Guest Posts Archives - Multicultural Children's Book Day

Tips for Teaching Tolerance to Your Tots

April 11, 2018 by Valarie Budayr Leave a Comment

Guest post by author and coach, Kevin Christofora

There are some values that are always important to instill in your children, but occasionally, certain ones become even more pertinent than others. One that seems particularly essential these days is tolerance. All over the world, there’s an upswing in people fearing and blaming people who are different from them for various issues, and it’s a disturbing trend. Teaching our children tolerance is the best way to combat this, and establish a reality where the difference isn’t stigmatized, but rather celebrated. Here are some tips for teaching tolerance.

tips for teaching

Highlight similarities

It can be like second nature to notice the differences between ourselves and others. As a result, it is essential to put focus the lens on what makes those people just like us. Our shared humanity is the most obvious answer, but for kids, all it can take is a shared favorite animal or TV show to get them engaged with another child— and from there, things like friendship and understanding can grow.

Make it fun

Learning about other cultures shouldn’t be a chore. While museums certainly have their place, if their experience of other cultures is always through such institutions, they’ll probably get a little bored. So, look for opportunities to make this education fun and exciting. Parades and outdoor fairs for specific ethnic or religious holidays can be a great way to do this, as can children’s film festivals that have international offerings. Engaging with these activities with a focus on learning, respect, and celebration can be a wonderful way to teach children the beauty of other cultures.

Work it into the everyday

Teaching tolerance can also happen in everyday activities, as well. Maybe the family dinner once a week comes from a culture you’ve been learning about, or certain bedtime stories have themes like acceptance. As an author, I try to help parents with this. My The Hometown All Stars series is about a team of little league players from all different backgrounds, so that readers learn about diversity along with life lessons and healthy habits. The most recent one, Amira Can Catch, focuses on a new teammate who happens to be a Syrian refugee.

Acknowledge differences, and celebrate them

Highlighting the things we share with others is important to find common ground; understanding what we don’t share is an amazing way to gain respect for those differences. We don’t have to believe the same things or come from the same place as others to love them and honor their experiences. The more we teach children to see another’s differences as beautiful, the more well-rounded and compassionate they’ll be.

Teaching tolerance to children doesn’t have to be droll. It can be a fun, lively, and engaging experience. You’ll enable them to learn so much about the world and other cultures, while also creating wonderful memories. Finally, you’ll be setting your children up to be adults who respect others, work to find common ground with those who are different and find joy in the unknown.

Kevin Christofora is the author of a new book, Amira Can Catch. This diverse kidlit book shares the story of Amira, a Syrian refugee who is new in school, as a way to teach children about diversity, tolerance, and inclusion to readers of all ages. Christofora, a father, and little league coach hopes his books will inspire children to play outside more often. A devotee of America’s pastime, he aims to teach young people about baseball and the habits of a healthy lifestyle in the form of a fun and an educational bedtime story. He has appeared on ABC News, ESPN Radio, 660 News Radio, Santa Fe -KVSF 101.5, and WDST-FM Woodstock, and has had articles featured in _About Families Online_, _KidzEdge_, _Mom Blog Society_, and several other publications. For more information, please visit http://thehometownallstars.com/

Shooting for the Moon | Guest Post by author Christina Matula

March 6, 2018 by Valarie Budayr

Guest Post by author Christina Matula

Becoming a writer was not something I dreamt about while growing up. My parents guided me into the path of math and science so I could get a good, stable job, which for them was of paramount importance like it was for many immigrants of their generation. Writing is something I fell into accidentally, but it’s something I cannot imagine not doing now that I’m here.

Growing up in suburban Ottawa, I felt like I was one of the few Asian kids at my school, let alone the only mixed one. Although I had a huge extended family on my Taiwanese side (20+ first cousins!), I spent a lot of my childhood shying away from this part of my heritage. Perhaps it’s because I wanted to be the same as everyone else. Perhaps it’s because no one in the books I read looked anything like me. Perhaps it’s because I knew I would never have what it took to be a heroine in a teen novel – blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. (I’m looking at you Sweet Valley High!).

It wasn’t until I moved to Hong Kong in my 30s that I really started to embrace my heritage. I had always felt a bit guilty about not speaking Chinese – I refused to attend Chinese Saturday school when I was younger – so when I found an intensive Mandarin program at the local university, I jumped at the chance. In learning the language, I also learned more about Chinese culture and customs. I developed a newfound appreciation of the food, festivals, and folktales. It was an epiphany for me, a new window into my heritage.

