Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Presenting Hesse and Karas awesome collaboration

Night Job by Karen Hesse

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Night Job by Karen Hesse and illustrated by G. Brian Karas was almost put aside to read. It is not due until later October 2025, but I needed to see how these two would work together. I think of Hesse as a slightly more serious author and Karas as a lighter illustrator. Not saying it couldn’t work, but first thoughts are first thoughts. And they became probably one of my new favorite duos. The story is a bit on the lighter side allowing Karas almost […]

Princesses, pirates and sisters

Story Spinners: A Sisterly Tale of Danger, a Princess, and Her Crew of Lady Pirates by Cassandra Federman

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I started a review once that said that I like sibling books and sister books in particular. Story Spinners: A Sisterly Tale of Danger, a Princess, and Her Crew of Lady Pirates written and illustrated by Cassandra Federman is one of those books. Currently available, this is a cute story about modern day sisters, with one having some old school ideas that get messy when the sisters unite to tell their “other sister” a bedtime story. Of course, there is more than that. The oldest […]

Sisters, differences and love

Little Big Sister by Eoin Colfer

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I picked up Little Big Sister by Eoin Colfer and illustrated by Celia Ivey because the cover was terribly brightly colored and pushy to the eye.  I read it because I like sibling stories (sister stories in particular) and thought it would be an interesting read on differently abled children/people. And while it was not my favourite read, it was a read that I enjoyed and recommend if you have a family member, friend or a child’s classmate who has dwarfism. Therefore, the rating of […]

Oaxaca, Mexico and Southern India

Pearls in the Sand : Protecting Sea Turtles in Oaxaca by Beatriz Gutiérrez Hernández

Midnight Motorbike by Maureen Shay Tajsar

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Pearls in the Sand : Protecting Sea Turtles in Oaxaca is one of those picture books that I am not really sure I loved. I know I really enjoyed it, but not sure if I loved it.  And I realized this is because I need to read it again. I honestly do not feel you can get the whole picture with one reading. Sure, Beatriz Gutiérrez Hernández has a story about how a group of people help save the turtle population of their area, but […]

Comments on humanity, world peace, and soup

Mafalda: Book One by Quino

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Mafalda: Book One by Quino (author/illustrator) and translated by Frank Wynne is an adult Argentina comic. The ideas remind me of a modern Danae from Non Sequitur, Nancy and Sluggo from the Nancy by Olivia James, and Phoebe and her Unicorn (without the unicorn) by Dana Simpson. Unfortunately, some of the themes are dated (Vietnam; getting your first television) but others are universal (kids ragging on their parents). The overall issues still resonate. The country might be Argentina but politics are politics (Mafalda our naive, […]

“We’re all born naked and the rest is drag” (RuPaul) And this novel SLAYS

Donutella Hamachi and the Library Avengers by Kim Chi, Stephan Lee, and Utomaru

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The novel/part graphic novel or novel with several illustrations that make up the narrator’s special world in Donutella Hamachi and the Library Avengers started out strong. Then Kim Chi, Stephan Lee, and Utomaru’s story started to drag. Pun intended. But in all seriousness, I was just as upset as the kids when I learned that the DragQueen story hour (that I had never seen/had been canceled before the book started) had been Karen-cancelled. I was rooting for Jae Han and their friends to find themselves, […]



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