Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

That feeling

Saudade: Our Longing for Brazil, by Ana Crespo and André Ceolin

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Older books are just as good as a current book or a future publication book. Because, Hello … BOOK! Books are things we long for! Hope for! Need! Now, I am not sure if it fits the definition of saudade (a word that has no real direct to English translation, but basically means “an intense longing for something or someone.”) What is saudade, is the mothers feeling in the story Saudade: Our Longing for Brazil, for the things she left behind in Brazil. Ana Crespo, […]

Stop being so…. gay

Blessed Cure by Mário Oliveira

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Triggers in Blessed Cure by Mário Oliveira include, but are not limited to: homophobia, homophobic language, homophobic actions, beatings, sexual images of genitalia and acts, prostitution, transphobia.  One man’s life from the 1960s to the 1990s (with the potential for a “now” setting) unfolds as he does everything in his power to not be “so gay.” (Which is  the nicest thing he is called in the book.) From parents blaming each other, doctors blaming parents, the church blaming everyone (especially the mother) to the man […]

Interactive board books around the world

Bruno Builder Bakes Bread (Mix-And-Match). by Nelleke Verhoeff

Our World: Brazil by Ana Siqueira

Our World: Italy by Francesca Di Marzo

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I like the company Barefoot Books. And I have a book dealer there. She sends me some finished copies. I like her. A lot. And this time she sent me three new board books. Two are from the Our Worlds series, and one is a standalone interactive book. Starting with the interactive book, Bruno Builder Bakes Bread (Mix-And-Match). The traditional board book sized book is split in the middle. It has the Builder on top and on the bottom a bakers stand with bread being […]

We are the World

Our World: Italy by Francesca Di Marzo

Our World: Mexico by Cynthia Harmony

Our World: Brazil by Ana Siqueira

Our World: India by Meera Sriram

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Our World: Italy by Francesca Di Marzo, Our World: Mexico by Cynthia Harmony, Our World: Brazil by Ana Siqueira and Our World: India by Meera Sriram have two things in common. The first, they are awesome books and second, they are about the world aimed at the young reader/listener.  Some are already published, while others are coming within the next few months. The stories follow the culture, language and more in a small format. The authors and illustrators (while the illustrations are similar to each […]

Sinister tidings and true love

Crema by Johnnie Christmas

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Crema is the kind of graphic novel that I should like, but something was falling flat for me. Maybe it was the fact I have read a lot of graphic novels recently and it is time for a break. Or maybe I have read a lot of GLBTQ+ books (which are great, but sometimes I need to cleanse the palette). Maybe it is actually a bad book and/or story. Maybe I was in the wrong frame of mind while reading. Maybe I was in the […]

The shortest (or almost shortest) title anyone will review

Ye by Guilherme Petreca

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Ye by Guilherme Petreca is one of those metaphor books where you sometimes can miss the metaphor if you are looking too closely at the literal aspect of things. It is also something you might read too much into if you are not careful. Therefore, this is what I like to call “An Experience Book.” You must read it to find what speaks to you. Is it a metaphor for fear, anger, depression? Is it about growing, living, life? Or is it about a kid […]



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