Multicultural Children's Book Day

#ReadYourWorld

Talking Points and Facts about Multicultural Children’s Book Day

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Hard to believe the 8th annual Multicultural Children’s Book Day celebration is only a handful of days away! This diversity in children’s literature initiative continues to grow, even during a year of unprecedented events and widespread uncertainty.

For that, we are proud.

If you are planning something special for your home, classroom, library, or organization, here are some Talking Points and Facts about Multicultural Children’s Book Day.

MCBD by the Numbers

For our 2021 on and offline celebration, we are proud to announce that there are 25 CoHosts and Global Cohosts, 23 Medallion, and 36 Author Level Sponsors supporting this initiative

Thanks to over 700 dedicated book reviewers, 1400-1500+ diverse book reviews will be shared on social media during the last few weeks of January.

During our wildly popular Twitter Party will be hosted by Audrey Press and Pragmaticmom. On 1/29/21 at (9:00 p.m. ET), over 150 diverse books and related items will be given away in 60 minutes (a winner is drawn every 5 minutes!).

To date, MCBD has gifted over 9,000 diverse books to end-users.

Instagram Followers: 15, 000+

Twitter Followers: 14,500+

Pinterest Followers: 10,000+

Countries Represented via Book Reviewers, Sponsors, and Global CoHosts:

USA, Germany, Greece, Australia, Mexico, Iran, India, UK, Canada, Philippines, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Hawaii, and New Zealand.

The Event Itself

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2021 (1/29/21) is in its 8th 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.

Eight 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. Read about our Mission & History HERE.

MCBD 2021 is honored to be Supported by these Medallion Sponsors!

FOUNDER’S CIRCLE: Mia Wenjen (Prgamaticmom) and Valarie Budayr’s (Audreypress.com)

Platinum Sponsors: Language Lizard Bilingual Books in 50+ Languages, Author Deedee Cummings and Make A Way Media

Gold Sponsors: Barefoot Books, Candlewick Press, Capstone,  Hoopoe Books,  KidLitTV, Peachtree Publishing Company Inc.

Silver Sponsors: Charlotte Riggle, Connecticut Association of School Librarians, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Pack-N-Go Girls

Bronze Sponsors: Agatha Rodi and AMELIE is IMPRESSED!, Barnes Brothers Books, Create and Educate Solutions, LLC, Dreambuilt Books, Dyesha and Triesha McCants/McCants Squared, Redfin Real Estate, Snowflake Stories, Star Bright Books, TimTimTom Bilingual Personalized Books, Author Vivian Kirkfield, Wisdom Tales Press, My Well Read Child

 

MCBD 2021 is honored to be Supported by these Author Sponsors!

Poster Artist: Nat Iwata

Authors: Author Afsaneh Moradian, Author Alva Sachs & Three Wishes Publishing Company, Author Angeliki Stamatopoulou-Pedersen, Author Anna Olswanger, Author Casey Bell , Author Claudine Norden, Author Debbie Dadey, Author Diana Huang & Intrepids,  Author Eugenia Chu & Brandon goes to Beijing, Green Kids Club,  Author Gwen Jackson, Author Janet Balletta, Author Josh Funk, Author Julia Inserro, Karter Johnson & Popcorn and Books, Author Kathleen Burkinshaw & The Last Cherry Blossom, Author Keila Dawson, Maya/Neel Adventures with Culture Groove, Author Mia Wenjen, Michael Genhart, Nancy Tupper Ling, Author Natalie Murray, Natalie McDonald-Perkins, Author Natasha Yim, Author Phe Lang and Me On The Page Publishing, Sandra Elaine Scott, Author Shoumi Sen & From The Toddler Diaries, SISSY GOES TINY by Rebecca Flansburg and B.A. Norrgard, Susan Schaefer Bernardo & Illustrator Courtenay Fletcher,  Tales of the Five Enchanted Mermaids, Author Theresa Mackiewicz, Tonya Duncan and the Sophie Washington Book Series, Author Toshia Stelivan, Valerie Williams-Sanchez & The Cocoa Kids Collection Books©, Author Vanessa Womack, MBA, Author Veronica Appleton & the Journey to Appleville book series

MCBD 2021 is Honored to be Supported by our CoHosts and Global CoHosts!

MCBD 2021 is Honored to be Supported by these Media Partners!

Check out MCBD’s Multicultural Books for Kids Pinterest Board!

 

MCBD 2021 Twitter Party Questions and PRIZES!

Join us on Friday, Jan 29, 2021, at 9 pm EST for the 8th annual Multicultural Children’s Book Day Twitter Party! REGISTER HERE.

This hour includes multicultural book discussions, addressing timely issues, diverse book recommendations, & reading ideas.

