Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

The wild world of wildlife

Grandmother Fish: A Child's First Book of Evolution by Jonathan Tweet and  Karen Lewis

Don't Eat the Cleaners!: Tiny Fish with a Big Job by Susan Stockdale

The Search for Carmella by Chloe Savage

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Education, CBR17 Pie Chart Challenge One Monday morning I get into work smidgen later than usual, so my whole system is just off. During a moment of situating myself, I see that there are some books on the cart for the children’s floor. On top of a pile was a book of a red colored fish. It said “Grandmother Fish” and I thought, “Well it could be a cute story.” However, I only saw the first part and not the whole title: Grandmother Fish: A […]

Getting to the Bottom of Flatulence

I’m Trying to Love Farts by Bethany Barton

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If you know me, I was drawn to Bethany Barton’s book because I already like farts, so I wanted to see how the girl in I’m Trying to Love Farts (or Flatulence) (due in November 2025; read via an online reader) book would make others convert, too. Our main character is a young girl who loves science. So, she loves the way that there is a science behind farts. Her younger brother just likes farting. There are a lot of gags (and not just due […]

You’ll Be Examining More Than Just the Chicken and the Egg Here

From Darwin to Derrida: Selfish Genes, Social Selves and the Meanings of Life by David Haig

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David Haig’s From Darwin to Derrida: Selfish Genes, Social Selves and the Meanings of Life is probably not one of the most accessible books that I could close the year on—which is why I decided to make it my second last and not the last review of the year.  David Haig is an Australian biologist and current George Putnam Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. I first came across his work when reading up about genomic imprinting and maternal-fetal conflict. (These subjects are […]

Owls are fan favorites

What an Owl Knows: The New Science of the World's Most Enigmatic Birds by Jennifer Ackerman

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It seems to me that even people who are lukewarm about birds get excited about owls. Whether you associate them with wisdom (thanks to their connection with the goddess Athena), stuffy know-it-all-ness (à la Winnie the Pooh’s pal), or as messengers (everything from Native American folklore to Harry Potter), you have undoubtedly encountered stories about owls in some area of your early life or education. Perhaps it’s their large, all-knowing eyes, or their stillness, or the way they swoop in almost without a sound that […]

Slightly unknown and unknow critters

Animals in Surprising Shades: Poems About Earth’s Colorful Creatures by Susan Johnston Taylor

Not a Monster by Claudia Guadalupe Martinez

Nudi Gill: Poison Powerhouse of the Sea by Bonnie Kelso

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There was a picture book reading marathon with my saved online reader copies the other day. I chose a dozen or so to review and about as many to not review. It wasn’t completely easy to choose, however, the below titles were the easiest choices I have made since the day I learned of a health condition I had. And that was so easy, I don’t even remember doing it! If you want a fantastic book with levels that allows for multiple interests and ages […]

The sequel is never as good as the original

The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex by Charles Darwin

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Back in 2020, I finished out the year by reviewing On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. Since then, I’ve been trying to motivate myself to work my way through Darwin’s follow up: The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex. Knowing that the ideas in Descent of Man were controversial, Darwin held off publishing until 12 years after Origin of Species. His thoughts on natural selection being well received, however, he felt comfortable proceeding to the next step, namely, “. […]



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