Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

What Comes Around Goes Around

The Last Town on Earth by Thomas Mullen

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When this book was written, in 2006, it was more of a historical look at the unpopular WWI draft and the worldwide influenza epidemic that occurred simultaneously towards the end of the war.  Reading it now, some 16 years later, it is far more difficult reading.  No longer is it simply an historic exercise, but is far more fraught.  And I might add this came off a list of mine of books to read and I really had no idea what I was getting into.  […]

Abstract idea in a concrete book

Enough Is… by Jessica Whipple

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Jessica Whipple’s text in Enough Is… not my usual read. I enjoyed it, but I am not “jumping up and down” over it. However, Nicole Wong’s illustrations were perfectly sweet and worth the time to read them. That is not to say Whipple’s text is not good, just not for me at the time of reading. This book is aimed at a modern reader with classic sensibilities. The idea is a good one with the theme of consumption and how it is flashy, and noisy […]

The short book with a long title and big idea

My Very Own Special Particular Private and Personal Cat by Sandol Stoddard Warburg

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My Very Own Special Particular Private and Personal Cat has a feeling of not being a contemporary story, but also has a contemporary theme. I believe this book was originally from the 1960s, but the idea of self-confidence, self-understanding and self-autonomy comes into play as we see in several of today’s stories. Sandol Stoddard Warburg (author) and Remy Charlip (illustrator) created a story about boundaries that a young boy learns from his cat. The cat of the story is a simple creature but has a […]

Danny Noble is weird. I like them!

Shame Pudding by Danny Noble

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Shame Pudding is a busy, funny, odd, strange, strong story growing up, even when you are an adult.  Danny Noble’s memoir shows the years she and her wacky, crazy, bizarre, weird, off the charts amazing family had. From a young girl who performed on the performing stool, who told her brother Adam there was an invisible wolf in the cupboard, who would lick his hand, who would eat her marshmallows quickly while bemoaning Adam’s savoring of them to a teen who knew the pubs, the […]

A friendship book made by friends, for friends

I Don’t Care by Julie Fogliano,

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I Don’t Care is a clever book. This is not just because of the text of Julie Fogliano, but how it came to be. The illustrators, Molly Idle and Juana Martinez-Neal are best friends, and they knew they had to do the art together. An afterwards (a small section at the end that you should read as well) shows how Molly thought since they lived 20 minutes from each other, easy peasy, right? Well, then Juana moved to Connecticut and the back and forth in […]

One word titled books, hold lots of wonder

Thankful by Elaine Vickers

Farmhouse by Sophie Blackall

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Sometimes when I combine picture books into one review it is because by themselves writing 250 words on each means writing more words about the book than are in the book(s), and a combo review is a fun way just to get good books out there. And sometimes, like these two books, there is a theme connecting them. This time it is the illustrations are similar with its real and traditional illustration combinations.   Thankful by Elaine Vickers can be a book one uses year-round. […]



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