Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

There is beauty to be found in the melting snow and McDonalds wrappers

Little Foxes Took Up Matches by Katya Kazbek

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Mitya is not good at math, as you can see. But he’s good at imagination. Mitya is utterly convinced that no one has ever looked at two halves long enough, or attentively enough. Mitya has some stories for you. Much like Mitya himself, this novel contains multitudes. Katya Kazbek, who often works as a translator, holds the door open for the curious reader with snippets of fairy tales. Sometimes these tales are her takes on mythology, and sometimes they are the mythology of being a […]

And what little girls are made of

Blancaflor, the Hero with Secret Powers: A Folktale from Latin America: A Toon Graphic by Nadja Spiegelman

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While focusing on one story in Blancaflor, the Hero with Secret Powers: A Folktale from Latin America: A Toon Graphic you will see multiple stories come together due to the collective ideals of storytelling around the world. This version of Blancaflor by Nadja Spiegelman and Sergio Garcia Sanchez highlights the Latin influences of this wonderfully illustrated story of women’s strengths and hidden talents which we see unfolding to save the prince/her love. The story is simple, Blancaflor is the daughter of ogres. Her father gave […]

The stories behind the story

Tales from the Bamboo Grove by Yoko Kawashima Watkins

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I think Tales from the Bamboo Grove might be out of print, therefore, I am writing this review for those who might find it hidden on the library shelves, in a sale, or hiding among your own collection.  Also, to promote the other books she had written is the other point of the review. Several months ago, I learned that Yoko Kawashima Watkins had passed. I had enjoyed both So Far from the Bamboo Grove and My Brother, My Sister, and I. Those two novels […]

This isn’t your father’s Jungle Book…..

Sengi and Tembo by G. Falco

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FYI: I have some not fort his book images becaue I can and I like them! If Animal Farm and A Tale of Two Cities created a book together, the graphic novel Sengi and Tembo by G. Falco (or Giuseppe Falco) probably would be the results. Rebellion, status quo, life, and the ultimate equalizer death all come together in a dark, somewhat comedic commentary on not only how things should be but can become. Sengi is a young mouse that quickly learns the dangers of […]

A brother and sister made of wood

The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess by Tom Gauld

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At first, I thought The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess would be a “girl power” story. The fact the featured inventor of the story was female, hinted at that. And of course, the witch is also female. But later, I felt this book was a bit chauvinist with the Log Princess just forgiving her Wooden Robot brother very easily for the (understandable) mistake he has made. Yes, we make mistakes, and forgiveness is good, but it was the tone that was of putting. […]

Beyond the Himalaya Mountains

A Girl in the Himalayas by David Jesus Vignolli

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Environmental issues and man’s greed, pain, actions, and fear are countered by a young girl, Vijaya, and her new family and new friends of the other realm in this graphic novel. A Girl in the Himalayas has a unique feel. At first you get the feeling of the scene in the animated Disney move, Mulan, when the village was attacked, and the doll of the little girl is found. You then get a feeling of a child who has been orphaned and is raised by […]



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