Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

What kind of poem would a bird carry in its pocket?

If This Bird Had Pockets by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

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Cute and fun poems to celebrate all types of critters (even human ones) and sweet illustrations fill If This Bird Had Pockets by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater. These (as said) cute and fun poems are told by the creatures themselves about themselves. They celebrate all types of animals from giraffes to ants to adorable otters with their pockets. The fuzzy, furry, feathery, and even a little odd, will give quick and interesting facts about themselves. Set against simple, but detailed images that are created by Emma […]

A sister’s love, a sisters struggle

Loujain Dreams of Sunflowers by Lina Al-Hathloul

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Loujain Dreams of Sunflowers by Lina Al-Hathloul and Uma Mishra-Newbery is a poetic story inspire by a real woman and the way she learned to fly, and how her country considered it illegal and punished her. The real Loujain grew up with her siblings in Saudi Arabia and to drive a car (fly) as a woman was illegal, but she knew she wanted to “see the sunflowers” and therefore, learned. However, once having returned to the country, her father filmed her, and it became viral […]

Hold on….let me think

Hold That Thought by Bree Galbraith

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When a young child starts finding the smallest form of an idea, it slowly grows until it is a giant bloom of creativity and wonder. Most of their family and friends support them, but there is that one bully that tells the child, “That is not how an idea is supposed to look.” And this, of course, starts doubt. Yet, they realize, since they and the others who added to the idea, and had their own, each looked different, and combining them made each even […]

Who says a woman can’t fight?

To the Front!: Clara Barton Braves the Battle of Antietam by Claudia Friddell

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The poetic prose manner of the book, To the Front!: Clara Barton Braves the Battle of Antietam, might have been suited best for a non-picture book format. Also, the subject, as it is portrayed on the pages created by Claudia Friddell, might be too old for the picture book crowd. I would put the ages at least second grade to a fourth grader who is slightly on the younger side. But the subject is for not sensitive readers. This was not an easy read for […]

A book about nothing

Zero Zebras: A Counting Book about What’s Not There by Bruce Goldstone

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The concept of Zero Zebras: A Counting Book about What’s Not There at first was off putting and I expected something to happen that eventually, never did. Bruce Goldstone starts with the usual counting format. Therefore, the idea of 5 foxes or 10 tigers is not new, and even zero zebras is not a new concept. However, one most likely will assumes that by the end you will have a menagerie of animals and then the narrator will say, oh one zebra or 100 zebras […]

You’ve heard of some, but come for the ones that kicked a$$ a little more quietly

Stand Up! 10 Might Women Who Made a Change by Brittney Cooper

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Stand Up! 10 Might Women Who Made a Change is the latest book in a slightly crowded genre of women of color making their mark in American history. With that said, it is a welcomed edition as it has a few people you have probably not heard of, making it fresh in many ways. Brittney Cooper introduces us to women who have inspired them, and others in these pages. The biographical information is presented as a story, making it easy to follow along. This book […]



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