Concepts – Cannonball Read 17

Gnome for the holidays

Christmas Gnomes (Gnome for the Holidays) by Kelly Green and Lisa Alderson

November 25, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I was browsing through some titles the other day in an online catalog. I found Christmas Gnomes (Gnome for the Holidays) by Kelly Green and Lisa Alderson (illustrator). I did not know what the form was (and in fact, didn’t know the story) but knew I had to get it as a gift for my sister who is a gnome lover. In fact, she’s such a lover of the fuzzy capped beings that once I asked her if she minded me getting a gnome I […]

Interactive story with Simon and friends

Simon Turns Right by Nicole van Brummelen

November 20, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

While I assumed this would be the case, I learned that yes, “choose your own adventures” or in this case, “follow the orders of the creatures in the book so you can flip pages left and right,” in an online format is next to impossible for me to read. Simon Turns Right by Nicole van Brummelen seems like it would be a fun story. And if it had been straight forward (you went from page one to two to three to four….) it would have. […]

Winter, spring, summer and fall, all ya gotta do is read the poems

Poems for Every Season by Bette Westera and David Colmer

November 14, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

A while back I requested several picture books from an online reader site. One of them was Poems for Every Season by Bette Westera and David Colmer (translator). I was not sure what I would get. I mean I figured poems and seasons (and of course most likely poems about seasons), but I did not have super high expectations. I figured things would be good, but not great. Plus, I just did not want to be disappointed as I had been a lot before (and since) reading […]

HALLOWEEEEEE (N)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spoops: The Little Spirits of Halloween by A.J. LoCascio

October 24, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

When I get excited about a book I find it funny that I don’t run out and tell everyone and anyone about it. Yet, I almost missed telling you about Spoops: The Little Spirits of Halloween by A.J. LoCascio and illustrator Laurie Conley. I will start by saying the very least I can say is it is an outstanding and fun story. There is a delightfully classical element as well as a modern tone which allows it to work for many ages. It is simple as […]

Uma wonders about infinity

Infinity and Me by Kate Hosford

October 8, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Infinity and Me by Kate Hosford has been on my TBR list for so long I forgot it was even on it. Therefore when I had the opportunity to read it, it was like I had never known it was there. It was a mystery of why I had a copy. But once I read I realized that it was not just because of the interesting illustrations by Gabi Swiatkowska or the text of Hosford. It was because of how the two combined to create […]

Poems from new shoes and falling leaves to friendship to growing up

Poetry Comics by Grant Snider

October 7, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

The only reason Poetry Comics is a four and not a five rating is there were two things I was not loving. The first is that sometimes a poem felt finished but kept on going and the second was that I was not sure why some of the poems were in that particular season. Such as many in the season of winter did not match with my idea of winter. However, Grant Snider’s works are fun stories done in clever poetry. They made cute illustrations […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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