grandfather – Cannonball Read 17

The Ghost of Memories

There's a Ghost in the Garden by Kyo Maclear

August 26, 2024 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

There is a message inside of There’s a Ghost in the Garden by Kyo Maclear, but it is one that will be different for each reader. Also, it is okay if you just enjoy the words of Maclear, the flow of text and the illustrations (by Katty Maurey) without taking any meaning from them. It works on both levels allowing the reader to take what is needed at each listen and/or reading. This can work for many ages, though it is for slightly older listeners/readers. […]

Family Dynamics

Our Wish for You: A Story About Open Adoption by Dano Moreno

Other Words for Nonno by Dave Cameron

January 4, 2024 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

September 2023 had two interesting books come out. Of course, it had more than that, so I should say that 2023 had a lot of books come out and September 2023 had two of those that I read in 2024. They were found as I was cleaning up my online reader copies, which is going to take me well into 2024 to even dent, while I find new 2024s and will need to balance the two. However, I am glad I took the time to […]

When your food talks

What the Bread Says: Baking with Love, History and Papan by Vanessa Garcia

October 10, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

What the Bread Says: Baking with Love, History and Papan is that this Vanessa Garcia and Tim Plain book is too short. Or maybe that is just me thinking that. Either way, Garcia talks about how bread can tell you something about where it comes from, the people who make it and more. We follow the young narrator as she and her Papan (grandfather/pan means bread in Spanish) make different types of bread. At the same time, her grandfather gives her a story as well […]

Don’t have a grandfather? Go pick one out at your local senior home

Can You Whistle, Johanna? by Ulf Stark

December 20, 2021 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Can You Whistle, Johanna? by Ulf Stark, translated by Julia Marshall and illustrated by Anna Hoglund was not what I expected of this English translation of a Swedish story. I thought at first it was going to be a book about a friend teaching another to friend (a female) to whistle. Or maybe a younger sibling some whistling techniques. Perhaps even, it was going to be some way to show that boys and girls are equal (everyone can whistle). Instead, it is about a young […]

Two different books creating feelings

I'll Be the Water: A Story of a Grandparent's Love by Alec Aspinwall

Crying is Like the Rain: A Story of Mindfulness and Feelings by Heather Feinberg

November 4, 2020 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Two interesting books, but not enough for me to find the word limit for each solo, therefor I am going to do “two books one review” for these little numbers. The connection I find with both titles is that they both have a somber theme and/or feeling to them. I’ll Be the Water: A Story of Loss, Greif, and a Grandparent’s Love is obviously about the loss of a beloved grandparent. However, it is also a hopeful story. We see all the wonderful things that […]

Bad a##, Kick a## and all around one damn good read

Suncatcher by Jose Pimienta

February 19, 2020 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Some plot point spoilers. I figured that Suncatcher would be about music and some sort of hard rock. Instead about being about “just music” it is about music (punk/hard rock/independent/and as it is set in Mexico, the cultural influences of the era), perfection, the obsessions we allow ourselves and the ghosts that haunt us. All the reviews I have seen seem to take the character Beatriz literally: her grandfather’s soul is literally trapped in his guitar; she is literally being haunted by him and the […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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