Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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That Rumpelstiltskin is my name

Rumpelstiltskin by Mac Barnett and Carson Ellis

November 25, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Do you like fairy or folk tales? Do you like pure telling of said fairy tales with a small change? And do you like Rumpelstiltskin? Or at least the story, it is a little hard to like Rumpelstitskin. And if you answered yes to any of the above, you should read Mac Barnett’s version of the story. It is the story we know: king meets a miller, who brags about how awesome his daughter is, the king is greedy and wants the spun gold, the […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fantasy, Fiction, History, Mystery, Religion, Suspense Tagged With: adaptations, Carson Ellis, folktales, Germany, legends, Mac Barnett, Mac Barnett and Carson Ellis, Rumpelstiltskin

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:525 · Genres: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fantasy, Fiction, History, Mystery, Religion, Suspense · Tags: adaptations, Carson Ellis, folktales, Germany, legends, Mac Barnett, Mac Barnett and Carson Ellis, Rumpelstiltskin ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Does Santa Celebrate Christmas?

Santa's First Christmas by Mac Barnett

October 15, 2024 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Santa’s First Christmas by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Sydney Smith is not a new idea (how does Santa celebrate/does Santa celebrate Christmas), but the way they present it is fun and clever. Maybe it was not WOW but I chuckled. After all, if the elves won’t let Santa eat the cookies for You-Know-Who who comes tonight, HOW will they get eaten?  You see, one Christmas Eve the elves decide (after many years of watching Santa work all year, work all that one night, sleep […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Cooking/Food, Fantasy, Fiction, Poetry Tagged With: adaptations, celebrations, christmas, elves, Mac Barnett, Santa Claus, Sydney Smith

BlackRaven's CBR16 Review No:500 · Genres: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Cooking/Food, Fantasy, Fiction, Poetry · Tags: adaptations, celebrations, christmas, elves, Mac Barnett, Santa Claus, Sydney Smith ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Unicorns and cats and other stuff

Unicorn Crush: Another Phoebe and Her Unicorn Adventure by Dana Simpson

The First Cat in Space and the Soup of Doom by Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris

March 22, 2024 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I like the series Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson. Now, I don’t like every book or even every “joke” but I like how Phoebe is a loveable (frankly) dork, that is way relatable, even as an adult. When I found an online reader copy for book 19, Unicorn Crush: Another Phoebe and Her Unicorn Adventure I was intrigued. It had been awhile since I had read one, so figured it was time. Now, there isn’t anything really “new” to talk about, Phoebe is […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Mystery, Science Fiction Tagged With: Cats, Dana Simpson, friendship, Mac Barnett, Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris, space, unicorns

BlackRaven's CBR16 Review No:120 · Genres: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Mystery, Science Fiction · Tags: Cats, Dana Simpson, friendship, Mac Barnett, Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris, space, unicorns ·
Rating:
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Caaaat iiiiiiiiinnnn spaaaaaaace (and rats and queens and robots and computers….)

The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza by Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris

April 5, 2022 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Shawn Harris is a fun but bad kids jokes read. There are puns, fun, pizza, moon dust, and poetry writing/quoting worms to name a few things that this Instagram started story has. Barnett and Harris decided to take a cat (who has the great line of “meow”) through a story set on the moon. The cat is sent by some Earth scientists and generals (with interesting colloquialism) and is to stop the […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Cooking/Food, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Science Fiction Tagged With: Cats, friendship, Mac Barnett, Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris, moon, rats, robots, Shawn Harris, space

BlackRaven's CBR14 Review No:138 · Genres: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Cooking/Food, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Science Fiction · Tags: Cats, friendship, Mac Barnett, Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris, moon, rats, robots, Shawn Harris, space ·
Rating:
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New York Times Book Review told us:

Just Because by Mac Barnett

I Miss My Grandpa by Jin Xiaoling

The Famer by Abadia Ximo

December 13, 2019 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

New York Times Book Review told us a few months back what their 67th annual list of Best Illustrated Children’s Books for 2019 was. I picked up one or two here and there and today I found myself reading three. My “like” of Just Because by Mac Barnett comes from Isabelle Arsenault’s illustrations. They are simple, with a lack of a traditional color, but the details are far from simplistic. The story (a child asking all the questions even many adults want to know) is […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: Abadia Ximo, Bedtime & Dreams, Bereavement, Death, family & freinds, Farm Life & Ranch Life, grief, Isabelle Arsenault, Jin Xiaoling, Mac Barnett, Multigenerational, Social Themes, Values & Virtues

BlackRaven's CBR11 Review No:535 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: Abadia Ximo, Bedtime & Dreams, Bereavement, Death, family & freinds, Farm Life & Ranch Life, grief, Isabelle Arsenault, Jin Xiaoling, Mac Barnett, Multigenerational, Social Themes, Values & Virtues ·
Rating:
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“The important thing about Margaret Wise Brown is…” (cbr11bingo – true story)

The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown by Mac Barnett

August 8, 2019 by cosbrarian 1 Comment

“The important thing about Margaret Wise Brown is that she wrote books.” Mac Barnett, if you haven’t spent any time with him, is one of the most delightful children’s book authors of our time.  If I summed him up in one insignificant word, I’d say “funny” because it mostly captures the breadth of his work, from his silly picture books to Wimpy-Kid readalike chapter books. But in his biography of predecessor Margaret Wise Brown, he showcases a positively stunning simplicity of language, a thoughtful exploration […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir, Children's Books Tagged With: #biography, cbr11bingo, children's book, Mac Barnett, Margaret Wise Brown, picture book, Sarah Jacoby

cosbrarian's CBR11 Review No:54 · Genres: Biography/Memoir, Children's Books · Tags: #biography, cbr11bingo, children's book, Mac Barnett, Margaret Wise Brown, picture book, Sarah Jacoby ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment
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