I'm excited to be participating in Multicultural Children's Book Day 2020! This is my second year participating. I was gifted these books as a participant in this program and with the expectations of writing reviews about them. Last year I requested to receive a book for the age level I work with, but this year my own children, who are both South Korean and white, were on my mind, and I have been seeking out more books to read to them that have Asian American representation, so that is what I requested.
Brandon goes to Beijing
Brandon Goes to Beijing by Eugenia Chu tells the story of a boy who travels with his cousins and family to visit their grandparents in Beijing China. As they travel around the city, they learn and share different historical facts about some of the sites such as The Great wall of China and The Forbidden City. Along the way, Brandon thinks he spies a panda multiple times, but that couldn't be, right? Surely there isn't a panda following them.
There are some Mandarin Chinese words used throughout (the author noted it is Simplified Mandarin and with Pinyin pronunciation). A Preface at the front helps with pronunciation, and there's also a glossary at the back. The author, Eugenia Chu, even offers a video on Pinyin Pronunciation on her website and audio to go along with the text on her website. I appreciated learning more about the language and pronunciation. I also found the facts about the Forbidden City and the Great Wall of China very interesting; some of the facts went behind the ones I was taught as a student. I really enjoyed being able to hear the author's reading of the book. The details were a bit over the head of my 5 year old, but it'd be a good fit for a kid a few years older than her. I'm thinking 7 or 8 through 10.
I have not read a Katie Woo book before, but was eager to settle in to reading these Neighborhood books I was sent about her by Fran Manushkin and illustrated by Laura Zarrin to my 5 year old. They seemed like they would be at a good level for her.
In each of these four books I read from the series (Good Morning, Farmer Carmen!, Katie's Vet Loves Pets, Helping Mayor Patty, and Open Wide,Katie!), Katie interacts with different helpful people around her neighborhood including a farmer, mayor, veterinarian, and dentist. I appreciated the combination of the size of text, illustrations, and chapters. My daughter enjoyed the illustrations and felt accomplished that we read a book together with chapters that she understood for the first time. (She's not reading books on her own quite yet, but these will be great practice when she does.) I think it's great that this inclusive series shows different jobs and helpers in the community and explains them in an accessible way through the storytelling and plot. My five year old says that the veterinarian one (Katie's Vet Loves Pets) was her favorite. When asked why, she said that she "liked that people take care of stuff and make them healthy" and that she wants "people in the whole entire universe to be healthy!" She also mentioned liking Katie's colorful outfits (Katie's style is a bit similar to my daughter's - lots of colors and layers.) and giggled a few times. When we were done reading these four, she asked if I had another one! This was a good level read aloud for my 5 year old, so I would say 5 and up for reading aloud and good for independent readers learning to tackle books on their own. Here's some info from MCDB Organizers:
Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020 (1/31/20) is in its 7th year! This non-profit children’s literacy initiative was founded by Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen; two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural books and authors on the market while also working to get those book into the hands of young readers and educators. Seven years in, MCBD’s mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves continues.
MCBD 2020 is honored to have the following Medallion Sponsors on boardSuper Platinum Make A Way Media/ Deirdre “DeeDee” Cummings, Platinum Language Lizard, Pack-N-Go Girls, Gold Audrey Press, Lerner Publishing Group, KidLit TV, ABDO BOOKS: A Family of Educational Publishers, PragmaticMom & Sumo Jo, Candlewick Press, Silver Author Charlotte Riggle, Capstone Publishing, Guba Publishing, Melissa Munro Boyd & B is for Breathe, Bronze Author Carole P. Roman, Snowflake Stories/Jill Barletti, Vivian Kirkfield & Making Their Voices Heard. Barnes Brothers Books, TimTimTom, Wisdom Tales Press, Lee & Low Books, Charlesbridge Publishing, Barefoot Books Talegari Tales Author Sponsor Link Cloudhttps://www.barefootbooks.com/l Jerry Craft, A.R. Bey and Adventures in Boogieland, Eugina Chu & Brandon goes to Beijing, Kenneth Braswell & Fathers Incorporated, Maritza M. Mejia & Luz del mes_Mejia, Kathleen Burkinshaw & The Last Cherry Blossom, SISSY GOES TINY by Rebecca Flansburg and B.A. Norrgard, Josh Funk and HOW TO CODE A ROLLERCOASTER, Maya/Neel Adventures with Culture Groove, Lauren Ranalli, The Little Green Monster: Cancer Magic! By Dr. Sharon Chappell, Phe Lang and Me On The Page, Afsaneh Moradian and Jamie is Jamie, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, TUMBLE CREEK PRESS, Nancy Tupper Ling, Author Gwen Jackson, Angeliki Pedersen & The Secrets Hidden Beneath the Palm Tree, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, BEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN’S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 by Mia Wenjen, Susan Schaefer Bernardo & Illustrator Courtenay Fletcher (Founders of Inner Flower Child Books), Ann Morris & Do It Again!