Multicultural Children's Book Day

#ReadYourWorld

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2019 Recap and Highlights

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Hard to believe it’s approaching nearly 30 days since the mind-blowing awesome MCBD 2019 (1/25/19) 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 camaraderie, comments, reviews, classroom celebrations and touching kudos that were offered up during our on and offline global event.

“I can hardly believe this is the sixth year for MCCBD. Look what you started! It is amazing and has and will continue to have an impact on many children, families, and teachers.” Claire Noland- A Field Trip Life

Here is the Summary of Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2019.

REMINDER: 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.

The Reason We Do What We Do

During the 2019 Multicultural Children’s Book Day celebration, we donated roughly 2,160+ books to young readers, parents, caregivers, educators and librarians!

Over the course of the last 6 years of this initiative, we’ve given away almost 6, 800 diverse kids’ and YA books to deserving readers!

Nearly 6,800!

The Educators and Librarians that Made the Event Possible

Readers and Teachers Celebrating ReadYourWorld 2019!

The CoHosts that Made the Event Possible

Co-Hosts and Global Co-Hosts

A Crafty Arab, Agatha Rodi Books, 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, Descendant of Poseidon Reads, Educators Spin on it,  Growing Book by Book, Here Wee Read, Joy Sun Bear/ Shearin Lee, Jump Into a Book, Imagination Soup, Jenny Ward’s Class, Kid World Citizen, Kristi’s Book Nook, The Logonauts, Mama Smiles, Miss Panda Chinese, Multicultural Kid Blogs, Raising Race Conscious Children, Shoumi Sen, Spanish Playground

 

The Medallion Level Sponsors that Made the Event Possible

Children’s Book Council, The Junior Library Guild, TheConsciousKid.org.,

Super Platinum: Make A Way Media/ Deirdre “DeeDee” Cummings

GOLD: Bharat Babies, Candlewick Press, Chickasaw Press, Juan Guerra and The Little Doctor / El doctorcito, KidLitTV,  Lerner Publishing Group, Plum Street Press,

SILVER: Capstone Publishing, Carole P. Roman, Author Charlotte Riggle, Huda Essa, The Pack-n-Go Girls,

BRONZE: Charlesbridge Publishing, Judy Dodge Cummings, Author Gwen Jackson, Kitaab World, Language Lizard – Bilingual & Multicultural Resources in 50+ Languages, Lee & Low Books, Miranda Paul and Baptiste Paul, Redfin, Author Gayle H. Swift,  T.A. Debonis-Monkey King’s Daughter, TimTimTom Books, Lin Thomas, Sleeping Bear Press/Dow Phumiruk, Vivian Kirkfield,

 

The Author Sponsors that Made the Event Possible

2019 Author Sponsors

Julie Flett, Mehrdokht Amini, Author Janet Balletta, Author Kathleen Burkinshaw, Author Josh Funk, Chitra Soundar, One Globe Kids – Friendship Stories, Sociosights Press and Almost a Minyan, Karen Leggett, Author Eugenia Chu, CultureGroove Books, Phelicia Lang and Me On The Page, L.L. Walters, Author Sarah Stevenson, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Hayley Barrett, Sonia Panigrah, Author Carolyn Wilhelm, Alva Sachs and Dancing Dreidels, Author Susan Bernardo, Milind Makwana and A Day in the Life of a Hindu Kid, Tara Williams, Veronica Appleton, Author Crystal Bowe, Dr. Claudia May, Author/Illustrator Aram Kim, Author Sandra L. Richards, Erin Dealey, Author Sanya Whittaker Gragg, Author Elsa Takaoka, Evelyn Sanchez-Toledo, Anita Badhwar, Author Sylvia Liu, Feyi Fay Adventures, Author Ann Morris, Author Jacqueline Jules, CeCe & Roxy Books, Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace, LEUYEN PHAM, Padma Venkatraman, Patricia Newman and Lightswitch Learning, Shoumi Sen, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, Traci Sorell, Shereen Rahming, Blythe Stanfel, Christina Matula, Julie Rubini, Paula Chase, Erin Twamley, Afsaneh Moradian, Lori DeMonia, Terri Birnbaum/ RealGirls Revolution, Soulful Sydney, Queen Girls Publications, LLC

The Book Donators that Made the Event Possible

Alice Faye Duncan, Arte Público Press / Piñata Books, Authorhouse, Avant Learning, Baby Ventures Books, Beyond Words Publishing, Boystown Press, Brown Boy Brown Girl, Create Space, Crumpled Paper Publishing, David Michael Slater, Dreambuilt Books, Eifrig Publishing, Eva Harley Chiphe, Fig Factor Media, Flying Books House, Gaku Press, GIANT Graphics,  Islandport Press, Joy Sun Bear, Inc., Julia Inserro, JWS, Kar-Ben Publishing, Kidsjoy, Kind Eye Publishing, LLC, Kwill Books, Lantana Publishing, Maritza M Mejia, Mascot Books, MindView Press, MVP Kids Media, Nomad Press, Page Turner Publishing, PenMagicBooks LLC, Planting People Growing Justice, Sawaga River Press,  sHjstories, Tara Luebbe- author, Tuttle Publishing, Vision Your Dreams, Whimsical World, WOMAGIS, Write My Memoirs LLC,  Yorkshire Publishing,

 

The Book Reviewers  that Made the Event Possible

Over 500 and counting: 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 2019 here and here.

