Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Names, family and two neat books

Your Name is a Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow

The Gifts of Being Grand: For Grandparents Everywhere by Marianne Richmond

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A short (all of two books) list of picture books follows this paragraph. Wait, is it a list if it is only two? Anyway, both books would be good for gifts to different people. The first one is a great gift for a child and the second, for grandparents. Your Name is a Song talks about how it can be difficult for a child who has a name that is difficult to pronounce. Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow shows how one mother shows her child how beautiful her […]

Don’t need no blue suede I want my Red Shoes!

Red Shoes by Karen English

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Going to a shelf and randomly grabbing something off it can be fun. You never know what you will find. But if you are in the mood for finding something a bit easier, displays in bookstores are great. This is how I located Red Shoes by Karen English and illustrated by Ebony Glenn. Red Shoes is a fun story about the life of a pair of shoes. Along with simple (but not simplistic) text, there are great illustrations with bold colors and perfectly detailed to […]

One sibling on the way for a special big brother

When Aidan Became a Brother by Kyle Lukoff

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When Aidan Became a Brother is one of those books that can be a bit difficult to write about. Mostly because how do you talk about it without telling the whole story? Also, as a picture book, 250 words might be more than the entire book has. Therefore, I will say this book is a realistic journey from being born female to becoming Aidan. I am assuming this as Kyle Lukoff has had a similar journey themselves and therefore can honestly portray a child taking […]

If you want to read a book that makes you sorry you read it, but in a good way, this is for you.

Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi

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Riot Baby is one of those books that you really cannot talk about. And yet, of course, you must. But if you do, you tell the whole story. It is raw. It is gritty. It is gut wrenching. But if you do not, people will miss out on something…… maybe special; maybe horrible; maybe great; maybe…. I will leave it up to you to decide. As you follow Ella and Kev through South Central, Harlem, Rikers Island and back to Watts, Tochi Onyebuchi will make […]

You crusty ol’ sea dog!

Swashby and the Sea by Beth Ferry

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A young girl and her grandmother move next door to one ol’ poop of an ex-sailor in Swashby and the Sea. And while that sounds horrible, things turn out for the best with humor, much love and the sea providing only what is needed. On the surface the book seems serious, but the overall atmosphere is light-hearted. The antics of the girl and ol’ sea dog will amuse. I found this story of love and friendship sweet and comforting with a dash of not sadness, […]

Born a Slave Became a Botanist, Scientist, Inventor

The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver by Gene Barretta

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While The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver is a lovely snapshot of one piece of Carver’s life, I wish there was a little “more” to it. I do not mean Carver’s life as a whole. I was not looking for a biography, but I was looking for more about the growing plants in his garden and learning about them. Gene Barretta has strong text telling a good story. Everything that is told and shown is nice. It is poetic with Rank Morrison’s lyrical illustrations. […]



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