Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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

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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 […]

Rooting out the truth

I Am Not Boring: The True-Life Story of a Log by Lena Podesta

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Honestly, I don’t know about you but if I see a brown thing (yeah, went there too, but realized it was a log) in cartoon form I tend to look at it and assume I will not be interested in it. And even with the words NOT and BORING that still would not grab my attention. However, for some odd reason I decided to pick up I Am Not Boring: The True-Life Story of a Log by Lena Podesta (due late May 2026) in an […]

I’m not sure what was true

Almost True by Clarice Lispector

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I am not the reader for Almost True by Clarice Lispector. It did not “grab me” but I know several people will find this amusing and clever. The illustrations are unusual and have a little fun going on but are also not over the top silly. Yet, they are oddly abstract with a realistic touch, Once I realized that it was translated by Benjamin Moser I figured that it was the translation of things that was not being liked by my reading ear. The text […]

No matter how they look, a sister is a sister

My Sister the Apple Tree by Jordan Scott, Jamal Saeed, and Zahra Marwan

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Diversity  CBR17 Pie Chart Challenge My Sister the Apple Tree by Jordan Scott, Jamal Saeed, and Zahra Marwan is due this fall (September 2025). I was able to read it via an online reader copy. Now, I know I probably won’t be purchasing a finished copy for myself, but this book is a very contemporary themed picture book that is good for the older reader and should be read.  A young child starts their story with the birth of twin goats. They are envious that […]

If a tree falls, is that all?

One Day This Tree Will Fall by Leslie Barnard Booth

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I was looking to see what author Leslie Barnard Booth had on their list of titles after A Stone Is a Story. And there were a few titles. The one that caught my eye was One Day This Tree Will Fall. It looked like their stone book, and therefore I figured it would be similar.  And it was similar, and not just because it was about nature or I read it as an online reader copy even though it is available for purchase/getting. It is […]

An ecosystem of support

A Tree Is a Community by David L. Harrison

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Usually I prefer a non-rhyming format when it comes to reading a picture book, especially or even though it is for a younger audience. However, A Tree Is a Community might have benefited from a rhyme format. Yet, the way it is presented is well done and is executed well. The text is wonderfully expressive and poetic (the leaves are like dresses; seeds grow and WHOOSH!) and I think it would be fun to read aloud (personally I think a one-on-one setting is best, but […]



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