Books and Bananas: It's Multicultural Children's Book Day! #readyourworld

Today is designated as the 2018 Multicultural Children's Book Day.  We've been participating all week reviewing multicultural books from Child's Play.  What exactly is a multicultural book? Event co-creators Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen have created this definition:

Multicultural Children’s books are:

• Books that contain characters of color, as well as characters that represent a minority point of view.
• Books that share ideas, stories, and information about cultures, race, religion, language, and traditions.
• Books that embrace our world, and offer children new ways to connect to a diverse and richer world.

Today for #booksandbananas we read the last three books in the generous box we received.  We started with Clive is a Librarian and Clive is a Nurse, both by Jessica Spanyol.  At first glance they looked like baby board books, so wasn't sure if there would be much to catch my 4 yr old's attention.  But he's currently obsessed with how his heart rate increases when he's exercising, so Clive listening to his own heart with a stethoscope had him talking and talking.

Our final read during #MCBD2018 was Come home with us! illustrated by Annie Kubler and Caroline Formby.  This was a colorful book that gave us insight into the types of homes people have in Brazil, Afghanistan, Japan, Indonesia, Britain, Australia, and Mali, with an underlying theme that "However rich or poor we may be, there is no place like home!"

Thank you Child's Play and the people behind Multicultural Children's Book Day.  We have enjoyed the opportunity and will continue to embrace and encourage others to #readyourworld!
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Curious about Multicultural Children's Book Day? Here's the scoop right from them...and some great opportunities and resources to get involved:

Multicultural Children’s Book Day (1/27/18) is in its 5^th year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators. 

Join the conversation and win one of 12-5 book bundles and one Grand Prize Book Bundle (12 books) that will be given away at the party! http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/twitter-party-great-conversations-fun-prizes-chance-readyourworld-1-27-18/

Free Multicultural Books for Teachers: http://bit.ly/1kGZrta

Free Empathy Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians and Educators: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/teacher-classroom-empathy-kit/

Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.

Books and Bananas: Yokki and the Parno Gry #readyourworld

Multicultural Children's Book Day is almost here, and our book selections continue to represent the #readyourworld mission of the event.

We are enjoying the hardcover books we received from Child's Play.  Today's choice was Yokki and the Parno Gry by Richard O'Neill & Katharine Quarmby.  We read another of their books earlier this week, Ossiri and the Bala Mengro. I enjoyed this traditional Romani tale.  I thought the story was going above my little guy's head, but as the story progressed and I turned the page to reveal the Parno Gry he gasped and said "it's really REAL?".  

That's the magic of a picture book. The story itself concludes with these perfectly fitting words of wisdom:

"To this day, generations of Yokki's family believe that as long as they value children's imaginations, the Parno Gry will inspire them with new ideas and possibilities - even in their darkest hours, just when they need them most."

Curious about Multicultural Children's Book Day? Here's the scoop right from them...and some great opportunities and resources to get involved:

Multicultural Children’s Book Day (1/27/18) is in its 5^th year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators. 

TWITTER PARTY Sponsored by Scholastic Book Clubs: MCBD’s super-popular (and crazy-fun) annual Twitter Party will be held 1/27/18 at 9:00pm.

Join the conversation and win one of 12-5 book bundles and one Grand Prize Book Bundle (12 books) that will be given away at the party! http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/twitter-party-great-conversations-fun-prizes-chance-readyourworld-1-27-18/

Free Multicultural Books for Teachers: http://bit.ly/1kGZrta

Free Empathy Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians and Educators: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/teacher-classroom-empathy-kit/

Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.

Books and Bananas: Multicultural Children's Book Day

As Multicultural Children's Book Day approaches, we continue to read the great books Child's Play sent us.  This week we read Ossiri and the Bala Mengro by Richard O'Neill & Katharine Quarmby and
Quiet! by Kathy Alizadeh.

When we first started reading Ossiri and the Bala Mengro it felt like the opening pages were too wordy for a typical picture book. But the Romani writer quickly drew us in to the story; once it unfolded my favorite 4 yr old became engrossed in the role of the monster and had may questions about the ending!

I enjoyed the visuals in Quiet! that played off the use of onomatopoeia throughout. As we've incorporated more diversity in our #booksandbananas readings, I've found I especially enjoy a story that doesn't force a cultural message, rather it's a timeless story regardless and the visuals support a more diverse representation of characters.




Curious about Multicultural Children's Book Day? Here's the scoop right from them...and some great opportunities and resources to get involved:

Multicultural Children’s Book Day (1/27/18) is in its 5^th year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators. 

