Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

A rose by any other name would it be as long?

The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name by Sandhya Parappukkaran

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Growing up did you have a nickname? Though I went by my given name at school, at home it was shortened to the first letter by my mom (full name was for being in trouble. And when the middle name was added? Don’t ask!) and my sister and I had a few nicknames for each other (that occasionally we still use to get the others attention). So, nicknames are things that happen and can be a good thing. But can they be an issue, too? […]

Mermaids, lantern fish and a little courage

A Dive Into the Blue. by Ellie Huynh

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The one fear/issue I did not have about learning to swim was that the drain in the pool would pull me in, like some Kraken waiting to bring me to Davy Jones locker. But, now well, I still don’t. And that is because of the little girl in A Dive Into the Blue. Ellie Huynh gives us a story of courage and bravery and literally diving right into the problem. Our small girl is at the edge of the diving board, the drain looking up […]

She and Green

The Life of a Crayon: A Colorful Story of Never-Ending Beginnings by Christopher Willard and Tara Wosiski

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When a young girl gets a brand-new box of crayons, the adventures begin. But one crayon, Green, is the one that we follow. This is her favorite color, and we see how the many green things come into play (and drawing) as she grows. Not only does she have fun and is artistic but learns lessons too. Such as we might get our paintings praised if on the paper, but on the wall not so much. And to have patience as during the autumn months […]

Touching the Impossible

The Impossible Mountain  by David Soman

I Touched the Sun by Leah Hayes

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The Impossible Mountain and I Touched the Sun have a slightly common theme. The main thing of each book is that of believing in yourself and trying impossible things. David Soman’s The Impossible Mountain was more fun for me. It had a more solid story and illustrations that spoke to me more strongly. That is not to say that I Touched the Sun by Leah Hayes was bad, it was just not my type of read.   I Touched the Sun is due May 2023. And […]

Trains, Santa, and more

ThunderBoom by Jack Briglio

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ThunderBoom by Jack Briglio is a graphic novel about 11-year-old Logan and the adventures he has in his imagination. Which seems normal enough, but Logan’s neurodivergence creates a take on life that makes his relationship to the world and his family and the people around him, hard on him. And hard on his family, too. The nice part of the story is the realism of his parents. They are both overprotected and concerned, but also allow Logan to dominate his environment. It has a modern […]

A Familiar story (Sort Of)

Anne: An Adaptation of Anne of Green Gables (Sort Of) by Kathleen Gros

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Anne: An Adaptation of Anne of Green Gables (Sort Of) was adapted by Kathleen Gros. They are the same creator of Jo: An Adaptation of Little Women (Sort Of). Which, I preferred to the Anne story for several reasons. The biggest being it was the first book I had read by Gros and therefore, the format was fresh to me. With Anne, I kept thinking, “I have read this. Wait, it reminds me of that Jo book….” Since I have also never read the original […]



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