/¡Otra Vez!, Janet Balletta and Mermaids on a Mission to Save the Ocean, Evelyn Sanchez-Toledo & Bruna Bailando por el Mundo\ Dancing Around the World, Shoumi Sen & From The Toddler Diaries, Sarah Jamila Stevenson, Tonya Duncan and the Sophie Washington Book Series, Teresa Robeson & The Queen of Physics, Nadishka Aloysius and Roo The Little Red TukTuk, Girlfriends Book Club Baltimore & Stories by the Girlfriends Book Club, Finding My Way Books, Diana Huang & Intrepids, Five Enchanted Mermaids, Elizabeth Godley and Ribbon’s Traveling Castle, Anna Olswanger and Greenhorn, Danielle Wallace & My Big Brother Troy, Jocelyn Francisco and Little Yellow Jeepney, Mariana Llanos & Kutu, the Tiny Inca Princess/La Ñusta Diminuta, Sara Arnold & The Big Buna Bash, Roddie Simmons & Race 2 Rio, DuEwa Frazier & Alice’s Musical Debut, Veronica Appleton & the Journey to Appleville book series Green Kids Club, Inc. 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. Co-Hosts and Global Co-Hosts A Crafty Arab, Afsaneh Moradian, Agatha Rodi Books, All Done Monkey, Barefoot Mommy, Bethany Edward & Biracial Bookworms, Michelle Goetzl & Books My Kids Read, Crafty Moms Share, Colours of Us, Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes, Educators Spin on it, Shauna Hibbitts-creator of eNannylink, Growing Book by Book, Here Wee Read, Joel Leonidas & Descendant of Poseidon Reads {Philippines}, Imagination Soup, Kid World Citizen, Kristi’s Book Nook, The Logonauts, Mama Smiles, Miss Panda Chinese, Multicultural Kid Blogs, Serge Smagarinsky {Australia}, Shoumi Sen, Jennifer Brunk & Spanish Playground, Katie Meadows and Youth Lit Reviews FREE RESOURCES from Multicultural Children’s Book Day
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These were my favorite reads of 2019. Not all of them were published in 2019 but have been published within the last few years if not. I tend to mainly read middle grade and young adult fiction as a middle school librarian, and let's be honest, YA literature is some of my favorite stuff on the planet. I also read to my two young kiddos often, so sometimes I get to test out picture books nominated for a state award, that catch my eye on a shelf at our local library, or that I see folks raving about on Twitter, so we'll start with those and work our way up in age groups. Made my kids laugh the hardestThis is one of those books that you just have to read in voices. My kids laughed throughout. So entertaining to read for fun and could be a strong mentor text too for students to work on different writing skills. favorite new book to read to my daughter This spunky kiddo reminds me so much of my own. I love how she shows moments of fear or hesitation, yet is fierce! She is creative, doesn’t always follow the rules or expectations, helps her classmates feel like they belong, and looks for the good in situations. best illustrationsSo many picture books with great illustrations, but loved seeing how the two styles of the grandson and grandpa were in opposition and then in combination. I'm not sure I've ever loved a picture book so much that had so few words, but the words that were there were powerful, and the pictures filled in the rest, which makes perfect sense with the storyline. Important picture bookThis is such an important read. We need more picture books that talk about consent and boundaries for all ages at a level those different ages can understand. This is a great one. This book could be a great conversation starter for race, differences, consent, boundaries, comfort levels, or personal space. Informative read for all agesBesides being about a young advocate, this book has lots of explanation boxes and definitions that can help folks of all ages better understand LGBTQ+ terminology. It's a double win, folks learn about a person and the topics at the same time. Some adults and kids I know could benefit from the way the book breaks down some of the terminology to help them better understand others' identities. inspirational readThis book was a joy to read. It really made me want to learn more about each of the people. I kept finding myself taking research breaks. The illustrations were gorgeous and clearly thought out to fit each person and their career/passion. It has a great range of people (past, present, genders, races, religions, etc.). I highly recommend it for upper elementary through junior high for libraries, classrooms, research starters, etc. best mystery & best historicalThoroughly appreciated the blend of current day mystery, with historical flashbacks, and social justice/race issues. I book talked this one a lot at the beginning of the school year. It made me want to get back into reading mysteries again. Best coming of age taleIvy’s emotions are presented so tangibly as she navigates a tornado destroying her house, a conflict with an older sister, a changing family with new siblings, a friendship, a missing journal, and her own identity. Great use of colors, Authentic voice and complex characters. most anticipated sequelI love everything about the Aru Shah series. I recommend them often. A few of my book club kiddos even roll their eyes at me anytime I mention it, because I mention it to them that much...oops! A student asked me if I liked the first or second one better, and