No matter what method you use to homeschool, I think we can all agree that “reading is fundamental” (as LeVar Burton used to say).
And in our own homeschool, I’ve used historical fiction to teach oh-so-much! We’ve exposed our kids to world religions, world history, and broadened their perspective to discourage ethnocentricity. Books by and about minority authors have also helped us put together displays for our International Day presentations, where we studied about a foreign country and prepared a food or two to share and a table-top display about what we learned. We found some wonderful authors such as Laura Resau and Kathleen Burkinshaw, discoveries that led to some cherished mother-daughter bonding and memorable conversations in the process…
And so it was with great anticipation that I prepared for this year’s Multicultural Children’s Book Day (which, technically, is tomorrow, but I wanted to give you a little advance notice).
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in advance to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The story is an easy-read for tweens and teens, but the concepts presented will prove to be great conversation-starters at the dinner table:
- Why did Jackie feel the need to keep the chrysalis a secret?
- What effect did keeping the secret have on her little brother?
- What effect did it have on her?
- Why didn’t she feel that she could trust her parents?
- What made her feel “powerful” and “free”? Was she really?
- What would have given her the perception that adults are powerful and free?
Despite the main character’s young age, this is definitely a coming-of-age book that explores the process of growing up, and children’s perceptions of adulthood. It was a very sweet story at first glance; but one that a creative parent can dig deeper into for their growing child/tween/teen’s benefit!
PIN this for further reading and sharing!
Multicultural Children’s Book Day is in its 5th year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents, and educators.
Current Sponsors: MCBD 2018 is honored to have some amazing Sponsors on board.
2018 MCBD Medallion Sponsors
HONORARY: Children’s Book Council, Junior Library Guild
PLATINUM: Scholastic Book Clubs
GOLD: Audrey Press, Candlewick Press, Loving Lion Books, Second Story Press, Star Bright Books, Worldwide Buddies
SILVER: Capstone Publishing, Author Charlotte Riggle, Child’s Play USA, KidLit TV, Pack-n-Go Girls, Plum Street Press
BRONZE: Barefoot Books, Carole P. Roman, Charlesbridge Publishing, Dr. Crystal Bowe, Gokul! World, Green Kids Club, Gwen Jackson, Jacqueline Woodson, Juan J. Guerra, Language Lizard, Lee & Low Books, RhymeTime Storybooks, Sanya Whittaker Gragg, TimTimTom Books, WaterBrook & Multnomah, Wisdom Tales Press
2018 Author Sponsors
Honorary Author Sponsors: Author/Illustrator Aram Kim and Author/Illustrator Juana Medina, Author Janet Balletta, Author Susan Bernardo, Author Carmen Bernier-Grand, Author Tasheba Berry-McLaren and Space2Launch, Bollywood Groove Books, Author Anne Broyles, Author Kathleen Burkinshaw, Author Eugenia Chu, Author Lesa Cline-Ransome, Author Medeia Cohan and Shade 7 Publishing, Desi Babies, Author Dani Dixon and Tumble Creek Press, Author Judy Dodge Cummings, Author D.G. Driver, Author Nicole Fenner and Sister Girl Publishing, Debbi Michiko Florence, Author Josh Funk, Author Maria Gianferrari, Author Daphnie Glenn, Globe Smart Kids, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Author Quentin Holmes, Author Esther Iverem, Jennifer Joseph: Alphabet Oddities, Author Kizzie Jones, Author Faith L Justice , Author P.J. LaRue and MysticPrincesses.com, Author Karen Leggett Abouraya, Author Sylvia Liu, Author Sherri Maret, Author Melissa Martin Ph.D., Author Lesli Mitchell, Pinky Mukhi and We Are One, Author Miranda Paul, Author Carlotta Penn, Real Dads Read, Greg Ransom, Author Sandra L. Richards, RealMVPKids Author Andrea Scott, Alva Sachs and Three Wishes Publishing, Shelly Bean the Sports Queen, Author Sarah Stevenson, Author Gayle H. Swift Author Elsa Takaoka, Author Christine Taylor-Butler, Nicholette Thomas and MFL Publishing Author Andrea Y. Wang, Author Jane Whittingham Author Natasha Yim
We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.
TWITTER PARTY Sponsored by Scholastic Book Clubs: MCBD’s super-popular (and crazy-fun) annual Twitter Party will be held 1/27/18 at 9:00 pm.
Join the conversation and win one of 12 5-book bundles and one Grand Prize Book Bundle (12 books) that will be given away at the party!
Free Multicultural Books for Teachers
Free Empathy Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians, and Educators
Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.
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