was interesting. It gave a nice introduction to the man that was Norman Borlaug. Starting with him as a young farm child to his college years, we see how he would eventually end up in Mexico learning as much as he would […]

The fact I don’t always like a book is why I love books: something for us all

Vampire Jam Sandwich by Casey Lyall and Nici Gregory

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I am sorry Casey Lyall and Nici Gregory but your story, Vampire Jam Sandwich (which I read via an online reader copy and is due July 2025) did not hit the spot for me. Now I appreciate the ingredients you put into the illustrations, such as the red colors, the pointy teeth sandwich runny and running around (even if it is a bit messy and I am feeling the sticky getting all over) and the flapping capes that hide the surprise ending. Which was written […]

Dusty town It’s a busy village Every day Like the one before Little town Full of little people Wanting to say, WHERE THE F IS SUNDAY?

The Lost Sunday by Iléana Surducan

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I won’t say a lot about the themes or story of The Lost Sunday by Iléana Surducan as it is pretty traditional. There are fairy tale tropes, the ideas are what you would expect for an Odyssey like journey of a young girl to the witches lair. The illustrations are amusing, cute, clever, simple and detailed simultaneously. There are good colors to them, without being too bold or too muted. They are supportive of the story. There are not a lot of surprises for big […]

In the Early 1980s Fujiwara Maki began a picture diary

My Picture Diary by Maki Fujiwara

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My Picture Diary is an odd little book. It is a day-to-day/day in the life of the author, Maki Fujiwara (also illustrated by) and her family. Things are fairly dull on the surface, but a lot is going on nonetheless. You can see the era (the late 1970s/early 1980s) and the culture and country (Japan); and of course, the husband and wife and the parent(s) and child relationships. The illustrations are simple, but deceptively so. The style itself is not overly detailed, but they do […]



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