The MCBD Board of Advisors that Made the Event Possible

The Partnerships that Made the Event Possible:

THANK YOU Children’s Book Council (CBC) for yet another amazing CBC Book Jam filled with author visits and TONS of giveaways!

#ReadYourWorld Book Jam 2019 Cynthia Leitich Smith

Music Video! 

Thank you to Annie Lynn and Walt Wilcezewski for donating their time and expertise to create our first official Read Your World Multicultural Children’s Book Day Music Video!

Please support Annie Lynn on her website and YouTube channel!

Special thanks to the kids for their vocals on this song:  Havana Chapman-Edwards, Will, Hailey, and Amanda!

Website Support! Corey at Midstate Design is the guru who keeps the MCBD site running like a dream. We highly recommend his WordPress Care Package Extras Package.

Swag! The official supplier of our MCBD magnets is SwagChimp and they always came through for us!

SwagChimp

The Dream Team that Makes This Event (and Future MCBD Celebrations) Possible

And a final thank you to the team that makes the magic happen during the months before, during, and after each Multicultural Children’s Book Day: Co-founders Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen, Project Manager, Becky Flansburg, and Social Media Manager, Susan Mayfield. Thanks to lots of coffee, naps, meetings, giggles, and trust, this team continues to move mountains year after year.

Multicultural Children’s Book Day Free Resources

Throughout the months of November-January, leading up to the celebratory day, educators, librarians and parents can start planning and preparing with FREE activities available today at www.multiculturalchildrensbookday.com

FREE Classroom “Empathy” Kit:  

The free Classroom Empathy Kit focuses on empathy and compassion through shared booklists and special home or classroom activities. The kit includes 18 book recommends on the topic of Understanding Immigration and Refugees, Classroom Empathy Activities, and a very special custom printable Empathy Poster courtesy of author/illustrator Juana Medina. Educators, parents and librarians can sign-up to receive the free classroom kit here: http://bit.ly/2BGu4uQ

FREE Poverty Doesn’t Discriminate: Understanding Poverty in America Classroom Kit:

Created in 2018, this free classroom kit includes over 2 dozen poverty in the U.S.-themed book recommends for ages 4-12, two classroom or home activities, and a copy of the official “Poverty Doesn’t Discriminate” Classroom Poster thanks to the talents of award-winning illustrator, Mehrdokht Amini. http://bit.ly/2P6cXWE

Free Diversity Book Lists and Activities for Teachers and Parents: Curated lists of books about diverse topics including: countries, religions, holidays, ethnicities, in addition to special needs and LGBTQ. http://bit.ly/1kGZrta

Share a Classroom Celebration: Teachers who host a celebration in the classroom can send in a picture of their party to receive 3 free diverse books and a swag pack as a thank you.  Teachers and librarians can enter their event info HERE (https://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/category/offline-classroomlibrary-event-project/)

Don’t forget to connect with Multicultural Children’s Book Day on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.

 

SUPERHERO SECRETS Guest Post by Author Jacqueline Jules

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What happens when you get your wish?

That’s the question the students in my library inspired me to answer. I was working as an elementary school librarian in a Title I school in Northern Virginia. Every day, students came in asking for books on superheroes. There were not enough on their reading level to go around. Or even available on the market to purchase. It frustrated me. Like any school librarian, I wanted to meet my students’ needs.

Zoom! Zoom! Zapato Power!

In the Zapato Power series, a boy named Freddie Ramos lives out a fantasy many elementary school students secretly imagine. What if you had superpowers? What would you do? Would you keep them a secret? Would you use them for your own benefit or help others?

Freddie faces many dilemmas. His super speed is a thrill to use when he is alone. But when he is playing basketball with his friends, he feels like he is cheating. The most recent title, Zapato Power #7: Freddie Ramos Hears It All, shows Freddie managing the new power of super hearing. What should he do when he overhears information? Should he act on it? Can he use his super hearing without being a super snoop?

The Zapato Power series invites students to consider what it would be like to have a superhero dream come true. While I was writing it, I imagined my own students and how they would handle having a superhero secret at our elementary school. How would you get away with running in the hallways? How could you help others without revealing your superpowers? I quickly realized that my character would need to be enveloped in Zapato Power smoke, making him invisible every time he ran. Invisibility was a practical solution for Freddie Ramos. He still had social-emotional issues to consider. How would Freddie feel about being an anonymous hero? Would his superpowers make him feel isolated? And could they complicate the problems he faced in everyday life?

