Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Yo-Yo Ma and His Gifts

The Music Inside Us: Yo-Yo Ma and His Gifts to the World (A Picture Book Biography) by James Howe

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The Music Inside Us: Yo-Yo Ma and His Gifts to the World (A Picture Book Biography) by James Howe and illustrated by Jack Wong might be one of my favorite new picture biographies. Read via an online reader copy, however, you’ll have to wait until early June 2025 for your chance to read it.  We hit the highlights of the life and times of this cellist. There are several facts in the text itself, along with extras as well. This lets the book grow with […]

A song that lead to a anti-captivity movement and understanding of a wild creature

Whalesong: The True Story of the Musician Who Talked to Orcas by Zaqchariah Ohora

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During a recent lunch that was not too exciting, I read a few books. They were all read online and all had recently become available. One of those books was Whalesong: The True Story of the Musician Who Talked to Orcas by Zaqchariah Ohora. The story itself is simple: a scientist named Paul and a musician named Paul and his children find a way to communicate with two orca whales. They learn a lot about communication, the whales themselves (how they play, grieve, and where […]

Some might call her the first film maker ever, but for certain the first woman.

Lights! Camera! Alice!: The Thrilling True Adventures of the First Woman Filmmaker by Mara Rockliff

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Lights! Camera! Alice!: The Thrilling True Adventures of the First Woman Filmmaker by Mara Rockliff and Simona Ciraolo hit on the highlights of Guy’s life. The set up is like a classic movie with their title cards (the afterwards will let you know that they are titles of Guy’s films). The focus, while on Guy covers a lot of areas that the adult (graphic novel) biography I read didn’t seem to. Positive and upbeat. The illustrations, while fun and clever, might have been “too cute” […]

Darlin’ who doesn’t want inspiration?

Friends of Dorothy: A Celebration of LGBTQ+ Icons by Anthony Uzarowski

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The biographies of people included in Friends of Dorothy: A Celebration of LGBTQ+ Icons starts with Dorothy herself, Judy Garland, and each person who follows has become an icon for the queer community. Garland would have gay men of her era take her name for a code, “Are you a friend of Dorothy?” Meaning, were you gay. This was during a time when their open representation of who they were could have dire consequences to their military career, jobs and safety. Rumor had it that […]

Beautiful reads

Seeker of the Truth: Kailash Satyarthi’s Fight to End Child Labor by Srividhya Venkat

A Song For August: The Inspiring Life of Playwright August Wilson by Sally Denmead

Love of the Half-Eaten Peach by Lee Wind

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I debated if I should write a review about three books I only read as samples. Yet, I realized that they are must know about and I do not think they will have any surprises when they finally come out.  All were read via online samples of the picture book. In mid-late July 2024 we will see Seeker of the Truth: Kailash Satyarthi’s Fight to End Child Labor. Srividhya Venkat’s book was the one that had the smallest sample, but I was hooked. Starting as […]

She wrote the words to the stories

What I Must Tell the World : How: Lorraine Hansberry Found Her Voice by Jay Leslie

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Not only was Lorraine Hansberry a pioneer for many groups (women, playwrights, writers,  women of color, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community) she was a pioneer for reality. She told it as it was and that is amazingly told in this picture book, What I Must Tell the World : How: Lorraine Hansberry Found Her Voice. Jay Leslie tells the story of Hansberry from a young girl who would see first hand the prejudices of her time, but also would see the courage, the […]



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