Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Zora Neale Hurston looking for gold

Small-Girl Zora and the Shower of Stories: A Tall Tale Based on the Life and Work of Zora Neale Hurston by Giselle Anatol and Raissa Figueroa

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I did not love nor hate Small-Girl Zora and the Shower of Stories: A Tall Tale Based on the Life and Work of Zora Neale Hurston by Giselle Anatol and Raissa Figueroa as the illustrator. It was an experience book where after reading you need to stop and think about it. You need to take your time in the first place and I would even recommend a second read.. It was interesting and different but had a familiar overtone as well. Taking the life experiences […]

The courage to sing

Songbird in the Light: A Picture Book by Billy Porter and Chris Clarkson

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Access to online readers is not really an issue for me if I play around with my work computer. However, I am not able to access all that I do wish to read. Thankfully I had access to Songbird in the Light: A Picture Book by Billy Porter and Chris Clarkson. This March 2026 picture book talks about the life and times of performer Billy Porter in a roundabout way. We do not do a deep dive, but we get the overall picture of someone […]

The women poets of the Harlem Renaissance

Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes

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When a book has a good backstory, be it how it was made, inspired or the author themselves I usually enjoy that as much as the book. And when my personal journey is the backstory, well of course I love that! The backstory to how I found Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes (to me) was funny. The library trip with my nephew had me in the wrong section (non fiction) when we first wandered into the children’s room. Well, I […]

When was the last time your clothes made you smile?

Clothes to Make You Smile: Patrick Kelly Designs His Dreams by Eric Darnell Pritchard and Shannon Wright

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Two things are happening to let us know that time moves on. First, we are starting to get 2026 calendars in (and already have the August 2025-June 2026 planners) at my work, and second, 2026 reader copies are becoming available so we are ready for next year (and here we’re not even halfway through 2025!). But one of those readers (that I found online) which is due mid-January 2026 was Clothes to Make You Smile: Patrick Kelly Designs His Dreams by Eric Darnell Pritchard and […]

“You can forever remember the wrongs done to you as long as you live,” she said. “But if you forget ’em and go on living, it’s almost as good as forgiving.”

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

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This book was given to me as a CBR Book Exchange Gift last year (thanks, friend!) and had a lot of buzz about it last year; I finally got around to reading it this year, nudged by the fact that it was the November book club selection of my library book club. It was great for book club, in that overall reception to this novel was very divisive, which made for great discussion. This novel is about 1960s Americana, focused on the lives of Jewish […]

She wrote the words to the stories

What I Must Tell the World : How: Lorraine Hansberry Found Her Voice by Jay Leslie

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Not only was Lorraine Hansberry a pioneer for many groups (women, playwrights, writers,  women of color, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community) she was a pioneer for reality. She told it as it was and that is amazingly told in this picture book, What I Must Tell the World : How: Lorraine Hansberry Found Her Voice. Jay Leslie tells the story of Hansberry from a young girl who would see first hand the prejudices of her time, but also would see the courage, the […]



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