Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Who hasn’t know a Unicorn?

Unicorn Is Maybe Not So Great After All by Bob Shea

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I am not sure how Unicorn Is Maybe Not So Great After All by Bob Shea compares to the first book (Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great) as I have not read it (or if I have, it made no impression whatsoever). This time Unicorn is jealous of the new “hot thing” (rubber bands looking like other things: a soccer ball, wagon wheel, port holes…) and tries to make a new and improved Unicorn. Of course, the plan backfires with a face full of glitter. A […]

Welcome to your Feelings

The Happy Book by Andy Rash

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The Happy Book is very simple. The reader goes about exploring feelings via different “books” within the main story. The end. However, it is a smidgen more complicated that than. There are numerous puns (one narrator is Happy Camper, and yes, he is happy and an old school Boy Scout camper; the other is Happy Clam who is happy and well, a clam) the art of the illustrations has to be closely watched as there are details in the story’s art and  text (plus fun […]

Dearly beloved

Something Very Sad Happened: A Toddler’s Guide to Understanding Death by Bonnie Zucker

I Miss You: a First Look at Death (First Look at Books) by Pat Thomas

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While I do not necessarily agree with Bonnie Zucker that there is not anything for the under four crowd about introducing the subject of death, I do admit that I am hard-pressed to mention anything other than Something Very Sad Happened: A Toddler’s Guide to Understanding Death. It is an accessible way to introduce the child to the loss of a loved one. Due to the way it is presented, you can adapt the book to your needs. This is done by highlighted words that […]

The ups and downs of routine changes

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The team of Audrey Vernick, Liz Garton Scanlon and Chris Raschka probably had a substitute teacher or two during their school days. However, I wonder if they were as unsure of them as the narrator is of their substitute teacher in Dear Substitute. Finding out that their teacher is out unexpectantly (why did Mrs. Giordano not warn them?) all sorts of feelings pop up for one student. After all, Miss Pelly changes their routines, cannot pronounce some of the student’s names, she reads new books […]

Attention: Lena is Excited but her shoes? Not so much!

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Lena’s Shoes Are Nervous: A First-Day-Of-School Dilemma is a new take on an old theme: child is nervous about the first day of school. Instead of Lena saying she is nervous, Keith Calabrese has Lena’s shoes show their apprehension and has Lena telling her father they are nervous. The combination of a child’s imagination (the dress and shoes do not speak but everyone loves the green headband) and the real feelings will be humorous for most readers. And while I appreciate the story and the […]

Tiny bubbles Make me happy

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Bubbles. Who does not like bubbles? Kangaroo sure does! And in this cute (but has been done before) story, Kit Chase shows us how much Kangaroo loves blowing Bubbles. In fact, when she finds some new ones floating by, she follows them and finds Koala. Who is blowing bubbles, too, but does not see very friendly. In fact, is down right shy. Soon, he starts to play with Kangaroo (although while he’s still in the tree). Yet, when Kangaroo needs help from the big bubble […]



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