Multicultural Children's Book Day

#ReadYourWorld

Recap and Summary of Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2018

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Hard to believe it has been almost 30 days since the mind-blowing awesome 1/27/18 MCBD celebration and we can promise all of you that we are still recovering!

The MCBD team was touched and elevated by the overwhelming support and enthusiasm surrounding our diverse children’s literature online celebration. In the days following the crescendo of the event, and our crazy-fun annual Twitter Party,  we all have spent hours sifting through the amazing thoughts, comments, and requests that were offered up during our on and offline global event. Here is the Summary of Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2018.

MCBD will be moving from an “every January 27th” celebration date to a “last Friday in January” focus so we don’t interfere with
International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Just a FYI 🙂

 

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2018 by the Numbers

 3,210,943,767: Total number of social media share impressions for January 25-28, 2018. Yes…that’s BILLION with a “B.” Yes, we triple checked it.

 3,210,943,767: Total number of social media share impressions for January 25-28, 2018.

One Ba-Jillion: The number of hours spent coordinating, navigating, managing, enjoying, connecting, networking, pitching and problem-solving. Just kidding. It was a lot, but we don’t mind. It’s a labor of love!

21: The number of wonderful book-loving CoHosts who acted as ambassadors for this years’ event

2: The number of times #ReadYourWorld trended on Twitter on 1/27/18

 

Over 600: The number of parents, caregivers, teachers, librarians and young readers read diverse kidlit and YA books in honor of the event. These reviews can be seen on our every growing Big Giant Linky for 2018.

Big Giant Linky

591, 592, 593…: The ever-growing number of multicultural children’s book reviews being added to the Big Giant Linky for 2018

75+: Number of diverse kids’ books given away thanks to the Children’s Book Council (CBC) Book Jam Project.

#ReadYourWorld Book Jam 2018, Eight Picture Books with Diverse Family Constellations

29: Number of powerhouse Medallion Level Sponsors

50: Number of amazing Author Sponsors.

83: Number of generous book donators who sent books for classrooms

1734+: Number of classrooms signed up to receive a free book from MCBD.

Author Sponsors, a boatload of generous book donators and many, many authors, teachers, parents, readers, and librarians showed up to read, visit and enjoy the multicultural book titles, discussions and book-related activities!

2500+: Number of downloads for our FREE Classroom Kindness Kit and FREE Classroom Empathy Kit!

Classroom Kindness Kit

Classroom Kindness Kit

Classroom Empathy Kit

Classroom Empathy Kit

The many people and organizations that made the success of the 2018 event possible.

This year we were again blessed with amazing sponsors, reviewers, book donators, and supporters. We want to share a very special Thank you to Honorary Sponsor- The Junior Library Guild for continuing to send books for our classroom project. To date, roughly 1,000 books have been mailed out to classrooms over the last 5 years.

Honorary Sponsor- The Junior Library Guild

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: 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, 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

 

2018 Multicultural Children’s Book Day CoHosts


 A Crafty Arab, All Done Monkey, Barefoot Mommy, Biracial Bookworms, Books My Kids Read , Crafty Moms Share , Colours of Us, Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes,  The Educators’ Spin On It , Embracing Diversity,Franticmommy, Growing Book by Book , Here Wee Read,   Imagination Soup  Kid World Citizen · Mama Smiles · Multicultural Kid Blogs , Randomly Reading,  Spanish Playground, The Logonauts, Wise Owl Factory

 

2018 Multicultural Children’s Book Day Participating Bloggers

600+ wonderful bloggers stepped forward and agreed to review multicultural children’s books for our special event.

(Link cloud coming soon!)

 

THANK YOU to everyone who helped make our 2018 event a huge success!

*For Multicultural Children’s Book Day, we hand-tabulated the social media shares of most of the individuals listed above, tracking Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest social media shares only. Additional social media shares on Instagram, Google+, LinkedIn and other social media platforms were not included. Social media share impressions by individuals not listed above were also counted.

Support our Mission! Monetary donations that help us continue to get diverse books into the hands of young readers is always appreciated. Click the button below…every little bit helps!

Storytime for Little Worms | Guest Post by Bianca Ksoll of Moonjami Press

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Imagine my delight when I discovered this amazing event that focuses on diversity in children’s literature called, Multicultural Children’s Book Day. Imagine my despair when I discovered I had missed the deadline for the MCBD2018.

BUT, the fine folks at Multicultural Children’s Book Day offered me the opportunity to share my story on the MCBD blog and thrilled to be able to do so.

My name is Bianca and I am a new children’s book author and publisher who is currently based in Lao PDR.

But I wasn’t always an author. In my lifetime I have been a child rights advocate, policy advisor, and researcher with over 15 years of experience in international health and human rights working for the government, large companies, think tanks, media outlets, and non-profit organizations. Currently, I am the President/Founder of Global Content Group, Inc. along with being the CEO of Moonjami Press.

