Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

This mite is mighty

Roberto: The Insect Architect by Nina Laden

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Roberto: The Insect Architect is what you expect from a book about a termite who wants to be an architect. There are puns about eating your wood and not building with it. There are bug-name puns of real-life architects and more. It is simple enough, but Nina Laden has created a long story that mostly is amusing (it is mostly a Love or Not book, with a few people in the Like category). Landen’s illustrations are what you see from the cover, only a few […]

The short book with a long title and big idea

My Very Own Special Particular Private and Personal Cat by Sandol Stoddard Warburg

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My Very Own Special Particular Private and Personal Cat has a feeling of not being a contemporary story, but also has a contemporary theme. I believe this book was originally from the 1960s, but the idea of self-confidence, self-understanding and self-autonomy comes into play as we see in several of today’s stories. Sandol Stoddard Warburg (author) and Remy Charlip (illustrator) created a story about boundaries that a young boy learns from his cat. The cat of the story is a simple creature but has a […]

I wanna give ya a hug

The Catalogue of Hugs by Joshua David Stein

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Do you want a hug but are not sure what kind of hug you want? Then find The Catalogue of Hugs. This sparse book is fun for kids and adults alike. You can find all types of hugs in the pages. We had the classic, the leg, the tantrum, and the necklace. You see child and all types of family members (parents, grandparents, and yourself) getting and giving hugs. Joshua David Stein, Augustus Heeren Stein and Elizabeth Lilly are the people behind this book. The […]

Danny Noble is weird. I like them!

Shame Pudding by Danny Noble

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Shame Pudding is a busy, funny, odd, strange, strong story growing up, even when you are an adult.  Danny Noble’s memoir shows the years she and her wacky, crazy, bizarre, weird, off the charts amazing family had. From a young girl who performed on the performing stool, who told her brother Adam there was an invisible wolf in the cupboard, who would lick his hand, who would eat her marshmallows quickly while bemoaning Adam’s savoring of them to a teen who knew the pubs, the […]

A friendship book made by friends, for friends

I Don’t Care by Julie Fogliano,

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I Don’t Care is a clever book. This is not just because of the text of Julie Fogliano, but how it came to be. The illustrators, Molly Idle and Juana Martinez-Neal are best friends, and they knew they had to do the art together. An afterwards (a small section at the end that you should read as well) shows how Molly thought since they lived 20 minutes from each other, easy peasy, right? Well, then Juana moved to Connecticut and the back and forth in […]

Remember when you call a demon, make sure you dial the number right.

The Ojja-Wojja by Magdalene Visaggio

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Disclaimer: This is a HarperCollins book. The Ojja-Wojja by Magdalene Visaggio is an interesting book about representation and friendship. There is the usual bully vs. the “others” with a little supernatural (okay a lot of supernatural) added to the mix. There maybe is a bit too much cliched story arc for the adult reader but the at least 10 and up crowd will have fun. Though I have not watched it, this seems like a younger Stranger Things with a modern setting. We follow two girls, […]



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