TWITTER PARTY Sponsored by Scholastic Book Clubs: MCBD’s super-popular (and crazy-fun) annual Twitter Party will be held 1/27/18 at 9:00pm.

Join the conversation and win one of 12-5 book bundles and one Grand Prize Book Bundle (12 books) that will be given away at the party! http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/twitter-party-great-conversations-fun-prizes-chance-readyourworld-1-27-18/

Free Multicultural Books for Teachers: http://bit.ly/1kGZrta

Free Empathy Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians and Educators: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/teacher-classroom-empathy-kit/

Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.

Books and Bananas: #readyourworld

I was more than thrilled when Multicultural Children's Book Day asked if they could send us some books to read for #booksandbananas. Of course I said yes!  A box full of books arrived the other day from children's publisher Child's Play. I let my favorite 4 year old pick which book to enjoy first - although it was morning, he picked A Bear Hug at Bedtime by Jana Novotny Hunter. 

He adored the story and felt proud that he felt he had the inside scoop on who each animal really was.  He gave it the ultimate 4 yr old review..."read it again, momma!"

Curious about Multicultural Children's Book Day? Here's the scoop right from them...and some great opportunities and resources to get involved:

Multicultural Children’s Book Day (1/27/18) is in its 5^th year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators. 

TWITTER PARTY Sponsored by Scholastic Book Clubs: MCBD’s super-popular (and crazy-fun) annual Twitter Party will be held 1/27/18 at 9:00pm.

Join the conversation and win one of 12-5 book bundles and one Grand Prize Book Bundle (12 books) that will be given away at the party! http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/twitter-party-great-conversations-fun-prizes-chance-readyourworld-1-27-18/

Free Multicultural Books for Teachers: http://bit.ly/1kGZrta

Free Empathy Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians and Educators: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/teacher-classroom-empathy-kit/

Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.

Current Sponsors:  MCBD 2018 is honored to have some amazing Sponsors on board.

2018 MCBD Medallion Sponsors

HONORARY: Children’s Book Council, Junior Library Guild

PLATINUM:Scholastic Book Clubs

GOLD:Audrey Press, Candlewick Press, Loving Lion Books, Second Story Press, Star Bright Books, Worldwide Buddies

SILVER:Capstone Publishing, Author Charlotte Riggle, Child’s Play USA, KidLit TV, Pack-n-Go Girls, Plum Street Press

BRONZE: Barefoot Books, Carole P. Roman, Charlesbridge Publishing, Dr. Crystal Bowe, Gokul! World, Green Kids Club, Gwen Jackson, Jacqueline Woodson, Juan J. Guerra, Language Lizard, Lee & Low Books, RhymeTime Storybooks, Sanya Whittaker Gragg, TimTimTom Books, WaterBrook & Multnomah, Wisdom Tales Press

2018 Author Sponsors

Honorary Author Sponsors: Author/Illustrator Aram Kim and Author/Illustrator Juana Medina

Author Janet Balletta, Author Susan Bernardo,  Author Carmen Bernier-Grand, Author Tasheba Berry-McLaren and Space2Launch, Bollywood Groove Books, Author Anne Broyles,  Author Kathleen Burkinshaw, Author Eugenia Chu, Author Lesa Cline-Ransome, Author Medeia Cohan and Shade 7 Publishing, Desi Babies, Author Dani Dixon and Tumble Creek Press, Author Judy Dodge Cummings, Author D.G. Driver, Author Nicole Fenner and Sister Girl Publishing, Debbi Michiko Florence, Author Josh Funk, Author Maria Gianferrari, Author Daphnie Glenn, Globe Smart Kids, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Author Quentin Holmes, Author Esther Iverem, Jennifer Joseph: Alphabet Oddities, Author Kizzie Jones, Author Faith L Justice , Author P.J. LaRue and MysticPrincesses.com, Author Karen Leggett Abouraya, Author Sylvia Liu, Author Sherri Maret, Author Melissa Martin Ph.D., Author Lesli Mitchell, Pinky Mukhi and We Are One, Author Miranda Paul, Author Carlotta Penn, Real Dads Read, Greg Ransom, Author Sandra L. Richards, RealMVPKids Author Andrea Scott, Alva Sachs and Three Wishes Publishing, Shelly Bean the Sports Queen,  Author Sarah Stevenson, Author Gayle H. Swift Author Elsa Takaoka, Author Christine Taylor-Butler, Nicholette Thomas and  MFL Publishing  Author Andrea Y. Wang, Author Jane Whittingham  Author Natasha Yim

We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.