Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene don’t stop helping the bees, hunny!

Green Jolene and the Backyard Bees by Wendy Mass

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Green Jolene and the Backyard Bees is written by an author I have enjoyed reading over the years. This author is Wendy Mass. And while they have had a few different ages and have written a few different genres, their more realistic stories are fun. And when Mass collaborates with illustrator Billy Yong you get an interesting combination of realistic story, art and modern feelings. Yet, there is also a classical, family friendly feeling as well. This mixture works for today’s readers aged at least […]

Bee is for Honey and more

Diary of a Bee by Stepanka Sekaninova

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I did not know what to expect with Diary of a Bee by Stepanka Sekaninova and illustrated by Linh Dao when I saw the online reader copy (due mid April 2025). I figured it would be something like, “I wake up, brush my teeth, eat breakfast, go to (fill in space), lunch, dinner, snacks and go to bed.” You know, like a kid would do. But instead it is a fictionalized life of a bee. We start with “pre bee” and how they grow, hatch, […]

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 […]

Superheroes have all sorts of super powers

Camilla Super Helper by Julie Dillemuth

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Learn how to be a superhero in, Camilla Super Helper. When Camilla thinks about being a superhero, she thinks about being fast or strong, but when her bee friend needs help, Camilla learns that you can be a superhero in many different and special ways. This is a story about conservation and helping plant flowers and plants for the bees. The Julie Dillemuth story maps out how a group of animal friends listen to the bees needs, adapt their plans, and find ways to plant […]

When Fiona woke up on the wrong side of the world

Stung (volume one) by Bethany Wiggins

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If you do not like pandemic stories, please stay away from Stung (volume one) by Bethany Wiggins. While this was written before the current events of 2020 to 2022 (when I read) it is almost like what we experienced and/or are experiencing. Except with the crazy beasts roaming outside the gates of the city, honey being used as a form of currency, and politicians getting called out for their actions. We follow a young girl who is trying to hide, partly in plain sight and […]

The Greatest Library that Never Was

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

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I was a huge fan of the Night Circus, so I was ecstatic when the lovely faintingviolet shared her copy of the Starless Sea with me. To give too much of the plot away takes all the joy out of reading this story, but the baseline is that there’s a magical library hidden underground accessible by doorways above. The nature through which patrons find these doors varies to fate, and in recent years, someone’s been closing all the doors. At least until a grad student named Zachery stumbles […]



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