My first children’s book, The Mouse from Laos, is part of a series to stimulate curiosity and tolerance among young readers.  I developed Storytime for Little Worms/Worm Families and story-making workshops at NamChai Community Center as well as Tiny Yogis in Laos. My goal has always been to create books that allow kids to learn lessons while being entertained.

Our first book in an 88+ picture book ‘I am’ series, The Mouse from Laos just arrived in the US. The Mouse from Laos offers a peephole into a lesser-known land with a simple map, a national landmark, Lao greeting, flag and other teachable moments about animals, colors, shapes, patterns… A bit quirky and repetitive, everything children love. Although simple and silly, this series is created to stimulate curiosity and cultivate tolerance. There is an underlying theme of identity.

In April we will be releasing two more books, The Peacock from Bangkok and The Kitty from HoChi Minh City. Each book is created for small hands, soft cover and 36+4 pages. Originally I wrote the book for ages 0-6 but we have found it is ageless…and have facilitated readings with art activities with 10yo.

But I also have an additional mission of giving back to others and 5% of our net proceeds from the book supports Teaching Tolerance program at Southern Poverty Law Center. Our book sets (bag, book, t-shirt, and stickers) support companies run and staffed with youth with disabilities in Lao PDR. As a company founded by a health and human rights advocate (me) we celebrate diversity in all its forms!

Bianca actively supports literacy in Laos and Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance initiative —her products are produced by Lao female-led business and people with disabilities.  Bianca received a Master’s in Anthropology from the Graduate Faculty at New School for Social and Economic Research in New York (2004) and LLM in International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at Europa-Universität Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany (2018). She currently resides in Vientiane, Lao PDR with her spouse Christian, two children Aidan and Anéli and their dog Kujo.

On My Desk | New Diverse Kids’ Books to Consider (2/9/18)

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So…what in the world is “On My Desk” anyway?

This series got started because, with my role as Project Manager, I get to enjoy the avalanche of amazing multicultural books for kids that are donated to our project.  My office currently looks like a small bookstore and I love every second of it.

Being appreciative of every book that crosses my desk, I wanted to find a fun way to share those books with the loyal folks who show up here to read every week and support this non-profit. In that moment, On My Desk | New Diverse Kids’ Books to Consider was born! It’s my way of sharing some amazing titles that don’t always get the attention they deserve.

Here’s what the Mailman Book Fairy brought me this week:

On My Desk

Lost Tribes byAuthor Christine Taylor-Butler

Lost Tribes

Christine is an award-winning author of children’s literature: fiction and nonfiction for all ages. HHer speculative MG/YA series The Lost Tribes was published by Move Books in March 2015. In it, five seemingly ordinary kids discover their families may play a part in preventing the destruction of Earth and the known universe. The sequel: Safe Harbor released in March 2017.  A companion teacher’s guide with vocabulary and STEM-based activities is currently in development.

Real MVPKids

Real MVPKids

“Our mission is to inspire an honorable character in young men and women through healthy mentoring relationships, preparing Real MVP Kids® to live responsible and meaningful lives.”

Our MVP Kids® represent a wide range of ethnic and cultural diversity and are the stars of our products. The sixteen MVP Kids®, along with their parents, siblings and other family members, make up twelve families. An important goal of establishing our MVP Kids® throughout the product lines is to create familiarity and friendship for readers, a basis of trust to address serious life issues and challenges in products for maturing children. As we develop our products, they will follow the MVP Kids® as they grow from toddlers to adolescents. All MVP Kids™ products are designed to teach young readers how ti gain honorable character through healthy mentoring relationships while preparing them to live responsible and meaningful lives through books.

 The Swift Walker series by Verlyn Tarlton.

Swift Walker series by Verlyn Tarlton: Swift Walker loved to walk fast. His sister warned him, “One day, you’ll walk so fast you won’t be able to stop!” Sure enough, his speedy legs took him on a speedy journey to see all the oceans of the world. Swift Walker introduces kids to the continents, maps, and basic geography concepts with a fun character they can relate to.

Mama, Did Your Hear The News?

Sanya Whittaker Gragg has always wanted to make a difference in the lives of others.

Her debut book, “Momma, Did You Hear the News?”, is centered around ten-year-old Avery who is in a panic over the shooting of another unarmed black man. His parents decide it is time to have “The Talk”. They teach him and his brother a catchy and easy way to remember what to do if approached by an officer, while also emphasizing that all policemen are not bad.
A to the L to the I-V-E… come home ALIVE…that is the KEY!

Momma, Did You Hear the News? is the first of the Memorizethe5 series, with Book#2 on Bullying coming in March2018!

