Multicultural Children's Book Day

#ReadYourWorld

#OWNVOICES Books that Showcase the Diversity of our World

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(Guest post from Barefoot Books)

From the very beginning, Barefoot Books have represented a vast array of cultures and perspectives, while also providing children of all backgrounds a mirror of their own experiences.

Our newest releases are no exception! We are delighted to invite you to explore our Spring 2021 collection — this season, we’re as motivated as ever to create a space where there’s room for everyone—even a whole blue whale—as we celebrate diversity in all its forms. You will meet a non-conformist cat, travel the Inka Trail, celebrate Carnival, join a family reunion, and more.

This season’s collection is also a tribute to our precious planet. We’re delighted to present a wide selection of products that encourage kids to explore, learn about, and honor the great outdoors. Please enjoy browsing on our website, and contact us today if you would like to learn more or review Barefoot Books. We can’t wait to hear what you think!

Watch our Video!

Connect with Barefoot Books via their website, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube.

AUTHOR QUESTIONS

Q: What inspired you to write this book?

A: “Dad” Richardson, co-author of Family Reunion

One of the main reasons was for a Black-American boy to see themselves in a book…to show they matter. Even though diverse characters in picture books are growing, protagonists of color still are underrepresented. We then thought about how the family has been the backbone of who we are for centuries. It was a natural setting to show the importance of the family in the Black-American community.

 

Q: What inspired you to write this book?

A: Mariana Llanos, author of Run, Little Chaski!

Mariana Llanos

I saw the possibility of writing about a universal value (kindness) in a historical setting (Inka Empire) to help lift up the amazing pre-Columbian cultures of our continent. My story was inspired by the love I have for my country, Perú, and my passion for history.

 

Q: What inspired you to write this book?

A: Baptiste Paul, author of To Carnival!

My inspiration for writing To Carnival!: A Celebration in St. Lucia would definitely be my childhood experiences. When I reflect back to my childhood, there were lots of playful, joyful moments in the midst of the poverty my family experienced. Growing up, I never took part in a Carnival parade but I enjoyed listening to the soca, calypso, and steel pan music. Those fun memories of growing up would help me create a character named Melba and empower her to experience something I couldn’t.

Contributor Social Handles

Run, Little Chaski!

Author: Mariana Llanos 

Instagram @marianawritestheworld

Twitter @marianallanos

Illustrator: Mariana Ruiz Johnson 

Twitter @mruizjohnson

Instagram: @marianaruizjohnson

 

Family Reunion

Author: Chad and Dad Richardson 

twitter @chadanddadrich

Instagram @chadanddadrichardson

 

Instagram @ashleigh_corrin

Twitter @ash_corrin

 

To Carnival!

Author: Baptiste Paul

Twitter @baptistepaul

Instagram @baptistepaul77

 

Illustrator: Jana Glatt

Instagram: @janaglatt

 

Finding The Truth in Friendship

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{Guest post by Lisa Rose}

In 1997, after years of education and training, I finally had my own classroom. On the first day of school, I looked out at my students.  I really couldn’t tell one bald-headed black boy from the next. I had a horrifying thought: I am ignorant!  How could I, a grandchild of a family who was slaughtered in the Holocaust, lack understanding of a minority? The answer is exposure.

This experience happened over 20 years ago, and since that time, I have taught in many schools where most of my students are African American.  As a result, I have been immersed in both African American and Jewish communities and observe not only our differences but our similarities.  Because of this immersion in both communities, I became intrigued by stories of Black and Jewish friendships. So, when I discovered the story about how -, I was not only interested—but excited.

The story goes like this–when Marian Anderson sang at Princeton, she denied a hotel room because she was black.  Einstein, who attended her performance overheard this conversation and offered Marian a room in his house for the night.  This story became the picture book The Singer and the Scientist (Kar-Ben Publishing, 2021, ages 4-8).

Getting this story recognized as accurate, however, was no easy task. Einstein’s account of the event is well-documented. However, Marian Anderson’s autobiography tells the story in a different way. It says that her stay with Einstein was prearranged. Given this discrepancy, I had to evaluate all of the evidence.  My conclusion was that this event was embarrassing for Marian because she wrote her autobiography before the civil rights era. Marian was a reluctant activist. She would have downplayed the conflict. I submitted the story, but also noted Marian Andersen’s version in my author’s note.

