Stories are magical, for both the young and old. Here you can find book reviews for specific age groups, topics, or learning experiences. There are also booklists and lesson ideas for educators, librarians, and families.
Anisa’sInternational Day by Reem Faruqi is an early chapter book story about a 3rd grader named Anisa who is Pakistani-American. She is a positive role model for young people as she is proud of her heritage and is eager to share it with her classmates. It even inspires her teacher to create a project around it for her whole class: an International Day!
As an immigrant myself, I enjoy this story because of how Faruqi seamlessly weaves in cultural information into the story and supports it with recipes, directions for the crafts and a glossary at the end of the book! As a parent and teacher, I like how Faruqi shows how Anisa uses her doodling to help with her anxious feelings and how Anisa’s teacher helps her when there is a misunderstanding with her best friend. Conflict resolution is an important topic for social-emotional lessons for children and this story is a perfect example to use.
A huge thank you to Reem Faruqi for sharing an ARC of this book with my Book Excursion book review group. I cannot wait to share this with my students!
Proud to Be... is a children's picture book written by Natalie McDonald-Perkins and is illustrated by Mary Ibeh. The heart of the story is an elementary-aged child from Nigeria named Ifunanya. She is starting at a new school and is already nervous for the typical reasons any child would be. On her first day she is greeted by a substitute teacher who mispronounces her name. As the day goes on more classmates make fun of her name so much that she starts to question why she even has such name that is so problematic.
Disappointed in her unwelcoming class, Ifunanya shares her feelings about her name with her parents. They listen then tell her about the origin of her name and the meaning behind it. The advice they give her is to be patient as people learn to say her name correctly.
Ifunanya decides to give school another chance the next day. Thankfully, her permanent teacher is back and she takes the time to make sure she is pronouncing her name correctly. She sympathizes with Ifunanya's situation because her name is also commonly mispronounced. The classmates who made fun of her name apologize for their behavior and they start to share the meaning behind their names.
As a teacher, librarian, parent, and an immigrant whose name is often mispronounced, I liked this book's message and delivery of the point that a person should be proud of their name and be patient as others learn it. There have been many books published about children with difficult names to pronounce, but this is the first story I have seen with a main character from Nigeria. The illustrations are also vibrant, show a range of characters and capture the mood of the story well.
This story could lead to discussions with young people about many topics. For example, what are ways that you can ask how to pronounce a person's name? What if your name is difficult to say? How can you help others learn your name? People can also share experiences they have had with other people's names who were new to them. What did they learn from those experiences? It could also be a time to invite readers to share the origin of their own names. The author also includes a Teacher Tips section at the end of the book for what to do if a student has a name that is difficult to pronounce. She also includes a list of unique names with their language of origin and meanings. Children can try to say them out loud for practice.
I'd definitely add this to my school library collection and include it in my daughter's reading collection, too!
Another book that this author and illustrator duo have created is Best In Me. I reviewed it last year and it had similar themes of looking inward to point out your unique traits.
The House That Lou Built by Mae Respicio is an award-winning, middle-grades chapter book that is great for a book club, read aloud, or independent reading book. It offers a unique look at the Filipino-American culture while exploring universal themes of grief, family, and friendship for a middle-schooler.
13 year-old Lou is half-Filipina, half-White but she identifies with her Filipina side since she lives with her mother's family in San Francisco. Her father passed away before she was born and he left her some land as her inheritance. When Lou visits her plot of land she feels at peace and connected to her father. When her mother considers moving them away so she can find a better job Lou decides to build a tiny house on her land that she has always dreamed of building. Lolo, her grandpa, tells her, "That's how dreams work. You just have to do them." Perhaps this will convince her mother to keep them there?
Lou's community is an important part of the story. Her mentors, Lolo, Annie, the salvage yard owner and shop teacher, Mr. Keller, help her with her plans, as have her close friends and family members. She even makes friends with the ever-popular, Jack, who she encourages to document her project. Lou is not a typical character because she excels in building and engineering, which makes her stand out amongst her friends and classmates. Her favorite place to be is the salvage yard because it inspires her to use the parts to invent new machines. Readers can share a place that inspires them! She also keeps a running 1,001 Cool Things to Build list and adds items to it, like a catapult. Readers can add items to the list of something they'd like to build one day.
Lou's identity is an interesting theme that Respicio addresses in the story. Lou says, "Being half and half is something I don't think about much." Readers who are split between cultures can compare how they feel to Lou. When Lou compares her grandparents from both sides of her family she says, "I never knew the difference between my white grandpa and my brown one because they loved me the same." Readers can discuss differences between their family members. Lou describes her White and Filipina features noting that she doesn't look like her mom but "Mom knows that inside, I'm just as Filipina as she is. We connect with each other no matter how different we look." Readers can consider to whom they feel most connected in their lives. Lou also compares her experiences when eating meals at non-Filipino households. Readers can share about times when they were exposed to cultures outside of their own.
I enjoyed this story in many ways. I learned about the Barrio Fiesta and how homes in the Philippines could be moved if flooding were to occur. Readers can learn about the trials that immigrants endure when moving to the U.S. I loved Respicio's description of the foods, dancing, and community in the story. It reminded me of my own Persian community of ex-Pats growing up in Kansas.
Readers will want to stick with Lou all the way to the end to find out if she ends up building her tiny dream home or if she has to follow her dad's advice she read in his journal, that "sometimes plans change."
Readers can also explore the Tiny House Movement and design their own as an extension idea.
