Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

When you know who Maria Tallchief and Misty Copeland are, but are unsure who other non-white dancers are…..

The Story of Ballerina Raven Wilkinson by Leda Schubert

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Trailblazer: The Story of Ballerina Raven Wilkinson is more of a 4.9 rating. I think I wanted a full-length biography and not the medium length picture book Leda Schubert created. However, Schubert does an amazing job of presenting a little-known dancer, woman, African-American and person. If you have a young lady into ballet this would be a good book for them. If you are doing a class about women trailblazers or African-American history this would be a good book to add.  I might even give […]

Life of a Poet: June 7, 1917 – December 3, 2000

A Song for Gwendolyn Brooks by Alice Faye Duncan

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A Song for Gwendolyn Brooks by Alice Faye Duncan is probably my favorite read of 2019 so far. Not only do you get a woman of color presented, you get one who might not be familiar to everyone. She is a poet I knew about but not familiar with. And unlike say, Maya Angelou, there does not seem to be a lot out there about her and especially not for the younger crowd. Therefore, this is a pleasant addition to the biographies of both black […]

Took a year to read but worth it…..

St. Trigger by Aaron Coleman

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St. Trigger by Aaron Coleman is one of those books you look and think it will be easy. After all, the publisher review says it only has 52 pages. After reading the first few poems I stopped and went back and re-read them. Started in early-late December, I finished on January 1, 2019. I have no idea what I read. Is there beautiful language and images? Oh boy yes! “A dozen monarch butterflies strewn like candy wrappers in the seaweed.” This was one of many […]

When the Ghosts Come Ashore and every place else

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I know I read When the Ghosts Come Ashore. I am just not sure what I read. I mean I know what I read. Jaqcqui Germain is obvious: she explores the issues of race, gender, and violence. She talks about St. Louis and sees it live, laugh, love and bleed. She hits you in the gut and smacks you, too. But same time this is a love story. Germain is not for a one sit reading. You need to read each poem. Chew on it. […]

Christmas Spirit? We got it right here!

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I Got the Christmas Spirit by Connie Schofield-Morrison and illustrated by Frank Morrison has a lot to like. And a lot of things that you might not be as crazy about. The illustrations of Morrison are lovely. They are quirky and filled with details. And the colors! Bold and sassy and quirky and as spunky as the little narrator herself. They introduce you to a city setting for those who might not be familiar with it and show the setting a lot of kids do […]

Ghost Boys through history

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First, Ghost Boys does seem like a fairly balanced look how the shooting of Jerome, a 12-year-old boy, by a white police officer effects not only Jerome’s family, but the officer and his family as well. Perhaps, it is tilted a little more in Jerome’s favor, but that is to be expected. Second, this will bring up the feelings and thoughts we have on the subjects presented: Someone at the hearing yells, “Black Lives Matters.” And the father of Jerome is going to sue the […]



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