Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

And your little fox, too

Ooko by Esme Shapiro

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I can see where some people would absolutely love Ooko by Esme Shapiro. It is terribly quirky and has an offbeat sense of humor that is both charming and goofy. I can also see where some people would absolutely hate Ooko by Esme Shapiro. It is terribly quirky and has an offbeat sense of humor that is both annoying and sophomoric. At first, I thought the character Ooko, based off the cover, was fennec fox. Or a squirrel. Possibly a raccoon. Or one of those […]

A new Alphabet

From Archie to Zack by Vincent Kirsch

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From Archie to Zack is a GLBTQ+ story and a sweet friendship story. You can say that Archie and Zack do have a crush on each other (as a description mentioned the joys of a first crush) or they are just dear, close friends, who care deeply for each other. This flexibility normalizes feelings and boys having them. It is also about acceptance as the whole school knows that the boys have this relationship. And when Zelda, Zinnia, and Zuzella find letters that Archie has […]

My feathered and not so feathered friends

Bird Boy by f Matthew Burges

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Bird Boy is marketed as an “Inclusive Children’s Book.” And while I am not sure what the criteria is for that, the results of Matthew Burgess and Shahrzad Maydani’s book is one that shows you how to be yourself and shows that we are all different but similar at the same time. We are rainbow colors, and maybe use wheelchairs or have glasses, but we can play, have fun, and enjoy nature, and be ourselves with our friends. What happens when you are a shy […]

I want to ride my bicycle, bicycle, bicycle/I want to ride it where I like

Bike & Trike by Elizabeth Verdick

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During the pandemic, I was in an office by myself due to health issues and not able to wear a mask easily. This made finding random books a tiny bit harder than usual (though, anyone who is a “true book-nerd” knows that we always find a way to find books). However, now that I am back at my regular desk (hello drawers to hide goodies in!) I wander over to the stacks of received books maybe too often. And one day the find was Bike […]

One squirrel is a little nuts

The Leaf Thief by Alice Hemming

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I have a love-hate relationship with squirrels: as I love to hate them and hate to love them. But no matter how much I say I do not like squirrels, I like squirrels. I even like Squirrel in The Leaf Thief by Alice Hemming. Even though Squirrel is a nut or two short of some logic now and again. Squirrel loves counting leaves on his tree. The red ones, gold ones, orange ones, and the yellow ones. But when he realizes that one is missing, […]

Do I speak Fish? I speak “little kids” and in this case, it is the same thing.

Do You Speak Fish? by DJ Corchin

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Do You Speak Fish? is a book about communication. The best way to describe this is, when I posted the picture on my Facebook page, my sister replied, “No, but I speak 24.” (We call her sons/my nephews by their ages on social media). And that is true. Trying to understand him without knowing his language can be tough. He is autistic and deaf in one ear. This little guy (he’s under 6 feet, but I still see that not five-pound baby) speaks his own […]



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