Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

A real upside-down holiday

Hanukkah Upside Down by Elissa Brent Weissman

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CBR15Passport  author  The cover of Hanukkah Upside Down was what first caught my eye. The character at the top is upside down. Or is the one on the bottom? After all, she (the top of page) is right side up on her side of things. But then again, the boy at the bottom thinks things are right on his side, too.  This clever book about two cousins in different countries (one New York, USA and the other in New Zealand) shows how “the better cousin” […]

Don’t read this book if you’re hungry

Challah Day by Charlotte Offsay

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CBR15Passport New Author From kneading dough to gathering with family, we have a Challah Day. What is Challah? It is a bread for the Friday night Shabbat dinner. I did not know this, but learned about it, the culture of the family and the fun and love this family has in Charlotte Offsay’s story. Overall, this is a simple story of family and how they come together. It does not matter the holiday we celebrate; we all have these traditions and it Offsay shows us […]

How could anyone know he’d be Leonard Bernstein?

Music was IT: Young Leonard Bernstein by Susan Goldman Rubin

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It took me a few days to get through Music was IT: Young Leonard Bernstein not because it was a hard read but was a read that took time to get through as there was a lot going on and I needed to concentrate on it. Plus, having a cold that made me not want to read did not help. Susan Goldman Rubin created a good introduction about the man Leonard Bernstein, but it needed more as it ends on his debut in Carnegie Hall […]

This was just as delightful as Emmalita/Rochelle promised

Season of Love by Helena Greer

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Ten years ago, Miriam Blum cut all ties with her entire family, including her eccentric great-aunt. Now she turns antique junk into creative and incisive art and has a loyal following on Instagram. She has a beautiful and wealthy fiancée and while they’re never going to share a passionate romance, they love each others as friends and support one another. Miriam is working towards finally opening her own art studio in Charleston when she is informed that her great-aunt Cass died (no one had even […]

Danny Noble is weird. I like them!

Shame Pudding by Danny Noble

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Shame Pudding is a busy, funny, odd, strange, strong story growing up, even when you are an adult.  Danny Noble’s memoir shows the years she and her wacky, crazy, bizarre, weird, off the charts amazing family had. From a young girl who performed on the performing stool, who told her brother Adam there was an invisible wolf in the cupboard, who would lick his hand, who would eat her marshmallows quickly while bemoaning Adam’s savoring of them to a teen who knew the pubs, the […]

That’s a nice tree

Deborah’s Tree by Jane Yolen

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Deborah’s Tree by Jane Yolen and illustrated by Cosei Kawa is a picture book that has multiple layers. It is a book on religion and women’s history. I knew the name Deborah was biblical but did not know the history of the woman behind the story. Deborah was a female judge. In fact, the only one the bible mentions. We follow Deborah from a child to an adult. We see her visions (let us put divine intervention aside for the moment and I will say […]



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