I called it a tie. Aru and Chokshi have one of my favorite voices and characters EVER in Aru. favorite book in verseI was really impressed at how many issues this book covers, yet it never feels heavy handed. It's such an important read about refugees, gender, racism, sexism, war, family, religion, culture, and more, yet so accessible and relatable. Beautiful and thought provoking. There's a few scenes that I still clearly remember months later and hope stick with me. favorite graphic novelThis is my favorite graphic novel to date that I've ever read. It's a story we can all relate to about being the new kid in a situation but while tackling and depicting microagressions, colorism, code switching, and more. It had humor, heart, lessons, catchy chapter titles, and a graphic novel layout my students love. best end to a seriesThe Giver had a big impact on me as a kid. It was the first book that caused me to ask bigger questions and think about morality though a book. It was also the first dystopian I ever loved, which is one of my favorite genres. The Scythe series has reminded me so much of that experience with it's ability to both absorb me in the series while asking bigger, moral questions about our world. The third book was a great ending to a thrilling series. evoked the most tearsI don't cry often at books. I can count on one hand the number of books that made me sob. Well, five minutes after I finished this book, I started sobbing. My spouse asked me what was wrong, and as I explained, I just cried harder and harder. Knowing that the fiction you just read happens. Knowing that I have a daughter sleeping upstairs. It all punched me in the gut. The timeline can be a bit disorienting, but I read it quickly within the span of a few days, which helped me make sense of it as I went. An emotionally tough but important book. Most beautifully writtenThis book reminded me how wondrous magical realism can be. The writing was beautiful. Leigh's journey is painful but also consistently mesmerizing and mysterious at times. Favorite teacher-ish book of the year
Best read of the yearEach year there's a book I read that I can't/won't shut up about and recommend to the world. This year, it is definitely this book. I told my 7th and 8th graders at the beginning of the year that one of the many reasons I love Imani is that she punches stereotypes in the face. Plus, if you listen to the audiobook, you get to hear Acevedo's poetic voice reading this unforgettable story to you. the why A lot of the messaging I was receiving when I started working on being more intentional with equity work and trying to look at my collection and displays through that lens was to include diverse and own voice books year round in displays, booktalks, etc. People talk about the value of not just talking about Black historical figures during February or only discussing LGBTQ+ issues during June, which is both true AND incredibly important. So that's what I've worked on the past few years, being more intentional with inclusive displays, booktalks, buying, etc.
Then early last spring, I heard someone say or tweet that they had a student who was noticeably upset that their school didn't do anything that was visible to them during a cultural month that that student identifies as. The student had expected that to be a guaranteed time they would see or hear about others like them and were crushed when that did not happen. That story coupled with some conversations my school's equity leadership team had at the end of the school year led me to utilizing a "yes, and" approach. I will continue and grow my efforts to to display, booktalk, order, etc. inclusive texts and be intentional about representation and visibility. But I will also start having temporary, month long displays in the library with books that go along with different cultural heritage and history months during them.
I just heard about#pb10for10 where each August 10 folks pick 10 picture books to recommend a few days ago when I saw this tweet from Jillian Heise and read this blog post by Cathy Mere. I am a bit short on time this week, but I really wanted to think about this, so I used Wakelet to curate my choices. I ended up with 6 books that have impacted me, impacted my own children, and/or that I think could impact the world/people in general and make us better for it. They're all books I read this past year(ish). I then decided to add the 4 picture books at the top of my TBR list that I think I might feel the same way as the others about after I read them.
The backstory: Teachers and librarians have been doing book swaps for ages. So it's not a new concept, but it is new to me and my building. Why did I decide to start it now? It's the first spring in the past four years of me being in the library and coming from the classroom that I think I can feasibly swing it. And I hate having books due back two weeks before school is out (which means they were due this past Friday for us), but we still have 593 items out even with them being due Friday, and at least half of our last week will be consumed by iPad collection, which makes me uncertain if we can realistically change it. That left me trying to think of an idea that wouldn't add too much more work to our overflowing plates this time of year yet allow students to have a book in hand. Then I remembered hearing a librarian a while back (Can't remember who, sorry!) mention a book swap, and my wheels began turning.
