Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Messy handwriting doesn’t mean you can’t be an author

Abdul’s Story by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow

by Leave a Comment

I have read parts of Abdul’s Story off and on for a year now. Finally, I was able to find the finish copy and sink my teeth in. This story is how a young boy, Abdul, loves telling stories. But writing them is a lot harder. Besides, why write them down? Some stories are meant to be told. Yet, when an author comes to his class, a man who looks like Abul with his straight lines, and unscuffed shoes, he learns that there are many […]

The universal language of unconditional love

Quiet Time with My Seeya by Dinalie Dabarera

by Leave a Comment

CBR15Passport country When you see a title like, Quiet Time with My Seeya (or at least me), I assume that you will get an outlined story. Meaning: Step one: Grandparent is coming. Or child goes to grandparent. Step two: Child is bored, and grandparent makes magic. Or the child knows grandparent makes magic. Step three: They have lots of fun, maybe learning something new, but always a happy generational story.   There is nothing wrong with this story format. It is a good format and I like […]

ChooChoo! I’m going home!

The Train Home by Dan-Ah Kim

by Leave a Comment

I grew up in a town (not a city), in a house (not an apartment), but I had a sister who bothered me, parents who did parent stuff, and my grandparents lived upstairs. Thanksgiving and Christmas mornings I never slept in, not because of the excitement, but because my grandmother’s kitchen was over my bedroom and I could hear her mashing, chopping, and walking about (thin walls and a grandmother who got into her work make for an interesting combination).  But I can relate to […]

A little girl and a big idea

Jhupli’s Honey Bee Box by Achintyarup Ray

by Leave a Comment

CBR15Passport country (India) With a title like Jhupli’s Honey Bee Box I assumed there would be bees and a honey box. I did not expect tigers. And no, it is not a story where the tigers like honey, but one where they like the people who go into the jungle to harvest the honey. In fact, they like them so much the people never return to the village. Well, there is a twist for ya! Bet you didn’t see that coming either! Joking aside, this […]

The other 99%

The Smallest Spot of a Dot: The Little Ways We’re Different, The Big Ways We’re the Same by Linsey Davis and Michael Tyler

by Leave a Comment

CBR15Passport, Different genres (science and mindfulness) While the rhyming of the text is good for kids in The Smallest Spot of a Dot: The Little Ways We’re Different, The Big Ways We’re the Same, it was a smidgen too much for this adult (even though I enjoyed it, I wished it was more straight forward). However, that lightness allows for Linsey Davis and Michael Tyler to give the reader not only a poem, but a story that includes facts about how we are different but […]

Food, friendship, high school

Supper Club by Jackie Morrow

by Leave a Comment

CBR15Passport,(other format food as fiction story) If you want a teen graphic novel that is a funny, cute story of how food helps three friends deal with the ups and downs of being a senior in high school, a friend, and family member you need Supper Club.  Jackie Morrow’s story has one of those aged 10-to-14 feeling, but the subject matter is slightly on the older side (13/14 up). Still, I think a strong 10- to 12-year-old would be fine, as I am sure they […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo