Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Based on a Japanese folktale

The Beckoning Cat by Koko Nishizuka and Rosanne Litzinger

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The cover of the online version of The Beckoning Cat by Koko Nishizuka and Rosanne Litzinger (illustrator) was what caught my attention. This white cat jumped off the screen and meowed “look at my colors, my odd grin and you know you want to read me.” I debated laying down as I was at work and a talking computer screen was more than I was ready for. But I went to get some air and read it a bit later. I would love to give […]

Their voices

Poemhood: Our Black Revival: History, Folklore & the Black Experience: A Young Adult Poetry Anthology by Amber McBride, Erica Martin, Taylor Byas and LLC Ashwin Writing

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Poemhood: Our Black Revival: History, Folklore & the Black Experience: A Young Adult Poetry Anthology by Amber McBride, Erica Martin, Taylor Byas and LLC Ashwin Writing (photographer) is getting a lot of press. It will get a lot of awards and a lot more attention before things are said and done. And it deserves all and everything it gets. It is a very lovely collection of poems. We have contemporary poets and classical ones, too. You will know some of the poems and others will […]

If The Librarians met the Night at the Museum

The Night Librarian: A Graphic Novel by Christopher Lincoln

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If The Librarians television series met the movie The Night at the Museum you would have The Night Librarian: A Graphic Novel by Christopher Lincoln. Realism, fantasy and literature literally come to life on the pages of this middle grade graphic novel.  While I liked and enjoyed it, I was not “wowed.” Things are familiar (sibling issues, issues with absent parents, really expensive and rare editions of Dracula), and it is just a fun story about stories, siblings, family, communication, being appreciated. We have read […]

Daddy Death

Godfather Death by Sally Nicholls, Julia Sarda

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“Godfather Death” is an interesting fairy tale to produce for children. It’s very emotionally mature with an adult character at its center. A poor fisherman seeks out the “most honest man” to be his child’s godfather. He turns down God (God is too fickle), he turns down the Devil (for obvious reasons), but when he meets Death, he realizes Death is the most honest man, for he sticks to his duty no matter how rich or poor his victim. Death gives the father a gift […]

Columbian Mythology and Family Trauma

The Enchanted Life of Valentina Mejía by Alexandra Alessandri

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Valentina, her brother Julian, and her father are hiking the Columbian jungle to track down a vampire. Well, that’s what her father’s doing. Valentina is along for the ride, trying not to be embarrassed about her father and brother’s belief in Columbian folk creatures, and taking the opportunity to practice her drawing. But during the trip, Valentina has a visceral premonition: “The earth is not happy.” She urges her family to leave, but they are caught in a violent earthquake. The kids and their dad […]

She’s not the spirit we wanted, but the one we needed

Zawa + The Belly of the Beast by Michael Dialynas

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I was a few pages into Zawa + The Belly of the Beast by Michael Dialynas when I said, “I think this might be a rating of four.” I was not sure why, but the humor and story up to this point made me think I was going to really really like it. Well, I did enjoy it, but not really really liked it. As the story went along, there were some missing pieces, and I was not liking some of the characters (the ones […]



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