This story was almost published by a different publisher, but they didn’t want the risk of an “alternative” version of the story. I was broken-hearted by this rejection. Yet, I persisted.  I continued to inquire and investigate. Finally, I presented my findings to Marian Anderson’s estate. Her estate certified that my version was the true version of the story. Years later, I submitted this story to Kar-Ben, the editor loved it and was satisfied with my research.

I am glad that I persisted. Not only did it get my book published, but it gave me an opportunity to do my part in addressing the very real and very contemporary issues of racism and anti-Semitism. I hope that my book will help many to realize the power of friendship and understanding.

A teacher’s guide is posted on my website. www.LisaRoseWrites.com. This guide will help parents and teachers to start many important conversations with young people: conversations about shared struggles and common dreams.

Unfortunately, although there are many instances of African Americans and Jews working together to make this country a freer and kinder place, antipathies between our groups have been on the rise.  Yet, if there is one thing that slavery, the Holocaust, redlining, blacklisting, and discrimination hopefully have taught us—it’s that hate and division don’t work. In the end, when we are exposed to diversity, we realize all of the possibilities different communities offer—better possibilities, possibilities of hope, and joy.

Author Lisa Rose

Author Lisa Rose

 

Bio:  Lisa Rose lives near Detroit, Mi. Her most recent picture book The Singer and the Scientist was published April 1 (Kar-Ben Publishing).  It is the story of how Albert Einstein and Marian Anderson met and became friends. You can learn more about Lisa and her books at www.LisaRoseWrites.com

Diverse Middle-Grade Books That Celebrate Poetry

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{Guest post By Tonya Duncan Ellis}

 

Roses are red.

Violets are blue.

April is National Poetry Month.

Whoo-hoo!

Clearly, my poetry writing skills are lacking, but I love reading and hearing poetry.

Started by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month was created to celebrate poets and poems. I was excited to include “Dreams,” a poem from Harlem Renaissance poet, Langston Hughes, in my book, Sophie Washington: My BFF.

According to Scholastic, poetry benefits children in many ways. Exposing kids to poems:

  1. Builds early literacy skills.
  2. Encourages them to play with language.
  3. Makes reluctant readers less intimidated by literature, since poems generally use fewer words than prose.
  4. Give kids an outlet to share feelings.

In recent years, there’s been an increase in middle-grade books written in verse or poetic stanzas. The list below includes some diverse middle-grade titles, written in verse, or that celebrate poetry, to check out.

Diverse Middle-Grade Books That Celebrate Poetry

Becoming Muhammad Ali by James Patterson and Kwame Alexander – Written in both prose and verse, this inspiring book chronicles the famed boxers growing up in Louisville, KY, where I was born and raised. Becoming Muhammad Ali showcases the fighter’s motivation, strong work ethic, and drive.

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson – This National Book Award and Newbery Honor-winning story is written in verse and chronicles the author’s growing up in South Carolina and New York during the 1960s and 1970s, describing her journey to become a writer and find her place in the world.

Emmy In the Key of Code by Aimee Lucido -When she takes a computer coding class, twelve-year-old Emmy finds her place in her new city and school and connects with a new friend, Abigail. But bad news about their computer coding teacher and Abigail, threaten her happiness. Written in verse, the book uniquely combines, poetry, music, and computer code.

Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton –Half-Black and half-Japanese main character, Mimi, aspires to become an astronaut, like the crew in the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, in this historical fiction novel written in verse. She struggles to fit in after moving to an almost all-White Vermont town and teaches readers the value of speaking out.

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai – A coming of age novel is written in verse, this novel is inspired by the author’s refugee experience fleeing Saigon, Vietnam to immigrate to Alabama. It’s a National Book Award and Newbery Honor-winning book.

Land of the Cranes by Aida Salazar –This haunting, fictional story, written in verse, shares the immigration experience of Betita, a nine-year-old girl. After her family flees Mexico to avoid the Mexican drug cartel, her father is arrested by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) and deported. She and her pregnant mother are detained in a detention camp outside Los Angeles, and their heartbreaking experience is described.

Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga – Jude and her mother flee Syria to stay with relatives in Cincinnati in this Newbery Honor-winning book, written in verse. Jude struggles with leaving her father and brother behind, fitting in, and finding her place in her new home.

