Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

What kind of poem would a bird carry in its pocket?

If This Bird Had Pockets by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

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Cute and fun poems to celebrate all types of critters (even human ones) and sweet illustrations fill If This Bird Had Pockets by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater. These (as said) cute and fun poems are told by the creatures themselves about themselves. They celebrate all types of animals from giraffes to ants to adorable otters with their pockets. The fuzzy, furry, feathery, and even a little odd, will give quick and interesting facts about themselves. Set against simple, but detailed images that are created by Emma […]

Primal Roar : A Meditation on Nature and Humankind

The Snow Panther (La Panthère des Neiges) by Sylvain Tesson

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Writer Sylvain Tesson embarks on a journey with expert animal observer Vincent Munier in the high rocky plateaux of China, looking for the soon to be extinct and mythic Snow Leopard. They have to survive at polar temperatures in desolate landscapes where nature and wilderness reign supreme. The long hours of waiting for the famed leopard to cross the line of their cameras provide the notoriously prolix author plenty to think of the place of humankind and its evolution. Where did progress lead men ? […]

I used 266 words to describe a wordless book

Whirl by Deborah Kerbel

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One hundred eighty-seven words are what the publisher description includes. If you wish to read about the title Whirl by Deborah Kerbel, this is your introduction.  Yes, it deserves to be talked about, but I find it amusing that a wordless picture book (except for the description at the end about maple seeds) has that many words to describe it. The result of that description is to tell you the whole story. You do not get to experience it fresh. I was lucky enough to […]

“When you go, please drag me down with you into the darkness.”

Echo by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

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Long review short: I’m absolutely terrified of mountains now. Also possibly all of Switzerland. “When did the idea first pop into my head that Nick’s trauma in the mountains had awakened some dangerous thing in him?” Nick and Sam have been together for three years, but Sam hasn’t stopped worrying every time Nick goes mountain climbing. And then, he gets the call – Nick has been badly injured in the Swiss Alps and his climbing buddy is missing, presumed dead. Nick claims he doesn’t remember […]

Regardless if they like to dig, dance or jive…. I mean dive… these birds move!

Dig, Dance, Dive: How Birds Move to Survive by Etta Kaner

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All the birds in the illustrations of Dig, Dance, Dive: How Birds Move to Survive are goofy, spooky, creepy (some of those birds have evil or at least mischief planned), or just plain odd. And I loved it. I wanted to know what could I learn about birds when the black egret looks like it dropped on big old dirty birdie on the head of some unsuspecting human? (And really its just smirking because dinner is to be served in a bit due to the […]

Before I grow up I want to read all the books in the world!

Before I Grew Up by John Miller

The Snail with the Right Heart: A True Story by Maria Popova

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Picture book time! The roundup of two different but equally marvelous books are below. They are for all ages, but best for the older (at least five and up) child, but adults please note that these two books are a must read for you. Maybe you will not learn something (though the second does have a bit of gender commentary) but you should find something to be in awe over. The artwork alone is worth the price of admission! Before I Grew Up has some […]



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