Ok, so you want to have a book swap, now what? For me the next step was reaching out to school librarians in my state via a listserv and to other librarians in my district to get tips, methods, etc. They had great pieces of information and advice such as:
I am stoked for this year's theme for School Library Month! I set up some of it last week and will set up the rest next week. This coming week I'm on Spring Break, and my school will be doing state standardized testing starting mid-late April, so I should have a solid two weeks to run activities with students/classes between break and testing, which I think will be a welcome break to everyone amidst test preparations. front windows - "libraries are for everyone." I've had a sign about Libraries are for Everyone by my door since the beginning of the year created by Rebecca McCorkindale. As I was thinking about what to do for this year's SLM theme of Everyone Belongs @Your School Library I recalled seeing those in other languages on Rebecca's Hafuboti site. Then the wheels turned further...what if I found out what all languages are represented by my students' families and tried to incorporate as many of those as I could? I immediately contacted our ENL teacher and guidance secretary to get an idea of what languages are used. Then I cross referenced that with Rebecca's list of languages for her Libraries are for Everyone posters and was able to match up almost all of them! My little orange sign says, "Over 25 languages are known across HIJH student households! That's amazing!" My purple sign says, "All of these & more! An awesome librarian elsewhere had most of the translations we needed for 'Libraries are for everyone.'" Thank you Rebecca for sharing the awesome! I'm so excited to have student and staff see this after we come back from break!
Friday is the tenth annual World Read Aloud Day! Each year the past few years I want to do something for WRAD, and each year it has passed me by. Not this year! I was determined to make something work.
So I started brainstorming, I don't have a ton of time or resources, but what can I do? Planning a school wide event? Not enough notice/time. Read to the classes that happen to be in the library that day? Not the reach I want. Spreading the word and encouraging teachers to participate in their rooms? I want to be involved...hmmm.... But then I got an idea to "check out" the librarian for the day. (Sidenote - I'm guessing this isn't an original idea and that others have done it, but it was a new idea to me, and I was excited!) I went over to SignUpGenius and made a sign up. (I have a free account. If you haven't noticed with me yet, I typically have free accounts unless it's something provided by my school or a library. I'm frugal, and typically the free version of things do enough that I need. If not, I find another tool that does.) I think I first heard about Multicultural Children's Book Day last winter, but I was too late to sign up as a book reviewer, so when I saw the posts on social media this fall I knew I had to jump in and be a part of this and signed up as fast as my fingers could type. I love books, and I'm constantly seeking out diverse books for myself to read and for the school library, so this was a natural fit. Based off of your grade level and preferences, they match you up with an author or publisher to send you a new multicultural children's book. Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace sent me the beautiful book below that was illustrated by Agata Nowikca and published by Little, Brown and Company in 2018. But before I dive into the book, I want to share a bit about Multicultural Children's Book Day.
My one word for 2019 is REFOCUS. I need to refocus my goals. I need to refocus my time and attention on those goals.
In the library, I plan to work on streamlining daily/weekly tasks and finding ways to carve more time into those large, time consuming, lofty, but very necessary and important to me goals. Personally, I need to refocus on getting back to the basics and redeveloping good habits/routines to help me rebalance (i.e. changing bedtime routine & establishing a bedtime). Professionally, I think that last year I went on a bit overkill on the PD (professional development - i.e. conferences, webinars, non-fiction books, trainings) I was intaking, which I found can eventually wear you out and make it harder to put what you're learning into action. This year I want to be more intentional about what PD I'm choosing to spend time on. (In my mind, almost all PD is good PD, but I need to not burn myself out on it. So as I go back to look at my goals, that will direct me to what PD I should seek out.) 10. Picture Book - All are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold and illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman - In the summer or fall, I kept seeing it on Twitter and promptly found it on the new books shelf at my local public library. What's not to love about this book? The illustrations and text are simple yet beautiful and purposely inclusive of ALL. Important and simply accessible messages for kids. A great addition to anywhere. 9. Guilty Pleasure - Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake - I read the first one with my 7/8 book club and gave it mixed reviews and 3 stars on Goodreads. Yet it was like a cliffhanger on a soap opera I saw part of with my mom as a kid or interesting gossip. For reasons I couldn't explain, I NEEDED to know what happened next. I've since read all 3 and will read the 4th when it releases. 8. Series - The Magisterium series by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare - I had read the first book a few years ago, loved it, and recommended it several times since. But recently the 5th and final book released, and recently my 5/6 book club wanted to read the first one. This lead to me binge reading the rest of the series over the first half of winter break. That's a lot of reading quickly for me! And the fastest I have gone through a series in a while! I had meant to finish it but hadn't previously had time. It's a great recommendation for kids who are looking for a next fantasy series, a book like Harry Potter, an adventure with magic, or all of the above! It has lots of interesting twists and turns. |