Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

I like cats. And drawings.

The Boy Who Drew Cats: A Japanese Folktale by Lafcadio Hearn

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There are three main times when I swear. In no particular order, when I am tired and/or mad; when I want to make a point and when something is just so fudging (only I didn’t say fudge) good. And The Boy Who Drew Cats: A Japanese Folktale by Lafcadio Hearn is one of those fudging good books. Amazing story, amazing illustrations, amazing feeling to it, even an amazing back story of the author. Perhaps more for adults (collectors of art books, of Japanese folk tales, […]

I forgot  to take a photo of the book I had, so borrowed from internet, but that’s ok as it’s the book itself that really matters

Drawing from Memory by Allen Say

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The publisher description of Drawing from Memory by Allen Say:  Caldecott Medalist Say (“Grandfather’s Journey”) presents a stunning graphic novel chronicling his journey as an artist during World War II, when he apprenticed under Noro Shinpei, Japan’s premier cartoonist. But that does not scratch the surface. He was a young child during the war, dealing with a father who thought artists were shiftless and would never make anything of themselves. He was dealing with the war, his parents divorce, living with his seemingly judgmental grandmother, […]

The man, the woman and their influences on books

Outside In and Inside Out: A Story About Arnold Lobel by Emmy Kastner

Fanny's Big Idea: How Jewish Book Week Was Born by Richard Michelson and Alyssa Russell

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For the longest time, biographies were the only non-fiction reading I did. I would  explore that genre more as I got older, but I always hold a spot in my heart and read piles for biographies. And picture book biographies have become a staple to read. Two that grabbed my attention and made me need to talk about them were Outside In and Inside Out: A Story About Arnold Lobel by Emmy Kastner and Fanny’s Big Idea: How Jewish Book Week Was Born by Richard […]

Finding wings

Bird by Kristin Rosetta Elliott Hood

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Through the site that I get most of my online readers, I found several older titles. And by older I mean as far back as even 2002. The publisher was reissuing a few things I was assuming, but that is always fun as you never know what you will find. One of those books, that I almost did not read, was Bird by Kristin Rosetta Elliott Hood and illustrated by Shadra Strickland. This was one from 2017. This book was at first something that seemed […]

Jerry Pinkney, Caldecott Medal winner and illustrator

Just Jerry: How Drawing Shaped My Life by Jerry Pinkney

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While I knew who Jerry Pinkney was, I was not familiar with his personal life. But Just Jerry: How Drawing Shaped My Life is a lovely memoir that highlights the important and beautiful parts of his life as he made his journey to becoming the artist we know today.  His memoir, starting off with a note from the editor, is something that is more than an autobiography. It is a look at parts of the life of a man who would win awards and show the […]

More than a broken heart

The Faint f Heart by Kerilynn Wilson

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Due to a few bumps in the story arc of The Faint f Heart, but particularly due to the artwork, this book is a 4.5 (rounded up to 5). This is a love story to emotions and feelings. It has realistic, science-fiction and fantasy vibes but is all too likely to happen scenario, or at least is within reason. When you play with the heart, emotions happen, and Kerilynn Wilson explores what happens when people find a way to stop feeling those emotions.   June […]



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