 

Osito wants to play, but his fur is growing slowly and he’s got the shivers. His new friend thinks covering this baby bear with honey and a coat of wildflowers is a good idea. Osito does get warm, but then the bees arrive, and he has to make a run for it!

This charming story by Lisa María Burgess is set in the mountains that traverse the US and Mexico, and takes inspiration from her childhood in the Sierra Madre of Chihuahua. In making the vibrant collages, Susan L. Roth created Osito and much of the landscape with tree bark paper, which has been made in Mexico since precolonial times. This story is bilingual for young readers, in English and Spanish.

What amazing diverse books have you discovered this week?

MCBD2018’s FREE Classroom Empathy Kit is Here!

Our gift to you- A Educator’s Classroom Empathy Kit

Sign up

HERE

to get your FREE Downloadable

Empathy Classroom Kit containing:

~ Book List – 18 books on Understanding Immigration and Refugees

~ Classroom Empathy Activities

~ Empathy Poster – printable

~ Multicultural Children’s Book Day Poster

~ Multicultural Children’s Book Day eBook

Read Your World: A Guide to Multicultural Children’s Books for Parents and Educators is a “Best Of” list of diversity books lists for children.

Connect with Us!

Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/MulticulturalChildrensBookDay

Twitter https://twitter.com/MCChildsBookDay

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/readyourworldmcbd/

Reminder: The hashtag for this event is #ReadYourWorld

 

Family and Food: A Multicultural list for Ages 2-9 & 3 Book Giveaway!

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Please welcome JaNay Brown-Wood with her list of Family and Food Picture Books.

We are giving away 3 copies of her book, Grandma’s Counting House. Please fill out the Rafflecopter at the bottom to enter.

#ReadYourWorld Book Jam 2018, Eight Picture Books with Diverse Family Constellations

Family and Food: A Multicultural list for Preschool through 3rd Grade

This list features eight titles where family and culture come together around delicious food. While all titles can be shared with children Preschool through third grade, I indicated the specific age range I thought the titles would fit best with.

1. Grandma’s Tiny House: A Counting Story by JaNay Brown-Wood

This is a cozy counting picture book about the relatives visiting Grandma and eating until they are all stuffed. It’s a sweet, rhyming counting book introduces young readers to numbers one through fifteen. [picture book, for ages 2 and up]

2. Bee-Bim Bop! by Linda Sue Park

This story is written in rhyme, showing the preparation of a popular Korean dish and the excitement of a hungry, young child. All the family members come together at the end to eat. The lines are rhythmic and the illustrations are fun. [picture book, ages 2 and up]

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Highlights and Discussion from the MCBD2018 #ReadYourWorld Twitter Party

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As always, the 2018MCBD Twitter Party was a ton of fun and a huge success. The discussions and sharing of book titles, lists and resources did not disappoint. Here are the 12 Twitter Party Qs and A’s from this very special hour:

Questions:

Q1: Share some recent diverse, multicultural and inclusive books that you’ve read with your kids. #ReadYourWorld

Q2: What kinds of diverse characters/themes/topics would you like to see more of in children’s books? #ReadYourWorld

Q3: While the number of children’s books of a diverse nature have gone up in recent years to 28%, those by people of color/Native authors remain at 6%. How do you feel about this?
#ReadYourWorld (Stat from @LEEandLOW http://blog.leeandlow.com/2017/03/30/the-diversity-gap-in-childrens-book-publishing-2017/)

Q4: What is the ONE diversity book that you’d love to see used in the classroom and why? #ReadYourWorld

Q5: Do you have a new (or new to you) diversity author or book discovery that you are excited about? #ReadYourWorld

Q6: Our Classroom Empathy Kit this year focuses on refugees and immigrants. What books are you using at home or in the classroom to teach empathy? #ReadYourWorld https://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/teacher-classroom-empathy-kit/

Q7: Book activities help bring books to life. Has anyone tried the Backpack Activity in our Empathy Kit: What you would pack if you had to flee your country and had 5 minutes to pack? #ReadYourWorld

Q8: Our next Classroom Kit is Poverty in the U.S. Do you think this is a good topic? Why or why not? #ReadYourWorld

Q9: What diverse children’s books would you suggest for our Classroom Kit on Poverty in the U.S.? #ReadYourWorld

Q10: What diversity/multicultural/inclusive topics are you having trouble finding in children’s books? #ReadYourWorld

Q11: What resources do you use to find diverse children’s books? #ReadYourWorld

Q12: From #metoo to #shepersisted to Oprah Winfrey’s Golden Globes speech, there is a huge interest in making a better tomorrow for our daughters. What books do you recommend that reflect this movement? #ReadYourWorld [Read more…]

The 2018 #ReadYourWorld Book Review Linkup!

