On My Desk | More Great Diverse Books for Kids Archives

The ON MY DESK series was born a few years ago thanks to my role as Project Manager for Multicultural Children’s Book Day.

One of the many job perks is that I get to enjoy the avalanche of amazing multicultural books for kids that are donated to our project. Seriously, from October to January, it’s like Christmas every day for my and a good chunk of the year my office looks like a small bookstore!

And I love every second of it.

I also discover a ton of new titles from new authors in my every day online travels. I am active in several children’s book/illustrator groups and the level of new talent is mind-blowing. Sometimes, I see a new diverse book and before I can even get my hands on a copy, I want to share news of it with the world.

Being appreciative of every book that crosses my desk (or comes across my radar) I wanted to find a fun way to share those books with the loyal folks who show up here to read every week and support this non-profit. At that moment (2+ years ago), the On My Desk blog post series was born! It’s my way of sharing some amazing titles that don’t always get the attention they deserve.

So even though MCBD2021 hasn’t occurred yet (1/29/21), I am LOVING all of the amazing books all these wonderful multicultural books for kids that I am discovering every time I open the mail.

Here’s what the Mailman Book Fairy brought me this week:

BLACK GIRL MAGIC SPRINKLES by Chaunetta and Trinity Johnson

“Even if you haven’t seen it, doesn’t mean you can’t achieve it; because with just a sprinkle of your Black Girl Magic, you can be it!”

Black Girl Magic Sprinkles is a story about a young girl named Trinity, who dreams of one day being a teacher. However, she is discouraged because she does not often see women who look like her in successful jobs. She stumbles upon a jar of Black Girl Magic Sprinkles and is shown endless opportunities. It takes this encounter for her to realize that Black Girl Magic lives within her and she can be anything she wants to be.

No Voice Too Small: Kids can make a difference, so can YOU!

One thing that gives me hope for the future are the voices of young people.

In No Voice Too Small, a number of authors come together to highlight the strength and fight of fourteen young people.

Fans of We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices will love meeting fourteen young activists who have stepped up to make a change in their community and the United States.

Mari Copeny demanded clean water in Flint. Jazz Jennings insisted, as a transgirl, on playing soccer with the girls’ team. From Viridiana Sanchez Santos’s quinceañera demonstration against anti-immigrant policy to Zach Wahls’s moving declaration that his two moms and he were a family like any other, No Voice Too Small celebrates the young people who know how to be the change they seek. Fourteen poems honor these young activists. Featuring poems by Lesléa Newman, Traci Sorell, and Nikki Grimes. Additional text goes into detail about each youth activist’s life and how readers can get involved.

Following the Footsteps by Tina Tedesco-Vella

This cute picture book alludes to relevant topics that children encounter in today’s social media runs the world. The beautifully illustrated story follows a young non-binary child named Taylor as well as their mom, dad, and two pet dogs, Charlie and Chester, as they go on a beach vacation.

The family is enjoying their time at the beach when Taylor gets separated from them and other beachgoers and begins to panic. Although Taylor is afraid of being lost, being an only child, they are used to finding ways of entertainment independently. As a way of distracting from the situation at hand, Taylor notices the sea life and rock pools and begins creating an imaginary game. They take in the surrounding environment including the big ocean and they begin to listen to the waves. Listening to the ocean, Taylor breathes in and out to try and breathe with the sounds of the waves to help relax.

Especially in the current state of the world, children can be anxious with everything going on and it is important for them to find something simple so they can destress from feeling overwhelmed and lost by going back to the simple things in life. Tedesco-Vella wanted to reflect non-binary persons by not giving the main character, Taylor, a gender and encourage readers to express their true selves.

Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Balboa Press

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.

Go HERE to read one of our recent blog posts, How to Tap Into the Buzz of a Multicultural Children’s Book Day Celebration.

***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. For more information about Multicultural Children’s Book Day, please contact Becky at Becky@MulticulturalChildrensBookDay.com .

On My Desk | More Great Diverse Books for Kids

When a young girl is frightened of a storm, her grandmother comforts her by telling the story of the Night Horses – a creature Grandfather Thunder made from his own heart to wake the earth and bring the rains to the people. Based on the Lakota legend of the Thunder Horse, “Grandfather Thunder & the Night Horses,” is translated through permission of the tribal elders of the Pine Ridge Reservation and the Thunder Valley Lakota Language Initiative in Pine Ridge, South Dakota.

Talk With Me: The Big Book of Exclamations 2 by Teri Kaminiski-Peterson, M.S.C.C.C./SLP

The author’s first book, The Big Book of Exclamations, was written with the goal of being an educational children’s book designed to promote speech sound development. Talk With Me: The Big Book of Exclamations 2 is the second in a series of educational children’s books. Created by a pediatric speech-language pathologist, our books are filled with carefully designed illustrations which immerse infants and toddlers in the rich language that surrounds in their familiar environments and daily routines. The books are designed to promote speech sound development and imitation of gestures, sounds, and words. Unlike most books, it doesn’t have a story to read. Instead, across the bottom of each page, there are prompts which teach parents/educators how to act out the illustrations and interact using gestures, sounds, words, or phrases depending on their child’s ability. The book shows parents how to modify what they say about each illustration in order to maximize their child’s communication potential. It is also filled with information which helps parents understand speech.

Lilly Ann learned to read and write from her master’s children in Kentucky. She shared her knowledge with other enslaved people in a hidden spot in the woods on Sundays when the family was away. Later, she was sold to Mississippi, where teaching others carried a punishment of thirty-nine lashes with a whip. To keep from being found out, Lilly Ann taught in a secluded cabin off a back alley from midnight until two in the morning. Over the years she taught hundreds of enslaved people, and they, in turn, shared their knowledge with others. Read the author’s guest post and book review on JumpIntoAbook.com.

Tolerance Tykes was created to promote to inclusivity of children from all walks of life. This new series will focus on breaking down the walls of intolerance that stand in the way of a more compassionate world for our children to grow in. The purpose of this book is to instill the message that all children are beautiful and important just the way they are.Each book in the series will provide a look into the lives of ten children. Through bright illustrations, fun facts, and poetry the reader will get a sense of what it is like to walk in that person’s shoes for a day. Topics include Gender Identity, Autism, Down syndrome, Hearing Impairment, Blindness, Anxiety, stuttering, Cancer, Adoption and Muscular Dystrophy.

What amazing books have YOU found this week?