*** US and Global participants welcome. **

The Multicultural Children’s Book Day Twitter Party 2021 will be giving away a 5-8 diverse book bundle every five minutes!

We also have some bonus prizes and prizes specifically for our non-USA participants. Scroll down to see all of the amazing book bundles and prizes.

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

This year, our 1/29/21 Party will occur at 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET  and we promise it will be INSANELY fun and fast-paced! Be sure and follow Multicultural Children’s Book Day on Twitter so you can join the party. Follow the hashtag #ReadYourWorld to join the conversation, connect with like-minded parts, authors, publishers, educators, organizations, and librarians.

GO HERE to view the 2021 MCBD TWITTER PARTY Questions!

GO HERE to view the 2021 MCBD TWITTER PARTY Prizes!

Not sure how to participate in a Twitter Party? Check out this great article from MCBD’s Project Manager HERE.

Follow MCBD on Twitter to join the party! 

 

FREE RESOURCES from Multicultural Children’s Book Day

Diversity Book Lists & Activities for Teachers and Parents

Homeschool Diverse Kidlit Booklist & Activity Kit

FREE Teacher Classroom Activism and Activists Kit

FREE Teacher Classroom Empathy Kit

FREE Teacher Classroom Kindness Kit

FREE Teacher Classroom Physical and Developmental Challenges Kit

FREE Teacher Classroom Poverty Kit

Gallery of Our Free Posters

FREE Diversity Book for Classrooms Program

 

January and Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2021

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Planning and implementation for Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2021 is zooooommming right along!

Can you believe that MCBD2021 is less than 30 days away? As my grandpa used to say, “We’re on the downhill slide to the finish line!”

Here’s what’s new and interesting

  • Book Matching Has Wrapped: From mid-November to the end of December, the MCBD Team worked hard to match reviewers with authors or publishers and it was no small task. As much as we want to keep going and keep assigning authors to reviewers, we know from past experience that it gets stressful and frustrating for all parties involved when review books don’t arrive on time. We do, however, have wonderful PDFs of diverse books to share and review so contact Admin (at)
  • Our Project Manager did an excellent Facebook Live Friday Chat on 1/8 about the basic format of book reviews for MCBD and how to also “Next Level” your reviews to set yourself apart from the crowd. Watch this Chat on replay HERE.
  • Sponsorships Are Closed and WOW, do are we impressed with our Medallion  Level and Author Level 2021 Sponsors!
  • TWITTER PARTY! Yes, it’s true–we can hardly contain our excitement. Our annual MCBD Twitter Party is not only crazy-fun, it’s a chance for educators, parents, readers, reviewers, authors, publishers, and literacy organizations to come together for an hour of intense discussion on relevant topics on the diverse literacy for kids world.

A Meaningful Group Chat

If you haven’t joined our private MCBD Facebook Group, please do! The group is growing like crazy and we have a nice mix of educators, parents, book reviewers, influencers, authors, and publishers.

Not only have we shared our vision for the new group rules, but we are also excited about Becky’s new Weekly FB Live called Meaningful Group Friday Chat.

Why “Meaningful Groups?”

A Meaningful Group is an engaged community that comes together for a common purpose, passion, or reason. Also, a community committed to supporting each other. Sounds like the MCBD Facebook Group, yes? Our goal with this reoccurring Facebook Live every Friday to share what’s new and upcoming for Multicultural Children’s Book Day

Then our Hostess with the Mostess, Project Manager Becky Flansburg, will talk about a topic that would appeal to the wide range of group members that we have. Weekly could include topics like blogging, social media, publishing, promotion, and marketing, or even topics from a parent’s perspective work/life balance, time management, anxious kids, etc.

We have an amazing pool of Smart People in this group, and on the MCBD Team, so we want to use our knowledge bank to make our private Facebook Group a Meaningful one.

P.S. These Lives will be archived so they can be watched at a later date too 🙂

You can watch Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4.  As of 2021, our Friday Nite Chat has shifted to a Friday DAY Chat! The topic for the January 22nd Facebook Live within the MCBD Group is more info and what to expect with our crazy-fun 1/29 Twitter Party. AND the why/how/what-the-heck Q&A about our Big Giant Linky
As always, THANK YOU ALL for your support and efforts to keep this diversity in children’s literacy blooming!

**If you have questions about Multicultural Children’s Book Day, how to get involved, or how to get free books for your school or classroom, email Admin (at) MulticulturalChildrensBookDay (dot) com **

 

SUMMARY OF THE Multicultural Children’s Book Day EVENT

FIRST, a giant blog tour —
Readers, parents, teachers, librarians, and caregivers are coming together to explore lots of books with diverse content and sharing their thoughts and feedback via book reviews, book lists, and links.