Zapatow Power

All of the characters in the Zapato Power series are named after children I taught as a school librarian. Freddie lives in an apartment complex behind his school, just as many of my students did. When I began the Zapato Power series, I wanted to do more than simply write a story for my students, I wanted to write about them. These kids were special to me for many reasons.

First off, as a school librarian, I had the pleasure of seeing them grow up and visit me each week in the library from their days as Head Start students all the way through sixth grade. Secondly, my students connected me to my own memories of childhood. I was a child of an immigrant myself. I understood when my students said they didn’t eat turkey on Thanksgiving because I had not either, as a child. And I understood when they looked at the floor, listening to a parent speak to a teacher in a heavy accent, because I did, too, as a child. Some things about being a child of an immigrant are universal.

Freddie Ramos is Latino, just like the majority of my students were.

How could I have created a character inspired by my students (and literally named after them) and ignore their cultural heritage? However, Freddie’s family and economic circumstances are the backgrounds of his story. As a school librarian, I was tired of the books on my library shelves which only presented the lives of minority children in the context of the problems they faced. Who wants their existence to be solely portrayed as a problem to be overcome?

When we write about minorities, we can’t limit their stories to the hardships they face. We need to write about who they really are. Loving, happy kids who have the same desire to be a superhero as anyone else.

Looking for some Zapato Power Activities? I have a bunch on my website HERE~!

author Jacqueline JulesBIO: Jacqueline Jules is the award-winning author of 40 children’s books, including the Zapato Power series, the Sofia Martinez series, Unite or Die: How Thirteen States Became a Nation, Duck for Turkey Day, Never Say a Mean Word Again, Feathers for Peacock, The Hardest Word, and Pluto is Peeved. Also a poet, Jacqueline is the author of three poetry chapbooks. Her poems have appeared in over 100 publications, including Cricket, Cicada, Germ Magazine, YARN, The Poetry Friday Anthologies, and One Minute Till Bedtime. She lives in Northern Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. Visit her website www.jacquelinejules.com. Connect on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BooksbyJacquelineJ/ Twitter @jacquelinejules

When the Majority Remains the Minority in Children’s Books

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{Guest Post by Author Sonia Panigrahy}

On a Saturday afternoon, I found myself rushing through Manhattan in preparation for a trip to Chicago to visit my best friend. I was searching for a gift for her five-year-old daughter. I opened the doors to a lovely two-storied children’s bookstore. I skimmed the shelves and struggled to find a book with a main female character that was not a princess. Seeking the help of an employee, I request a girl’s adventure book. She pulled out a book and described the plot, prompting me to purchase the book without having the time to read it. I figured the little girl and I would read it for the first time together in Chicago.

We were in our pajamas in Chicago on the sofa as I cracked open this new adventure story. The main character has a dream where an adventure awaits her. I turn the pages to find that the adventure involves the main female character cleaning and cooking. What struck me in a very painful way was that no adventure book for boys would include cleaning and cooking. Why is it that children’s books are delineated into boys’ vs. girls’ stories that restrict what they can and cannot become? Why don’t books have storylines where pronouns can be interchangeable so that kids can just be kids? [Read more…]

MCBD2019 Sponsors and Book Reviewers: Deadlines Looming!

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It’s hard to believe our 6th Multicultural Children’s Book Day online and offline celebration is less than two months away.

Things are going at full speed here at MCBD headquarters and we want to make sure two critical deadlines don’t sneak up on our supporters, reviewers, and potential sponsors.

MCBD Sponsorship Deadline is 12/15/18

Sponsorship for Multicultural Children’s Book Day is not only a great way to support this event; it is an excellent way to get your name (and your books) in front of thousands of readers. All of our Sponsors get a name mention within the hundreds of reviews that get posted from December to January 25th and also on the sites of our 24+ CoHosts sites. The deadline for ALL Sponsor sign-ups is 12/15/18. [Read more…]

A new Added bonus for Platinum and Super Platinum Sponsorship levels!

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Great things are happening at Multicultural Children’s Book Day headquarters and our Sponsor lineup is growing by the DAY. You can view current Medallion Level Sponsors and Author Sponsors on the website here and here.

THEN…we are excited to announce a new Added bonus for Platinum and Super Platinum Sponsorship levels!

Along with all the other perks that go along with our two highest levels of Sponsorship, the MCBD Team has “sweetened the deal” with this impressive bonus.

Those who sign up for Platinum or Super Platinum level for MCBD2019 will be enjoying the opportunity of providing up to 12 guest posts (written by the sponsor) that can be used on the MCBD blog over the course of 12 months!

This is a big deal! On any given day the MCBD blog gets around 600-800 hits and during the month before and after our online holiday that number triples. Guest posts are also “evergreen” which means they live on the MCBD blog forever. This benefit is perfect for book launches, company news, special sales or announcements of new books!

P.S. The deadline for ALL Sponsor sign-ups for is 12/15/18 [Read more…]

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