Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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Gift a read

Joy to the World: A Christmas Song by Sara Gianassi

Silent Night: A Christmas Song by Sara Gianassi

The Last Slice: A Three Kings Day Treat by Melissa Seron Richardson

December 6, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

If you like giving books for the holidays, these two board books illustrated by Sara Gianassi are adorable! They capture the more traditional feelings and ideals of the season, but also are just nice books. Perfect for stocking stuffers, these are practically must haves for everyone. They do include the full text (or at least a few verses) of each song (therefore a few lines might not be as familiar to some people) and have the sweetest images for illustrations. Okay, maybe too sweet for […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Cooking/Food, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Religion Tagged With: family, Holiday, Melissa Seron Richardson, Monica Arnaldo, music, Sara Gianassi, Social Themes, traditions

BlackRaven's CBR15 Review No:855 · Genres: Children's Books, Cooking/Food, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Religion · Tags: family, Holiday, Melissa Seron Richardson, Monica Arnaldo, music, Sara Gianassi, Social Themes, traditions ·
Rating:
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Generations

My Baba's Garden by Jordan Scott

Babo: A Tale of Armenian Rug-Washing Day by Astrid Kamalyan

Dadaji’s Paintbrush by Rashmi Sirdeshpande

November 1, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

What do you do when you have a picture book online reader copy marathon? You read them, then decide which ones to write up. And these stories about different generations coming together are just a small sample of what was on my reading plate. Both of my grandmothers were odd. After all, they married my grandfathers. And you don’t know odd until you have met the man the neighborhood called “the crazy old man with the ski pole” or the one who told the president […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Cooking/Food, Fiction, History, Poetry Tagged With: Anait Semirdzhyan, art, Astrid Kamalyan, family, grandfathers, grandmothers, grandparent, Jordan Scott, Rashmi Sirdeshpande, Ruchi Mhasane, Sydney Smith, traditions

BlackRaven's CBR15 Review No:788 · Genres: Children's Books, Cooking/Food, Fiction, History, Poetry · Tags: Anait Semirdzhyan, art, Astrid Kamalyan, family, grandfathers, grandmothers, grandparent, Jordan Scott, Rashmi Sirdeshpande, Ruchi Mhasane, Sydney Smith, traditions ·
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Don’t assume you know by the cover

The Ramadan Drummer by Sahtinay Abaza

Arthi’s Bomma by Mamta Nainy

August 4, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I have read several books on Ramadan and on India (not together, but the theme of the review is different takes on familiar areas). They were starting to blend together (I was talking about one book and realized that I was combining two different ones). Therefore, when I saw The Ramadan Drummer I was both interested and assumed it would be “just another Ramadan story.” Which, it was not. Sahtinay Abaza’s story starts out similarly to other Ramadan stories, in which the young boy of […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Cooking/Food, Fiction, History, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Religion Tagged With: Dinara Mirtalipova, family, India, Mamta Nainy, Ramadan, Sahtinay Abaza, Shruti Prabhu, Toys & Dolls, traditions

BlackRaven's CBR15 Review No:579 · Genres: Children's Books, Cooking/Food, Fiction, History, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Religion · Tags: Dinara Mirtalipova, family, India, Mamta Nainy, Ramadan, Sahtinay Abaza, Shruti Prabhu, Toys & Dolls, traditions ·
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Food, family and love

Chloe’s Lunar New Year. by Lily Lamotte

December 27, 2022 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I was hungry when I read two recent picture books about food (and family). Did this influence my taste in the books? No, because when I am hungry, I tend not to like a book, but I did the two I read. The second book (the first was a tasty treat about dim sum) was Chloe’s Lunar New Year. Here we leave the hustle and bustle of a restaurant behind and Lily Lamotte takes us into the family home. Here, Chloe is excited for the […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fiction Tagged With: celebration, Diversity & Multicultural, family, Holiday, Lily LaMotte, Michelle Lee, Non-Religious holiday, siblings, traditions, United States - Asian American & Pacific Islander

BlackRaven's CBR14 Review No:639 · Genres: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fiction · Tags: celebration, Diversity & Multicultural, family, Holiday, Lily LaMotte, Michelle Lee, Non-Religious holiday, siblings, traditions, United States - Asian American & Pacific Islander ·
Rating:
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What do you do with not one, but two under 20 page books that you want to review?

Baby's First Chinese New Year  by DK Publishing

Who Loves Boo? by Salina Yoon

January 25, 2019 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

When you have two books that are 14 and 18 pages long, you really cannot write a 250-word review for each one, even with a creative writing background and know how to be flowery! Therefore, a combination review: I am not a Valentine’s gal. I like Chinese New Years instead. I do not go “all out,” but like some traditions. In DK Publishing’s Baby’s First Chinese New Year we have an easy introduction. Normally I would not count this a book, as there is not a […]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Cats, celebrations, Chinese New Year, Customs, DK Publishing, holidays, Imagination & Play, Salina Yoon, traditions, Valentine's Day

BlackRaven's CBR11 Review No:25 · Genres: Uncategorized · Tags: Cats, celebrations, Chinese New Year, Customs, DK Publishing, holidays, Imagination & Play, Salina Yoon, traditions, Valentine's Day ·
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When the art flies off the page

November 8, 2018 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Red and Lulu is another book that is deeply set in the true Christmas spirit. It is about love and family and the joy of the holiday. There is information about the history of Rockefeller Center and the Tree that stands in the center of it at the end of the book. Matt Tavares has great text and even better illustrations telling his story. The art is a 5 and the text a solid 4 rating. (Spoiler) When Red and Lulu are separated the reality […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fiction Tagged With: christmas, Holiday, Matt Tavares, New York City, traditions

BlackRaven's CBR10 Review No:418 · Genres: Children's Books, Fiction · Tags: christmas, Holiday, Matt Tavares, New York City, traditions ·
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