SECOND, a giant networking event —
This global event connects readers, caregivers, educators, librarians, non-profits, organizations, sponsors, co-hosts, bloggers, and thought leaders so we can all achieve a common goal of raising awareness on the importance of diversity in children’s and YA literature.

THIRD, a virtual book drive —
Through MCBD initiatives like the FREE Diverse Books for Classrooms Project, The Offline Classroom Swag Pack,  and continued outreach to underserved readers, proceeds raised during the course of this online event (and all year-long) go towards getting free multicultural books in locations where they are needed and into the hands of young readers.

Mothers, Daughters, Queens, and Princesses

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{Guest Post from Deedee Cummings}

A Princess is a Queen in training. A queen is the reigning female of her family- regarded as the most outstanding in a particular sphere or group- according to the dictionary. How better does a young girl figure out her place in the world than by watching her mother proudly proclaim hers?

But moms shouldn’t diminish their bright light either. Moms who work outside the home tend to have a lot of guilt about the hours they dedicate to their professional careers and goals. Oftentimes, what we don’t realize is happening during the rush of parenting and working, is that our fiery drive is being seen and absorbed by our children.

Girls become strong by witnessing the challenges of their mothers. Mothers and Daughters are the Queens & Princesses of modern times.

And that was definitely the case for my daughter and me, all those years ago when I was navigating life and work as a single mom and a mentor for my young daughter

Looking back,  I didn’t feel like I was doing any sort of guiding or mentoring back then, but now as my Princess (my daughter, Kayla) has grown into a Queen herself, I now know for sure that my daughter has learned to follow her dreams by watching me chase mine. She is truly my butterfly who has fully emerged from her cocoon in full regal beauty.

It has been fun to watch her dreams come to life. It has been fun to watch her fly. And my heart grows happier each day I watch her achieve success and accomplishment over and over. Kayla’s dream was always to be on stage. To sing. To dance. To act. To entertain.

So, tired Queen Mamas, if you feel like your crown is slipping, don’t give up. Stand with pride, operate from a place of dignity, and ask for help when you need it. Our daughters will carry on our torch of passion and fire when it is their time. We just need to keep embracing the Majesty of our Womanhood and keep it moving.

In 2021, I am releasing the new and updated book about my young Princess’s journey because I know it will be a fun ride filled with pride for you and your loved ones too.

My upcoming diverse picture book, Kayla: A Modern Day Princess was inspired many years ago by my own daughter, Kayla who is now a well-known and successful Broadway actress.

She picked a hard profession. She is a triple threat performer who can act, dance, and sing. This chosen career field is a tough one for anyone, but as a black female, it has come with its own set of challenges. Steep competition for roles is made all the more difficult simply because of the color of her skin. Talent and drive sometimes just do not matter.

Scheduled for release in April of 2021, the updated through text and illustration on the fact that we all need to empower little brown girls to follow their dreams. Little girls of ALL colors need these stories of HOPE and stories that show them what is possible. Dreams give us hope and that is especially true for IBPOC kids.

We must make room for stories about black and brown children. My family story is a unique perspective and Kayla’s is made all the more energizing because of her determination and her drive in a field that will pick you to pieces.

Please share it with girls of all backgrounds who need to be encouraged to follow their heart- even when it is not the popular decision.

Learn more about MakeAWayMedia.com and Kayla: A Modern Day Princess HERE.

 

About Deedee Cummings

Deedee Cummings

As a therapist, attorney, author, and CEO of Make A Way Media, Deedee Cummings has a passion for making the world a better place. All eleven of Cummings’ diverse picture, poetry, and workbooks for kids reflect her professional knowledge and love of life. In her award-winning 2019 picture book, This Is the Earth  Cummings uses bold and bright illustrations to share a message of peace, love, respect, compassion, inclusion, and how everyone is a steward of the world in which we live. Her newest release, In The Nick of Time (November 2019) is the story of a little brown boy who saves Christmas.

Cummings has spent more than two decades working within the family therapy and support field and much of her writing shares her experiences of working with kids in therapeutic foster care. She is also the founder and creator of the Louisville Book Festival; a literacy-based celebration that occurred in Louisville, KY on October 23rd and 24th, 2020.

Social Shout Outs and Sponsorship: Grab some holiday shopper eyeballs!

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The weeks are flying by so we wanted to share a unique way to tap into the holiday buying season or even get more involved in Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2021. 
 

As you all know, more people than ever are online thanks to COVID. Experts say that the holiday shopping season is likely going to be online more than ever and we completely believe that. They are also predicting that there is a renewed surge in supporting independently owned small businesses over Big Box Stores and we LOVE that very much!

 

Social Shout Outs and MCBD2021 Sponsorships are two unique ways Multicultural Children’s Book Day is helping authors and publishers get in front of holiday shoppers!

