Multicultural Children's Book Day

#ReadYourWorld

Twitter Party Q’s and Prize Bundles

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Let’s PAR-TAY!

The Multicultural Children’s Book Day (MCBD) 2022 Twitter Party is coming and Make A Way Media is Sponsoring it!

MCBD’s mission from Day One has been to not only raise awareness around kid’s books that celebrate diversity but to also get more of these types of books into classrooms and libraries. Their passion for diversity in children’s literature and shining the spotlight on amazing books that help young readers see what is possible align completely with the vision and goals of Make A Way Media. [Read more…]

Getting to Know Our Neighbors and a Book about Brazilian Americans

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Getting to Know Our Neighbors

By Elizabeth Andrews, author of the Our Neighbors series from ABDO’s Pop! division

{Guest post by ABDO}

Wherever people walk in America, they will pass others from all different backgrounds. This blend of people is also apparent in an American classroom. No one looks exactly the same. No one has the same family story. 

When I started writing the Our Neighbors series for ABDO’s Pop! division, I knew I wanted to get to know each culture’s day-to-day life before writing. I was learning about Somali, Indian, Chinese, Lebanese, Brazilian, and Mexican Americans. Blogs, news articles, and YouTube videos let me dive into each specific culture. [Read more…]

Sabaa Tahir’s Favorite Diverse Books & 3 Book Set GIVEAWAY: #ReadYourWorld Book Jam 2022

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#ReadYourWorld Book Jam 2022

Multicultural Children’s Book and The Children’s Book Council are thrilled to team up to present the 2022 #ReadYourWorld Book Jam. Please welcome Sabaa Tahir with her list of favorite diverse books. [Read more…]

Next Steps for MCBD2022 Book Reviewers

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“Where’s my diverse book to review?”

“My book review is ready, what now?”

We are getting a lot of these types of questions lately and we TOTALLY get it. So here is some info that will help everyone navigate both:

If Your Review Book for MCBD is M.I.A.

MCBD2022 is not far off and we are aware that some reviewers still:

  • *need a book to review
  • *their assigned book hasn’t arrived
  • *feel they were not assigned a book yet

Please keep in mind that mail delivery is painfully slow these days. If you are still waiting for a physical copy of your assigned book, ask your publisher/author if they can send you a PDF version to review until your hardcopy arrives. [Read more…]

Diverse Graphic Novels About Family & 6 Book GIVEAWAY: #ReadYourWorld Book Jam 2022

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#ReadYourWorld Book Jam 2022

Multicultural Children’s Book Day and The Children’s Book Council are thrilled to team up to present the 2022 #ReadYourWorld Book Jam. Please welcome Priya Huq who will kick off our series with her list of diverse graphic novels about family!

[Read more…]

ASD, Idioms, and Figurative Language

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{Guest Post by Language Lizard}

It is well known that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can experience significant social, behavioral, and communication challenges resulting from their developmental disability. For example, identifying figurative languages like metaphors and idioms is very challenging.

While some researchers believe this difficulty results from compromised core language skills (ie. semantics, grammar), the majority attribute a compromised Theory of Mind to be the main cause. In plain terms, children with ASD need more help recognizing the mental states, unique beliefs, and desires of other people. Since figurative language is all about what isn’t being said, you can see how tricky it is to navigate not only social interactions but also literature.  [Read more…]

Visionary, Author, CEO, and Super Platinum Sponsor

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For the third time, Make A Way Media is back as a Super Platinum Sponsor for Multicultural Children’s Book Day; an epic online and offline event committed to raising awareness for the importance of diversity in children’s literature!

Deedee Cummings is a therapist, attorney, CEO of Make A Way Media, and author of fifteen diverse books for children. She has a passion for ensuring equality, inclusion, and social justice for the next generation and has made this her life’s work. Since her first book was published, Cummings has been on a mission to help young dreamers see themselves in the pages they read.  [Read more…]

A Language Spotlight on Cherokee Language

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{Guest post from Language Lizard}

Cherokee, a member of the Iroquoian language family, is spoken by the indigenous, Cherokee Nation of North America. Originating from the southeast region of North America, the most significant Cherokee-speaking population now lives in a tribal territory in Oklahoma. About 2,000 people still speak Cherokee today.  

Cherokee Language Preservation [Read more…]

Why Jewish Kidlit Shouldn’t be Offered to ONLY Jewish Children

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{Guest post from Chana Stiefel}

I recently saw a question posed by Multicultural Children’s Book Day that I felt needed a thoughtful response from me.

The question was, “What book-related topics/concerns are you seeing discussed? Where do you feel there are “gaps” in representation when it comes to multicultural books for kids?”

First, I want to say a heartfelt “thank you” to the MCBD team and all of the hard work they are doing to spread the word about diversity in children’s books. When I saw their request for feedback about underrepresented groups, the first thought that came to mind was that I would love to see more Jewish books and Jewish authors and illustrators included in this important conversation. [Read more…]