Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

That one could time travel within his own lifetime…..

Big Papa and the Time Machine by Daniel Bernstrom

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Big Papa and the Time Machine had an odd journey to my reading stack. Daniel Bernstrom’s story was not in play (yet) it was that cover by Shane W. Evans. It looked surreal, awkward, ironically a combination of extremely young and a lot of text. It actually did no look “fun” or that I would “like” it. Then, the other night, it found its way back on the stack. I still was unsure but decided to give it a shot. And as the old say […]

Stories from the 1% (no not THAT one)

I Can Make This Promise by Christine Day

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Recently I was lucky to present at our state comic con on Teen Girls in Space, and one of the focuses of my panel contributions was diversity in pop culture. I got to really dig into the still terrible statistics of representation in literature and media, and while it was nice to see the numbers getting better, all in all it is a “long way to go” situation – unsurprising to any Pajiban and Cannonballer, I am sure. Of the many major bummers, one super-major […]

Hug me once, then hug me twice; Then hug me once again

One Hug by Katrina Moore

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I have been on a picture book binge. I need a little something to read, but not too difficult to process. Not to say picture books are simple, but I needed something that would take my mind off current events, personal issues and such. It does not take a lot of effort to read one, but you never know what gem you will be able to find. I picked up One Hug the other night. Katrina Moore’s story is a sweet, rhyming story about family […]

New York Times Book Review told us:

Just Because by Mac Barnett

I Miss My Grandpa by Jin Xiaoling

The Famer by Abadia Ximo

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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 […]

Rocking your love

Love and the Rocking Chair by Diane Dillon

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According to the jacket, Love and the Rocking Chair was the last collaboration of husband and wife team Leo and Diane Dillon. I am not exactly sure how that happened, as Leo Dillon passed in 2012, but I am sure it is true. After all, the signature style of both is plainly there. While the story is simple and we have seen parts of it before, the illustrations are pure gold. They outdid themselves again! The story is a young couple who got married, soon […]

Get your red hot and garlic and BBQ and oh so much more crickets here

Chirp by Kate Messner

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Chirp is an age appropriate (10-14) book dealing with some heavy subjects.  But overall, they are presented respectfully and are accessible to all readers. There were a few bumps in the plot for me, but I felt it was a decent story and for certain the style that you have come to expect from the author. Kate Messner writes about Mia, a young girl moving back to Vermont after several years living in Boston. Her parents and she have come back to help her grandmother […]



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