MCBD Social Shout Outs

Our Social Shout Outs ($39) focus on a book or author. Use your Shout Out to shine the spotlight on your own work or purchase one as an extra-special gift for your favorite author friend, favorite diverse book, or even a publisher that is near and dear to your heart.
Go here if you’d like to purchase a vibrant and colorful Social Shout Out that will appear on MCBD’s Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook channels between now and January 29, 2021.
Here is a recent example of one of our Social Shout Outs so you can see how pretty they are 🙂

MCBD2021 Sponsorships

 
NOW, let’s uplevel that thought and talk about MCBD 2021 Sponsorships!
The difference between Social Shout Outs (SSO) and MCBD2021 Sponsorships is that SSOs are only a one-time share. However, they are available for purchase 365 days a year. 
MCBD2021 Sponsorships are like a concentrated vitamin of awesomeness that shines the spotlight on authors and books in a big way from November to January 29, 2021. Sponsorships include months worth of social media exposure and name mentions.
 
As our celebration day approaches (1/29/21) the online visibility of our event really ramps up and our various levels of sponsorships also have the opportunity to have their diverse children’s and YA books reviewed and shared on social media as well.   
 
Go here to view the Sponsorship Page and download our Sponsor Packet. Multicultural Children’s Book Day is pretty darn thrilled to share that we reached a mega-milestone of 15,000 on Instagram recently. Our Medallion Level Sponsor and Author Sponsor Level Pages are LIVE and we will be beginning the Book Matching (with book reviewers) process this week. 
 

The deadline for all Sponsorship levels is December 31st…but here’s the rub; the earlier you sign up, the more time we have to market/P.R you and connect you with book reviewers for the event.

As a paid sponsor, you will have the opportunity to be matched with as many (or as few) book reviewers as you’d like. We provide you with their names and addresses and mailing a copy to each reviewer is your responsibility. All reviewers post their reviews on social media in January and MCBD uses its mega-social media presence to share far-n-wide. We always welcome all book donations to our FREE Diverse Books for Classroom Initiative as well.

Hope to hear from you soon!

A Bilingual Story About Conservation & Cooperation

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“The sun beats down relentlessly on a scorched landscape where nothing is growing. Buffalo is listless and desperately looking around for something to eat. Then, one evening he finds a white biscuit in a small pool of water. But, he is not the only animal to see it and a great fight begins… But all is not what it seems.”

Language Lizard’s newest bilingual storybook offering, The Biscuit Moon, is an engaging bilingual story about a distressed traveler.

THE BISCUIT MOON (BILINGUAL CHILDREN'S BOOK)

THE BISCUIT MOON (BILINGUAL CHILDREN’S BOOK)

 

As we follow Buffalo’s journey, we explore the concepts of climate change, scarcity, and the need to share precious resources.


bilingual book for kids

Powerful Tale About the Need for Cooperation

 

In The Biscuit Moon readers meet Buffalo and Lion, and the delicious biscuit that never was. This is a discussion-provoking story about scarcity and greed, and ultimately the wisdom of cooperation.

The Biscuit Moon is available in English with Albanian, Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Burmese, Chinese-Simplified, Chinese-Traditional, Farsi, French, German, Haitian Creole, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Karen (Sgaw), Korean, Kurmanji Kurdish, Sorani Kurdish, Lithuanian, Oromo (their newest language offering), Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Tagalog, Tigrinya, Turkish, Urdu, Vietnamese, and Yoruba. 

Teacher’s Notes and Classroom Resources Available

Teachers can use this engaging story to spark discussions about climate change, its effects on wildlife, and why it’s important to conserve and share precious resources. The story can also be read as a metaphor for communities making a new life far away from home. 

Teachers and homeschooling families can access extensive teacher’s notes and activities that use The Biscuit Moon, along with links to child-friendly resources about climate change, on Language Lizard’s Free Multicultural Lesson Plans page.

Fun Facts about Language Lizard

Language Lizard is a longtime sponsor of Multicultural Children’s Book Day and a current 2021 Platinum Sponsor.

The Company is located in Basking Ridge, NJ, and can be reached at 1-888-LLIZARD (888-554-9273) or info@LanguageLizard.com . For address information and to contact Language Lizard using their online form, click here.

Their products have been well-reviewed by critics, families, and teachers. Click here to read reviews and awards on specific products. Click here to read Testimonials by Language Lizard’s customers.

***Support the diverse children’s literacy initiative Multicultural Children’s Book Day! Our 8th celebration will take place on January 29, 2021. Creators can donate books that will be reviewed and shared on social media. We also have sponsorships at a variety of price points.***

**If you have questions about Multicultural Children’s Book Day, how to get involved, or how to get free books for your school or classroom, email Kristi at Admin (at) MulticulturalChildrensBookDay (dot) com **