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Welcome to our 5th annual Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2018 #ReadYourWorld Book Review Linkup

Here’s how to celebrate:

  1. Link up your diversity book reviews. DIVERSE CHILDREN’S BOOK REVIEWS ONLY PLEASE. Non-relevant adds will be deleted
  2. Find new books to read for your home or classroom bookshelf by following our #READYOURWORLD hashtag on social media.
  3. Win diversity book bundles at our Twitter Party tonight! We’re giving away 100+ children’s books from 9pm to 10pm EST. RSVP here. Use hashtag: #ReadYourWorld.
  4. Buy a copy-support a teacher. Grab your a copy of Read Your World: A Guide to Multicultural Children’s Books for Parents and Educators.
  5. Take a moment to visit all of our amazing Medallion Level and Author Sponsors to discover even more great multicultural books for kids and young adults:

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The Multicultural Fun and Magic of Worldwide Buddies!

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Multicultural Fun and Magic of Worldwide Buddies

 

Worldwide Buddies is a series of fictional, educational stories with characters from different countries that allow readers to imagine a more beautifully complex world. Stories are designed to promote cultural awareness and introduce little ones to diverse realities and wonders of the world, early on.

Each story explores a different underlying social, cultural, or political concept. This is done through simple plots and characters who face everyday challenges that are universal and relevant to every child. The stories tackle serious topics in a light-hearted, funny and positive way. [Read more…]

10 Native Books to Inspire the Young Ones & 25 Book GIVEAWAY!

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Please welcome Sandy Tharp-Thee, Cherokee author of The Apple Tree — A Modern-Day Cherokee Story. She has a list of some of her favorite Native American books and stories for children and the child that lives in all of us.

We are giving away 25 copies of The Apple Tree. Please fill out the Rafflecopter at the bottom to enter.

#ReadYourWorld Book Jam 2018, Eight Picture Books with Diverse Family Constellations

10 Native Books to Inspire the Young Ones and Young at Heart!

1. Buffalo Song by Joseph Bruchac, illustrated by Bill Farnsworth

The story of how the buffalo nearly became extinct, but because people cared enough and worked together we can still enjoy the American buffalo today. It offers insight to the meaning and importance of the buffalo to Native people from yesteryear to today. Based on true events, it reveals the consequences of one small buffalo being rescued by a boy and his father.

I believe the author said he spent sixteen years researching this true story.  When I read it, I like to have the children sing with me.  As a tribal librarian, this story allowed me to share the past, present, and future of buffalo.  Today, the buffalo are no longer in danger, and we can enjoy them in the wild but also purchase the healthier bison meat.  It is because of people coming together that this is possible.

Before reading this story with the children, I would share:  Imagine if I could give you a gift and that gift gave you the shoes that you are wearing.  Now imagine if that same gift provided your clothes, food, and even your shelter or home.  What might you say to the creator that gave you such a gift?  How would you care for such a gift? [picture book, ages 7 and up]

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Filling the Void in Children’s Media By Jeni Lee Chapman of Gokul World

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Where are the models of relatable kids from diverse cultural backgrounds?

By Jeni Lee Chapman, Co-author of Gokul Village and the Magic Fountain and Co-Founder of Gokul Workshops LLC

The power of coming together with a shared mission produces truly amazing and impactful results. My co-founder, Bal Das and I planted this seed a little over a year ago and started this journey together. In September we published our first book and announced the launch of a new concept for children’s media called Big Bold Beautiful World Media. Our mission is to use creativity and innovation to build stories, products, and experiences that empower the social-emotional learning of global generations. As Maya Angelou beautifully wrote, “we are more alike my friends than we are unalike.” [Read more…]

Diverse Books about Inclusion that Make the World a Better Place

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Please welcome Jo Meserve Mach, Vera Lynne Stroup-Rentier and Mary Birdsell with their list of Books Making the World Better Through Inclusion.

#ReadYourWorld Book Jam 2018, Eight Picture Books with Diverse Family Constellations

Books Making the World Better Through Inclusion

1. Emanuel’s Dream by Lauri Ann Thompson, illustrated by Sean Qualls

I love true stories and this true story of Emmanual Ofos Yeboah is so inspiring! Because his mother believes he can teach himself how to gain the skills he does just that. The fact he is missing part of one leg doesn’t limit him.  Emmanuels quote at the end of the book says it all: “In this world, we are not perfect. We can only do our best.” [picture book, ages 4 and up]

2. My Three Best Friends and Me, Zulay by Cari Best, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton

This is a fun story that takes place at school. It portrays inclusion in a wonderful way.  Zulay becomes just another child participating in Field Day. At first she seems different because she is blind but then she is like every other child competing at school. [picture book, ages 4 and up]

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