Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Food and family

Rainbow Shopping by Qing Zhuang

by Leave a Comment

The publisher’s description of Rainbow Shopping by Qing Zhuang says “Shopping for and preparing a delicious meal helps a young Chinese American girl feel connected to her family.” But it is more than that. It is a way of her having a connection with her past and the present. And it shows a piece of her old home and her new home. We are able to see that while she cannot find everything she and her mother wanted for their special dinners (the whole family […]

The American dream has a few sleepless days

Parachute Kids: A Graphic Novel by Betty C. Tang

by Leave a Comment

CBR15Passport, Own (the reader copy, but due early April)   There is a lot going on within the covers of Parachute Kids: A Graphic Novel. This book is loosely based on some of the experiences author Betty C. Tang and the experiences of others like Tang had. And thankfully they did not happen all to one person, because as I said, a lot happens. We see the kids left to their own devices, scammed out of money, issues with language, issues with racism and even […]

Diverseness for the younger crowd.

Rainbow: A First Book of Pride by Michael Genhart

Hair Twins by Raakhee Mirchandani

by Leave a Comment

What do you do when you want to show diverseness to your child, but they are not ready for some big, non-fiction encyclopedic knowledge book? You grab a picture book. And the below titles are perfectly diverse in that fun picture format. Rainbow: A First Book of Pride was originally from 2019. Therefore, it is just an introduction to the rainbow flag with none of the “extras” we see today. It is a way to show how the GLBTQ+ community is not separate, but part of […]

Food, family and love

Chloe’s Lunar New Year. by Lily Lamotte

by 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 […]

Food for love, love for food

Dim Sum, Here We Come! by Maple Lam

by Leave a Comment

Do you like good food? I have been told that dim sum is a great way to go to try good foods. I have officially never gone to a dim sum restaurant, but our narrator has. Every Sunday with their family, in fact; and they look forward to it all week! Consisting of their parents, siblings, a couple grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins the family shares news, food, and so much more. The anticipation slowly builds up as we see the narrator’s anticipation, the surroundings […]

A little love

Love in the Library by Maggie Tokuda-Hall’

by Leave a Comment

Around seventh grade I first heard about the Japanese American internment camp stories because my aunt is Japanese American. But it was not until I was much older that it clicked. My aunt, her siblings, her mother, and my cousins, not to mention her aunts, uncles and cousins would have been incarcerated. And while I was able to find a little here and there, it was difficult until the last few years to find things that were well done or interesting enough to keep me […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo