National Parks – Cannonball Read 17

Shine your light

The Lonely Lighthouse: The Story of Little Sable Point Lighthouse by Stephanie Owen

October 21, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Picture books have become one of my favorite reading choices. I like the details and yet they can (sometimes) be no more than 40-50 pages. I get the satisfaction of reading and finishing a book usually in one sitting. And I also might learn something new if it is a historical or factual book. And The Lonely Lighthouse: The Story of Little Sable Point Lighthouse by Stephanie Owen covers all the bases. Due in mid April 2026 (read via an online reader copy), this is […]

If it wasn’t for a gardening club, taxidermists, and friends, Joshua Tree National Park wouldn’t be

Cactus Queen: Minerva Hoyt Establishes Joshua Tree National Park by Lori Alexander

March 15, 2024 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Don’t get stuck by the lady known as the Cactus Queen! In Lori Alexander and Jenn Ely’s book Cactus Queen: Minerva Hoyt Establishes Joshua Tree National Park we learn of a woman who loved the desert, its nature and who found a way to make it available for everyone by saving it. I read this via an online reader copy, so I am assuming it will be a picture book size, but I really think everyone should read regardless of age or if the picture […]

You can’t fit a National Park in your pocket, but you can read books about both

I Am Made of Mountains by Alexandra S.D. Hinrichs

The Pocket Book by Alexandra S.D. Hinrichs

June 16, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

You think that a National Park is just made up of trees, and dirt, and bugs, and bears? Well, some are, but some have humpback whales, alligators, juniper trees, beautiful sunsets, rivers, Spanish moss and so much more. You can see all of that in I Am Made of Mountains as Alexandra S.D. Hinrichs’s narrator takes us on a journey of the National Parks of the country. From Hawaii to Alaska to Tennessee to Florida and all in-between, the poetic text tells us of wonderful […]

The oldest joke in the book? Maybe. But one of the wonders of the worlds for sure

Yours ‘Til Niagra Falls by Brenda Z. Guiberson

January 19, 2022 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Seriously just read this book, okay? It is awesome! The highlighted history of Niagara Falls comes to life with the voice of the falls itself in this picture book by Brenda Z. Guiberson. Poetic and straight forward, this book is a must to have for science classes, history classes and for environmental studies. The title of Yours ‘Til Niagra Falls might be one of the oldest jokes in the book, but dang it! This time it is worth it and more! This story is told […]

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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