She has a strong outlook and jumps over the hurdles the adults put in her way. My favorite line is when she says, "Sure, I'm only 13 but my ideas matter." When I taught middle school students, this was the feeling that students said frustrated them the most, that they weren't being heard. Readers can share what is important to them, just like Lou.
Almost American Girl by Robin Ha is a poignant story on immigration and cultural norms that emotes empathy for anyone who has been made to feel like "the other."
For 14 years Chun is raised by her mother in Seoul, South Korea. Chun and her mother face prejudice there because of her mother's unwed status. During the summer Chun's mother announces a surprise trip to Alabama to visit a new friend. Unbeknownst to Chun, her mother had no intentions to return to Seoul. Chun was blindsided. She didn't like Alabama because she hardly spoke English, had racist classmates, and she wasn't able to say goodbye to her friends back at home. Months of isolation and loneliness caused Chun to doubt her mother's life choices. With flashbacks that filled in the backstory of Chun and her mother's life, the story moves in a hopeful direction when Chun finds friends in a comic book club.
This story connects to me as in immigrant because like Chun, I was asked if I wanted to choose an American name to go by in school. Before my kindergarten enrollment I spent weeks deciding what name would be a part of my identity. For Chun, it was Robin. For me, it was Fallon. Asking a 5 year old or a 14 year old that question is a heavy load for them to process. The choice empowered Chun because it allowed her to start fresh in a new school.
Robin's story also connects to me as a teacher, because I, too, have had students who have immigrated to the United States. I knew how important it was to build relationships with them and their families. In the story, Robin has a strong relationship with her English/Language Arts teacher. They write back and forth in Robin's journal and she encourages Robin to speak up for herself.
Robin was rescued from feeling isolated by reconnecting with her friends in Seoul. "Even though my friends weren't with me, knowing that they cared gave me strength." This is the part that truly saves Robin. She had to feel like herself again before she could be vulnerable to explore her interests in Alabama. Knowing that her friends back home were rooting for her gave her the confidence to try harder.
I was gifted an e-book edition of The Misadventures of Tarah and Darah: The Switch by authors Dyesha and Triesha McCants and illustrated by Mike Motz for Multicultural Children's Book Day. This is an uplifting story for younger elementary-aged children who ask themselves why they are different and if different means bad.
The six year old twins in this story, Tarah and Darah, go on many adventures together, and this one takes them to school to switch spots for the day. It turns out that it is not as much fun as they expected, but just for one twin, Darah.
While I read, I wondered if they would actually go through with it! What ends up happening at school is both surprising and funny with a dash of uh-ohs and a conclusion where they come clean, but the story doesn't stop there. What Darah realized about herself while impersonating her sister is what the main message of the book is all about. When they come home and talk with their Gran Gran Eve, she talks with them about their special gifts. Not physical presents, but gifts that all of us have on the inside that make us individuals.
When reading and discussing this book with young children, you can ask them what are their special gifts that make them their own person, different from anyone else in the world, even their twin! You can also discuss the choices the other characters made in the story. One of their classmates notices the switch. What would the reader do if they were in his shoes?
Finally, the best part of this story is the supportive Grandma Eve who hails from South Carolina and takes care of the twins. The twins note how she has a different dialect than them and they love the way she talks and puts things. This love of language is universal and any reader of this story can relate. No matter where you are from, the sayings that come from there enrich your culture.
As a librarian, teacher and parent, I would recommend this story to others who want a humorous, yet serious book about what makes a person unique. The authors are experienced educators, too, and they are twins! Their website has curriculum resources for teachers. The illustrations in the story are as bright and vibrant as the characters.
Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2021 (1/29/21) is in its 8th year! This non-profit children’s literacy initiative was founded by Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen; two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural books and authors on the market while also working to get those book into the hands of young readers and educators.
Eight years in, MCBD’s mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves continues. Read about our Mission and History here: https://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/about/mission/
This is the first year that I joined the Multicultural Children's Book Day as a reviewer. I was gifted a copy of the book, Best in Me, written by Natalie McDonald-Perkins and illustrated by Mary Ibeh. This beautiful picture book is intended for young people to listen to and engage with on many levels.
Everyone has differences that can make them feel insecure. Rather than sitting in that feeling of self-doubt, Best in Me encourages the reader to turn those feelings into confidence instead. But how can a person do that? Let alone a child? This is where the author, McDonald-Perkins, seamlessly weaves together the origin of a person's strength.
This story takes place in a classroom where the counselor leading the lesson has created a safe place for her students. One by one, they come to the front of the class to share a poem they have written about what makes them special. Prior to each student reading their poem, they think about what in their life gives them comfort--a pet, family member or friend who sticks by their side. These special touchstones remind the reader that everyone is vulnerable, so leaning on these people and pets will help you through.
As a teacher, librarian and parent, I would read this book with children and ask them what they notice about the characters. Who do they lean on in times of need? How do they support one another in the classroom? I would even ask them to consider who in their life supports them and what special quality do they have?
The author is a seasoned educator so the story feels quite authentic. The illustrator adds vibrant and realistic pictures that radiate in diversity. This book encourages readers to empathize and self-monitor their own identities in order to build a safer community.
Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2021 (1/29/21) is in its 8th year! This non-profit children’s literacy initiative was founded by Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen; two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural books and authors on the market while also working to get those book into the hands of young readers and educators.
Eight years in, MCBD’s mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves continues. Read about our Mission and History here: https://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/about/mission/
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