Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

People and things we hold dear

Loose Threads: A Story about Me, Mom, and Dad by Airien Ludin

Boots by Elizabeth Pulsford

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An unpleasant subject is the subject of death and grief. However, it happens, and a good way to talk about it is with a story. I will say grab two large, soft, boxes of tissues and you will need them, but you won’t regret trying out the books below. (Both were read via online reader copies.) Loose Threads: A Story about Me, Mom, and Dad written and illustrated by Airien Ludin (due mid/late October 2024) is a story about how a young girl has everything […]

A week of family

Family Poems for Every Day of the Week : Poemas familiares para cada dia de la semana by Francisco X. Alarcón

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I have been holding onto over 1000 emails that have at least one online reader copy. At least one of those had four. I was skimming the titles, looking at the links… nope nope nope…. Delete, save, nope nope, next time…. Until I came to  Family Poems for Every Day of the Week : Poemas familiares para cada dia de la semana.  The other books were a mix of genres, but this said “Poems.” Okay, that is what I need. Something short and hopefully fun. […]

Once upon a time there were two emails

The Magic Box: A Book of Opposites by Charles Ghigna

What Love Looks Like by Laura Obuobi

Danté Plays His Blues by Allen R. Wells

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Once upon a time there were two emails in my work email that said, “Please give our books a chance!” So I did. And out of the almost 10 titles I read via online reader copies, I found three I enjoyed and wanted to review.  The Magic Box: A Book of Opposites by Charles Ghigna and illustrated by Jacqueline East had potential. However, due to the minimal text, it missed the OMG BBE (Best Book Ever) mark by a smidgen. There were not as many […]

History is not only about the past.

Obaasan's Boots by Janis Bridger and Lara Jean Okihiro

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It took me months to read Obaasan’s Boots by Janis Bridger and Lara Jean Okihiro because I was reading it via an online reader copy at lunch and when I could sneak it in on my phone (which was not as often as I’d like as there was always something else to read or do when there). This long time reading probably affected the biggest issue I had which was, I was not always sure which cousin was who. Charlotte and Lou are marked by […]

The Abuela, the Grandson and the Parrot

Squawk of Spanish by Gabriella Alderman

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I have read several books about “not speaking language X” and the troubles it causes with family and/or friends. This time, in Squawk of Spanish, we have a young boy, Max, who cannot speak Spanish well (he has trouble with his rolling Rs), but that’s okay, his grandmother’s parrot does! So when the two (abuela and grandson) bake together, between the three of them, they have their routine down and get the job done. But when the parrot has decided to not to come home […]

I’m With the Mariachi Band

Adela’s Mariachi Band by Denise Vega

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I decided that when I got an email from Charlesbridge (a publisher) I would read some of the twelve online picture book reader copies included. I ended up reading ten (one had been previously read, so technically nine). I didn’t read two because the covers didn’t “speak to me” but I saved the links in case they someday would. One of the reads was Adela’s Mariachi Band. Due in mid-August, this story by Denise Vega and illustrated by Erika Rodriguez Medina was not what I […]



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