Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

If The Librarians met the Night at the Museum

The Night Librarian: A Graphic Novel by Christopher Lincoln

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If The Librarians television series met the movie The Night at the Museum you would have The Night Librarian: A Graphic Novel by Christopher Lincoln. Realism, fantasy and literature literally come to life on the pages of this middle grade graphic novel.  While I liked and enjoyed it, I was not “wowed.” Things are familiar (sibling issues, issues with absent parents, really expensive and rare editions of Dracula), and it is just a fun story about stories, siblings, family, communication, being appreciated. We have read […]

Strength and kindness of the dragon

Powerful Like a Dragon by Christopher Cheng

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When it comes to history, picture books are a great way to introduce the subject. You are able to present the situation and/or issue and yet, keep it so that it gives the point of view without being “too much” and it allows all ages to be exposed to concepts, ideas and events. With Powerful Like a Dragon by Christopher Cheng and illustrator Jacqueline Tam we turn to 1941 Hong Kong during World War II and the Japanese invasion of the city. The story is […]

“The power of the white world is threatened whenever a black man refuses to accept the white world’s definitions”

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

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There is no American truth teller like James Baldwin. I always come away from his writing–whether fiction or nonfiction–changed. I don’t know how he could hold so much clear-eyed rage and pain alongside so much love and dignity. He never spared anyone from the truth, even himself. His book The Fire Next Time is a short book with only two essays, but he packs so much into them. The first essay is a letter to his nephew, called “My Dungeon Shook: Letter to My Nephew […]

“Those little bastards were hiding out there in the tall grass.”

James by Percival Everett

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I heard from multiple people that James was THE BOOK to read last year, and it was on a lot of best of lists, so I was exicted to give it a read. It fully hooked me from the first sentence “Those little bastards were hiding out there in the tall grass.” I didn’t have a lot of expectations about this book, but having me chuckle from the start was a surprise. This is a retelling of the classic tale Huck Finn but from the […]

Her heart was American

Tokyo Rose - Zero Hour: A Japanese American Woman's Persecution and Ultimate Redemption After World War II by Andre R. Frattino

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The only reason that the graphic novel, Tokyo Rose – Zero Hour: A Japanese American Woman’s Persecution and Ultimate Redemption After World War II by Andre R. Frattino, is not a five rating is because of the illustrations. While it is understandable why they are in black and white, they were not my favorite things for multiple reasons. I know that illustrator Kate Kasenow did a lot of work on them. I appreciate the hard work, the time and even the final result to make […]

War and a family

Shell Song: Based on a True Family Story by Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson

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Shell Song: Based on a True Family Story by Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson and also illustrated by Fujimoto-Johnson is currently available, but I read via an online reader copy. The start of the story is set right before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Afterwards, the narrator’s grandfather is sent to an internment camp with other men. In age appropriate language (at least five and up) the experiences of the grandfather and family back home unfold. As set in Hawaii, seashells will play a role in keeping the […]



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