A while back, my daughter was celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival in school. It’s the second biggest festival in Chinese culture after Lunar New Year. I tried to find a picture book about the legend behind the festival to read with her, but couldn’t find anything. So, on a whim, I decided to write one myself!

My writing journey was not typical. I linked with fantastic illustrator Pearl Law and self-published the book in Hong Kong. Shortly after, I attended a writing workshop given by visiting author Susan Blumberg-Kason (@Susan_BK). She was so kind with her encouragement and generously introduced me to her agent, the fabulous Carrie Pestritto (@literarycarrie). The book was soon picked up by Charlesbridge and my debut picture book will be launched in the US and Canada this summer!

The Shadow in the Moon is about two sisters listening to their grandmother tell them the tale of Hou Yi and Chang’e, the archer and the Lady in the Moon, and how the Mid-Autumn Festival came to be.

View the trailer premiere here!

I love that I’ve been able to share a little piece of myself and my heritage through this book. I hope that young readers will be able to see themselves and their families in the book, regardless of their background. And I hope that I can continue to share my passion for writing stories that are a reflection of the people who may read them.

Shadow in the Moon {ISBN: 978-1-58089-746-4} will be available on July 17. Preorder your copy from Charlesbridge Publishing today!

Author Christina Matula

Christina Matula is a Canadian author living in Hong Kong with her family. She is a Board Member of Bring Me A Book HK, which is a non-profit organization that encourages families to read aloud together and provides quality books to under-served communities.

She is also the author of two stories that have been set to music composed by Alexis Alrich and turned into chamber music concerts for children, Both concerts feature western and Chinese classical instruments, and were commissioned by Premiere Performances of Hong Kong.

You can find Christina on

Website: www.christinamatula.com

Twitter @christinaaa_hk

Instagram: christinamatula

Facebook: @christinamatulaauthor

Awesome Academy and Amaanah Refugee Services {Guest Post from Marisela Martinez }

February 28, 2018 by Valarie Budayr

Guest Post from Marisela Martinez

A group of University of Houston students formed Amaanah Refugee Services over 10 years ago and we at Amaanah are now celebrating our 10-year anniversary as a non-profit this year. We are a post-resettlement service who focus on single-mothers and children through two different programs.

The Transformed Program accepts about 30 single mothers who have settled in the U.S. within the last 6 months to 5 years through resettlement agencies. This post settlement program focuses on every mother’s needs individually by providing financial literacy, English courses, job seeking, child-care, etc. for a 10 month period. This program has influenced so many lives and many of the mothers we work with grow fond of Amaanah.

The Awesome Academy serves students who have arrived in the United States through the refugee resettlement process. Our program is welcomed by school districts in Houston and Austin, where we work with a variety of campuses both in and after-school programming. The intent of the program is to support children both socially and academically so that they can progress quickly, transition smoothly, and become confident community leaders. In the process, we also support teachers and staff by providing supplemental instruction and individualized student attention. I am the Director of this program and are now servicing 12 campuses in the Houston area and over 400 resettled refugees from all over the world. Most of the languages that are represented Arabic, Spanish, Swahili, and Burmese so one can argue that Houston is truly a diverse city. We are cherished in the campuses we service and have built a very sustainable reputation with administrators, teachers, and above all-students.

My primary focus in the Awesome Academy is providing the best programming and practices I can find that allows their English Language and social developmental skills to flourish so that they contribute positively back to their community in the future. As a child of immigrant parents, I understand these students become the representative/spokesperson for their parents once they start school and their English language proficiency increases.

For Awesome Academy, we try to look for sponsorships, volunteers, and a steady flow of contributions to provide a better service and quality programs for our new neighbors that caters to each campus since the demographics are different. We want to build a stronger literacy campaign for our kids but we also want to make sure that much of what they are being exposed too is also a representation of themselves and their culture. We have created a reading platform we hope we would be able to launch within the next few months that provides a mentor and a reading instructor to individual students and are hoping to get a steady stream of volunteers for that soon!

We are an organization that is constantly evolving and growing, but we do not waiver from our own mission statement that started it all– Our mission is to integrate resettled refugees into their new homes and communities.

Bio: Marisela Martinez is the youngest of seven daughters and proud to be a first-generation Mexican-American college graduate from her family. She places all the success and motivation she has on her loving parents and supportive sisters. Marisela is the program director for the Awesome Academy at Amaanah Refugee Services. She is also currently pursuing her doctorate in Curriculum & Instruction with an emphasis on Social Education at the University of Houston.

Site URL: www.refugeelink.com
Social Media Links:
Twitter: @AmaanahRefugees
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmaanahRefugees/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amaanahrs/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Amaanahrefugees