Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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When fear makes you small, friendship makes you tall

Shrinking Violet by Laurel Snyder and LeUyen Pham

November 4, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

The book, Shrinking Violet by Laurel Snyder and illustrated by LeUyen Pham is a fun and sweet story dealing with the common themes of fear and bravery. We also have friendship and how that ties into overcoming the fear to be brave. While the themes are not new, the presentation gives things a fresh and clever take. The colors and details are rich, but not “too much” and allow focus on the story. The only real issue I had (since I read this due late […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fantasy, Fiction, Health, Poetry Tagged With: bravery, emotions, Fear, Feelings, friendship, Laurel Snyder, Laurel Snyder and LeUyen Pham, LeUyen Pham, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:491 · Genres: Children's Books, Fantasy, Fiction, Health, Poetry · Tags: bravery, emotions, Fear, Feelings, friendship, Laurel Snyder, Laurel Snyder and LeUyen Pham, LeUyen Pham, Social Themes ·
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Impact of books and other really cool things

The Blue Jays That Grew a Forest by Lynn Street

Little Monk Writes Rain by Hsu-Kung Liu

November 3, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

As you know I enjoy reading picture books. They are not just for the “kid crowd” as I have found (and highly encourage others  to do so, too) many books that give me information about something or someone I was unfamiliar with. I also find poetry, poetic prose, silliness and much more. But sometimes I am unable to write a “full review” so I must combine them to make one larger review. I do try to “theme” them, and I hope I did with the […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fiction, Health, Non-Fiction, Poetry Tagged With: animals, Anne Hunter, Asia, birds, blue birds, Buddhist, foreset, Hsu-Kung Liu, Lynn Street, nature, Rachel Wang Yung-Hsin, science, Social Themes, Trees, values

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:490 · Genres: Children's Books, Fiction, Health, Non-Fiction, Poetry · Tags: animals, Anne Hunter, Asia, birds, blue birds, Buddhist, foreset, Hsu-Kung Liu, Lynn Street, nature, Rachel Wang Yung-Hsin, science, Social Themes, Trees, values ·
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A cozy book.

The History of Everything: A Graphic Novel by Victoria Evans

November 3, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

To say that I have read several books is an understatement. Also, to say I have read several coming-of-age stories is another one. Plus, to say that those coming-of-age stories are similar to Victoria Evans’ debut graphic novel, The History of Everything: A Graphic Novel, is (yup you guessed it) an understatement. Therefore, this book is not a WOW read for me. It is a nice solid three. I could even give it a 3.5 as it was cozy and I could recommend it easily […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Romance, Young Adult Tagged With: family, friendship, Social Themes, Victoria Evans

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:486 · Genres: Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Romance, Young Adult · Tags: family, friendship, Social Themes, Victoria Evans ·
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Love me, please

Alone Forever: The Singles Collection by Liz Price

October 29, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

So, I have read everything (I think) Liz Price has written except for the Clarence comic (no idea who that is), Rocko’s Modern Life Volume 2 (no interest in it at all),  Science Comics: Frogs: Awesome Amphibians (but plan on it and hopefully soon as I think it is a cool subject) and  Adventure Time Compendium Vol. 1 (seriously no interest at all). Oh, also anything in Spanish like Tomboy.  Or at least I have read what I can find via my store’s search engine.  […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir, Comedy/Humor, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Non-Fiction, Romance Tagged With: dating, Liz Price, Relationships, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:484 · Genres: Biography/Memoir, Comedy/Humor, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Non-Fiction, Romance · Tags: dating, Liz Price, Relationships, Social Themes ·
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Of course, after building up this title, you will need to wait until April 2026 for reading

Unbreakable: A Japanese American Family in an American Incarceration Camp (A Picture Book) by Minoru Tonai, Jolene Gutiérrez, and Chris Sasaki

October 29, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

When you read as many picture books as I do, once in a while one of two things (or both) can happen. The first is you think you’ve read it before (or at least a sample) or things start to feel similar due to similar subjects. A subject I am interested in are the Japanese-American internment camps from World War II.  This is partly because I have family who is Japanese-American and when I realized this could be them it made it personal (I know […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir, Children's Books, Fiction, Health, History, Non-Fiction Tagged With: activism, American Incarceration Camp, Asian-American, Chris Sasaki, civil rights, family, Japanese-American, Jolene Gutierrez, Minoru Tonai, Minoru Tonai, Jolene Gutiérrez, and Chris Sasaki, Social Justice, Social Themes, United States 20th C, World War II

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:481 · Genres: Biography/Memoir, Children's Books, Fiction, Health, History, Non-Fiction · Tags: activism, American Incarceration Camp, Asian-American, Chris Sasaki, civil rights, family, Japanese-American, Jolene Gutierrez, Minoru Tonai, Minoru Tonai, Jolene Gutiérrez, and Chris Sasaki, Social Justice, Social Themes, United States 20th C, World War II ·
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The courage to sing

Songbird in the Light: A Picture Book by Billy Porter and Chris Clarkson

October 29, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Access to online readers is not really an issue for me if I play around with my work computer. However, I am not able to access all that I do wish to read. Thankfully I had access to Songbird in the Light: A Picture Book by Billy Porter and Chris Clarkson. This March 2026 picture book talks about the life and times of performer Billy Porter in a roundabout way. We do not do a deep dive, but we get the overall picture of someone […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fiction, Health, Poetry Tagged With: African-American, Billy Porter, Billy Porter and Chris Clarkson, black, Charly Palmer, Chris Clarkso, LGBTQ, music, self-esteem, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:479 · Genres: Children's Books, Fiction, Health, Poetry · Tags: African-American, Billy Porter, Billy Porter and Chris Clarkson, black, Charly Palmer, Chris Clarkso, LGBTQ, music, self-esteem, Social Themes ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
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