Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

To dream the impossible dream (and how to take care of it)

I Want to Be a River by Cecile Elma Roger

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Able, when he grows up, he wants to be a river. But since unrealistic dreams are not allowed, his friends try to discourage him. And eventually, they do. Of course, then Able is no longer their smiling, happy friend; but a sad, unsmiling one, and they are aware of the thing that they did. The themes of I Want to Be a River are to help others embrace their dreams no matter how ridiculous they are, and when things are quiet and you are alone […]

Walking through the apocalypse

Rain by Joe Hill

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CBR15Passport,  Illustrator lives in UK I did not rate Rain a five because it was the best, but because it really hit me in the right feels. Plus, there are some amazing alternative images at the end.  It is probably a 4.5 but I was feeling generous as this is an experience book that had I been having another experience than what was happening while reading, this book wouldn’t have worked. You need to give this book time, read the illustrations, read slowly as if […]

Exploring the world on the pages of these books

Fabien Cousteau Expeditions Deep Into the Amazon Jungle by Fabien Cousteau

Fabien Cousteau Expeditions Great White Shark Adventure by Fabien Cousteau

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After a little research, I realized that one of the issues I was having with the Fabien Cousteau Expeditions book of exploring the Hawaiian ocean (the seemingly humble brags of Cousteau himself) was that it was the fourth book in the series, and it was recapping the previous stories. In Deep Into the Amazon Jungle by James O. Fraioli and Fabien Cousteau, this issue comes up when mentioning his Artic adventures (book two) but it felt less “braggy.” (Book one is Great White Shark Adventure […]

Pickle Jars are not Just for Pickles anymore

The Planet in a Pickle Jar by Martin Staney

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The Planet in a Pickle Jar almost has a “part one” and “part two” to it. You start off with the grandchildren of a grandmother saying their grandmother is dull, never laughs or talks until they show up. When they finally visit, they think her house is dull, the grandmother tells long tedious stories and things are boring. Of course, you see the artwork presenting everything as mysterious and boldly colored and overflowing with details. The second part is one day the grandmother is missing, […]

The most poetic tribute to trees since Joyce Kilmer

Tree, A Life Story by David Suzuki & Wayne Grady, with illustrations by Robert Bateman

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“A lightning bolt illuminates the sky, striking the highest point of the forested ridge.” Thus begins the biography of a single tree. Tree, A Life Story is a 700-year-long tale that begins with a Douglas fir dropping a seed from its cone in response to a forest fire and ends with the fallen tree continuing to supply the forest with nutrients even after death. In between, the authors trace the growth journey of the fir as it takes root, matures, and reproduces. But what could […]

If you want to keep on swimmin’ you’ll need to take care of the planet first

To Change a Planet by Christina Soontorvat

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To Change a Planet by Christina Soontorvat is a lovely story about how one small event, person, or thing, can have a global impact. And if each one of us bans together, we can try and help the issues we have created. Of course, there is little new to this concept presented in the pages of Soontorvat’s story. Yet, it is a nice book. It would be good for a classroom setting, or a quiet time read. The colorfully bold illustrations by Rahele Jomepour Bell […]



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