Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

12 months of the year in English, French, Spanish and German

One Year: Une Année  Un Año  Ein Jahr by Ioana Stoain

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There is a lot to love about the book One Year: Une Année  Un Año  Ein Jahr. There are adorable illustrations by Julia Leister that give things a bright, fun, and whimsical look. As the publisher’s description says, these  “retro-style illustrations” make things cozy and happy. The images tell you the month with the people’s clothing and actions, plus the weather is a great clue. I really enjoyed all of this until the whole point of the book. The four different languages. Ioana Stoain puts […]

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!

Upworthy Good People: Stories From the Best of Humanity by Gabriel Reilich, Lucia Knell

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I’ve had this book for a few months and now felt like the exact right time to read it. It would make a lovely holiday gift for someone on your list or for yourself. Upworthy is a popular contributor on social media, featuring stories of kindness submitted by the public. This volume, published by National Geographic, is a compilation of those stories divided into six chapters. The stories are mostly short — from a paragraph to 2-3 pages — but every one of them is […]

You know you’ve told a dad joke or two!

How to Make a Robot Laugh: Funny and Easy to Read Jokes for Children Who Love Robotics and Silly Engineering Humor by Chris Cate

How to Make a Shark Laugh by Chris Cate

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I don’t hate dad jokes (in fact, I have proudly told a few myself) but a bad one is not worth the effort! So, when I see a joke book for kids I usually assume they are going to be at best, okay dad jokes, or jokes that are really not funny if you’re over say five-years-old (maybe six for some). However, How to Make a Robot Laugh: Funny and Easy to Read Jokes for Children Who Love Robotics and Silly Engineering Humor by Chris […]

Which pollinator has the shiny hiney?

The Great Pollinator Count by Susan Edwards Richmond

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The subject in The Great Pollinator Count by Susan Edwards Richmond is not new, but the presentation is fresh and gives the information in an informative (even I learned a few things; such as how to know which pollinator has the shiny hiney) but it is also done in a fun manner. Learning to count the insects, learning about the plants included and more make this a clever book. I wish the illustrations by Stephanie Fizer Coleman were a bit more realistic, but they work […]

From Child to Political Prisoner

The Boy from Clearwater Book One by Yu Pei-Yun

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The Boy from Clearwater Book One by Yu Pei-Yun, illustrated by Zhou Jian-Xin and translated by Lin King is a memoir that leans towards the poetic. The showing of things  could have been more graphic (as there were beatings, execution, etc), but is not necessarily lacking as you understand what is happening. The two parts (the early years before 1950 and then the ten years after 1950) are nicely split up, allowing for the colors pink, blue along with black and white, to play their […]

“I just pretended to be someone else…. And I won an Oscar!” Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Hepburn by Michele Botton

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When I started acting I didn’t have a method, on set and on stage. I just pretended to be someone else, like little girls can do for fun. And I won an Oscar!” – Audrey Hepburn I knew of Audrey Hepburn as a UNICEF ambassador more than as an actress when she first came on my radar. I was a fan of “the other Hepburn” (usually given to Audrey), but (not realizing it was her) enjoyed My Fair Lady. And I’m fairly certain I have […]



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