Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

A boy and his sister have a fight

Terrible Horses by Raymond Antrobus

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With a name like Terrible Horses one would expect a story about horses who are bullies or mischievous or misbehaving. And in a way, they are. Only the terrible horses in this book by Raymond Antrobus are the narrator’s older sister, and not actual horses. Told from the point of view of the younger brother (who we will learn is different), when he and his sister fight, they do not use words, but just push and pull. And they hurt each other. Then he goes off to […]

I get why, but I really don’t like that cover

I Am Only a Foreigner Because You Do Not Understand by L. Nichols

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familIt might be odd to start my review of I Am Only a Foreigner Because You Do Not Understand with its trigger warnings, but I feel that before you even think about getting into L. Nichols and their  follow up to Flocks, you should know that there are some illustrations which can be tough for sensitive readers (not just some suggested and shown nudity that might be offensive for some, but it is edgy and how it relates to the story. Plus they can go […]

Nanorrobots Prodigiosos?

Virus. La guerra de los mil millones de años by Juan José Gómez Cadenas; Juan Botas

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So for my European bingo spot, I’m going to review a science book about humanity’s tangles with viruses that eventually builds to the COVID-19 pandemic. ‘Virus. La guerra de los mil millones de años‘ (‘Virus. The war of a billion years’) is a bit of a curiosity for me: this book about viruses, diseases, and pandemics, which was written with a Spanish perspective in mind, was completed during the very first few months of the pandemic. The authors state in the introduction that the writing […]

Picture book round up part… I’ve lost count

The Mighty Pollinators by Helen Frost

Too Much!: An Overwhelming Day by Jolene Gutierrez

Steve Irwin by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegar

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Helen Frost will have a new pollen book at the end of March-early April 2024 called The Mighty Pollinators. No, this is not a book and/or graphic novel about a new DC or Marvel movie of superheroes, but it is a book about the critters, insects, buggies, and even the wind, and how they make your garden, flowers, and more, grow. This is all done with fairly shorter poems that allow for the facts to be presented, but also in a fun and quick manner. […]

Feeling fear

Why Are We Afraid? by Fran Pintadera

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Finally a review about a book that is currently out and you do not have to wait a year (okay five months) for! Why Are We Afraid? is billed as  a children’s book. However, the more mature theme and the slightly adult illustrations make this story not for the very young or sensitive reader.  Frank Fran Pintadera’s story is interesting, and for the right reader, an interesting exploration of fears, but not easy to work with. Overall, the theme of fear done in a poetic […]

When it hits home

Flooded by Mariajo Ilustrajo

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The picture book Flooded by Mariajo Ilustrajo hit close to home. Recently my state had serious flooding happen. (I went by business X early Sunday evening. By Monday the building was half underwater at the same time). My town, while thankfully mostly missed this last time, has already weathered at least three big storms and a bad winter flooding over the last decade. Thankfully, not first hand, but I know about flooding. I have a friend anytime a storm hits, she has PTSD (I would too […]



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