Red White and Whole by Rajani LaRocca –In this free-verse story, set in the 1980s, thirteen-year-old Reha is torn between two worlds: school, where she’s the only Indian American, and home, where her family expects her to honor Old World traditions. Then she finds out her mother has leukemia and vows to be as virtuous as possible in the hope that she can heal her mom.

Simon B. Rhymin’ by Dwayne Reed – Eleven-year-old Simon Barnes uses his rap talent to make a difference in his community in this book, written in prose. The author is a fourth-grade teacher from Chicago and creator of a viral back-to-school video “Welcome to the 4th Grade.”

Some Places More Than Others by Renee Watson – Twelve-year-old Amara takes a birthday trip from Oregon to visit her Dad’s side of the family in Harlem, where she learns New York City and family history and the benefit of following your dreams. The main character’s father is a discouraged poet, and there are many references to poetry in the book, including an adaptation of the Langston Hughes poem, “Mother to Son.”

Sophie Washington: My BFF by Tonya Duncan Ellis – Sophie writes a paper about a Langston Hughes poem and is forced to make a choice between doing the right thing and risking a friendship, when her bestie asks her to plagiarize, in this illustrated chapter book, written in prose.

Starfish by Lisa Fipps-Ellie is bullied by her classmates and criticized by her mom about her weight in this affirming, free verse, a middle-grade novel. Her safe place is the pool, where she can stretch out like a starfish. With support from her father, her therapist, and a new friend, she learns to be at home with herself in any space.

 

Tonya Duncan Ellis is the author of the bestselling, award-winning Sophie Washington children’s book series, geared toward readers ages 8-12 and is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and the Authors Guild.
www.tonyaduncanellis.com
Like Us on Facebook: @tonyaellisbooks
Follow Us on Twitter: @tonyaDEllis
Follow Us on Instagram: @tonyaellisbooks

 

Women in STEM: One Step Further by Katherine Johnson {Giveaway!}

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Welcome to the One Step Further Blog Tour!

To celebrate the release of One Step Further by Katherine Johnson and her daughters Joylette Hylick and Katherine Moore, and illustrated by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow on January 5th, blogs across the web are featuring exclusive photos and stories from the life of NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, plus 5 chances to win a hardcover copy!

With ONE STEP FURTHER, author Katherine Johnson shares what it was like for her daughters to be a part of her history-making path. Filled with personal reflections, exclusive family archival photos, and striking illustrations, readers will be immersed in this deeply personal portrayal of female empowerment, women in STEM, and the breaking down of race barriers across generations. Historical notes, photo/illustration notes, and a timeline put the story into a historical and modern-day context.

Picturing the Past

by Lori Epstein, Photo Director, National Geographic Kids Books

Katherine Johnson’s West Virginia State College Diploma
In the summer of 2019, I had the honor of being welcomed into the private home of Katherine Johnson. She was a celebrity, but she was a stranger to me, known only from a distance through books and the now famous movie Hidden Figures.
Katherine’s college transcripts. Check out those grades! And do the math to see that she graduated Summa Cum Laude at age 19. Wow.
As I sat on the floor of the spare bedroom of her home, sifting through shoeboxes, file folders, and thick family albums, it struck me that there’s a reason why we call them personal items. These church programs, newspaper clippings, and photos have the ability to help bring a story to life, to make emotional connections. As I pored over school papers, sheet music, awards, and stacks of photos, Joylette and Kathy told me stories about each item; who that person was, and where that event took place, and what that award was for. They were generous with their time and opened up to me about what it was like growing up during the civil rights movement. With each item I photographed, I was getting closer and closer to all of the women in this book. I held in my hand Katherine’s report card (so many A’s!), her college diploma, her string of pearls, her Presidential Medal of Freedom. These are items only someone very close would ever have the privilege of touching. By the time I left, I felt like I was leaving the home of a neighbor and friend.
By including some of these incredibly personal photos and artifacts in our book, I hope that readers have the same experience and walk away caring more about these women and their mission to take one step further.
Presidential Medal of Freedom Pin

*****

credit Mark Thiessen/NGP

 

Lori Epstein, Photo Director, National Geographic Kids Books

Blog Tour Schedule:

February 22nd – Multicultural Children’s Book Day Blog

February 23rd – Here Wee Read

February 24th – Make a Way Blog

February 25th – BookHounds

February 26th – Frantic Mommy

 

