Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

New York Times Book Review told us:

Just Because by Mac Barnett

I Miss My Grandpa by Jin Xiaoling

The Famer by Abadia Ximo

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New York Times Book Review told us a few months back what their 67th annual list of Best Illustrated Children’s Books for 2019 was. I picked up one or two here and there and today I found myself reading three. My “like” of Just Because by Mac Barnett comes from Isabelle Arsenault’s illustrations. They are simple, with a lack of a traditional color, but the details are far from simplistic. The story (a child asking all the questions even many adults want to know) is […]

Nature, love, loss, magnolia flowers and friendships

Pilu of the Woods by Mai K. Nguyen

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**possible spoilers** I read Pilu of the Woods by accident. I was looking at graphic novels and meant to just look at it, but it got into my purchase pile. And even though it was a surprise find, I strongly recommend Mai K. Nguyen and their graphic novel about loss, family, grief and coming to terms with it all. In fact, so much so that I am planning on donating my copy to my library in honor of a friends first grand-baby. (Which I know […]

Two heads are better than one, unless you are a PushMe-PullYou

My Father’s Words by Patricia MacLachlan

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#cbr11bingo #TwoHeadsareBetterThanOne My Father’s Words by Patricia MacLachlan is a modern story with the classic elements of loss, family, friendships and growth. While some areas are based on the authors own life, this is a fictious story about a young girl, Fiona, and her family dealing with the loss of her father. Told in Fiona’s voice, we see the past mixed in with the current grief the characters all share. But a grief all must process differently. Like many of MacLachlan’s stories, this is a sweet story. […]

Life might not be basketball, but basketball can be Life

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

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My goal this year was to read books I tend not to read. I was doing well but quickly fell back into my comfort zones. One being YA graphic novels. As far as I know, I have not read any Kwame Alexander novels. I might have read a short story or two, but that is it. Therefore, I have wanted to add him to my To Be Read List and figured a graphic novel was a good way. What it turned out to be was […]

“I mean, you can know someone is dying on an intellectual level, but emotionally it hasn’t really hit you, and then when it does, that’s when you feel like sh**.”

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

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Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is typical Jesse Andrews. This style of writing is exactly like Haters (I read them in reverse). The nice thing is both are standalone titles. I read the paper edition but looked at the hardcover and movie cover editions and have to say, I like the bright yellow cover best. Then the hard cover as it makes the characters somewhat like I pictured them. However, the movie? Oh boy! I think they totally missed on what the characters […]

Dearly beloved

Something Very Sad Happened: A Toddler’s Guide to Understanding Death by Bonnie Zucker

I Miss You: a First Look at Death (First Look at Books) by Pat Thomas

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While I do not necessarily agree with Bonnie Zucker that there is not anything for the under four crowd about introducing the subject of death, I do admit that I am hard-pressed to mention anything other than Something Very Sad Happened: A Toddler’s Guide to Understanding Death. It is an accessible way to introduce the child to the loss of a loved one. Due to the way it is presented, you can adapt the book to your needs. This is done by highlighted words that […]



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