Buy: Amazon | Indiebound | Bookshop

Follow National Geographic Kids: Website | Twitter | Books Twitter | Facebook | Youtube
This inspirational picture book reveals what is was like for a young black mother of three to navigate the difficult world of the 1950s and 60s and to succeed in an unwelcoming industry to become one of the now legendary “hidden figures” of NASA computing and space research.
Johnson’s own empowering narrative is complemented by the recollections of her two daughters about their mother’s work and insights about how she illuminated their paths, including one daughter’s fight for civil rights and another’s journey to become a NASA mathematician herself. The narrative gracefully weaves together Johnson’s personal story, her influence on her daughters’ formative years, her and her daughters’ fight for civil rights, and her lasting impact on NASA and space exploration. Filled with personal reflections, exclusive family archival photos, and striking illustrations, readers will be immersed in this deeply personal portrayal of female empowerment, women in STEM, and the breaking down of race barriers across generations. Historical notes, photo/illustration notes, and a timeline put the story into a historical and modern-day context.
The inspirational tale of Johnson’s perseverance is both intimate and global, showcasing the drive of each generation to push one step further than the last. With its evocative family album-style format and novel approach to storytelling, One Step Further is sure to inspire the next generation of rising stars.
“Engaging, collage-style art augments the text, with speech bubbles, archival family photographs, and Barlow’s child-friendly illustrations. Concurrently accessible and intimate, this book will both inform readers and inspire them to reach for the stars.” 
―Publishers Weekly
 
“A concise, engaging story of a Black family in the South during the Civil Rights era.” 
―Booklist
 
“The blend of Johnson’s and her daughters’ voices is intimate and inspiring.” 
―Horn Book 

 

Joylette (L), Kathy (R), Katherine (F) 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Katherine Johnson was an American mathematician whose calculations of
orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights. She calculated and analyzed the flight paths of many spacecraft during her more than three decades with the U.S. space program, and her work helped send astronauts to the moon. She died on February 24, 2020.

ABOUT THE CO-AUTHORS: Joylette Goble Hylick and Katherine “Kathy” Goble Moore grew up during the space race of the 1960s but never fully grasped their mother’s role in it until years later. Hylick graduated from Hampton University and received a Master’s at Drexel University. She followed in her mother’s footsteps, working at NASA as a mathematician before taking a job with Lockheed Martin as a Senior Requirements Engineer. She lives today in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. After attending Bennett College and Hampton University, and receiving a Masters of Science in Information Systems from Montclair State University (formerly Montclair State College), Moore spent 33 years working in public education as an educator and guidance counselor in New Jersey. She currently resides in Greensboro, North Carolina.

 

 

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR: Charnelle Pinkney Barlow, the granddaughter of Caldecott-winning illustrator Jerry Pinkney, was surrounded by art as a child. Her passion for illustration grew after being introduced to the world of watercolors. She received her BFA in Illustration from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and her MFA in Illustration as Visual Essay from the School of Visual Arts in New York City.
 
Follow Charnelle: Facebook | Instagram
GIVEAWAY: Win a SIGNED Copy!
  • One (1) winner will receive a hardcover copy of One Step Further signed by Katherine Johnson’s daughters and co-authors Joylette Hylick and Katherine Moore!
  • Check out the other tour stops for more chances to win
  • US/Can only
  • Ends 3/7 at 11:59 pm ET

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Surrounded by Superheroes: Diverse Book Celebrations from MCBD2021

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We did it! Another wildly successful Multicultural Children’s Book Day is complete. Once again, 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.

As we all scroll through the social media posts, book reviews, and images of happy kiddoes reading diverse books during their classroom celebration, we really, REALLY, feel blessed to be so passionately supported.

We are, indeed, surrounded by superheroes!

The following is just a sample of all of the amazing book recommendations, diverse booklist, diverse book reviews, authors, publishers, educators, librarians, and young readers. Search #ReadYourWorld on any social media platform and see even MORE reasons to smile and books to add to your “must-read.” pile/

Also, be sure and visit our Big Giant Linky to see hundreds of diverse children and teen book reviews in honor of the event. Enjoy!

Media Mentions

Celebrate Multicultural Children’s Book Day with the BWG Library  

Multicultural Children's Book Day

Lake Oswego Public Library Read Alouds!

AND, Multicultural Books for Teens Printable Booklist!

 

News15 link Thanks to Aly:

https://www.kadn.com/content/news/KidLit-Pick-of-the-Week–573684761.html

 

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