North Korea is front page news these days but it remains a place of mystery to most people. There are few books for children about North Korea so I am excited to share this new one: Rice From Heaven, The Secret Mission to Feed North Koreans by Tina Cho (author) and Keum Jin Song (illustrator) […]
Multicultural Children's Books
What a Wonderful Word!
Hello Friends, Have you been enjoying summer? It has been a wonderful season here. I made a list of summer things I wanted to do and finally checked off the last ones. Don’t you love books that take you other places? I recently read one that I’ve been sharing with my writer friends and others […]
The Map of Good Memories
Every once in awhile I come across a book that seems so important that I just need to add it to my book collection. I have discovered a new favorite: The Map of Good Memories written by Fran Nuno and illustrated by Zuzanna Celej Spanish Title – El Mapa de los Buenos momentos translated […]
Q is for Quilts – Leading the way to freedom
Slavery is a difficult but important topic to teach to young children. One of the best ways is to share stories featuring the amazing Freedom Quilt Maps. These quilts sewn with block patterns were displayed as signals to slaves as they set out to the north during on the Underground Railroad. Because quilts were so […]
Here and There – a global celebration
One of the great things about traveling is seeing how every day life differs from place to place. If you, like me, like to visit markets to see what is on the shelves or participate in activities to learn about people and their traditions then you will enjoy Here and There by Susie Rae (author) […]
The Rock Maiden – A Chinese Tale of Love and Loyalty #ReadYourWorld
The Rock Maiden – A Chinese Tale of Love and Loyalty By Natasha Yim (author) and Pirkko Vainio (illustrator) Wisdom Tales: 2017 picture book ages 4-9 Today I am excited to share a wonderful book as part of Multicultural Children’s Book Day. I love it when books transport me to another time and place. […]
Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library – #ReadYourWorld
SCHOMBURG: THE MAN WHO BUILT A LIBRARY by Carol Boston Weatherford (author) and Eric Velasquez (illustrator) Picture book for ages 7 – adult Candlewick Press: 2017 Can you imagine building a library? I can and I’ve found my inspiration. Arturo Alfonso Schomburg was an amazing man unfamiliar to most people. But, everyone should know his […]
A Journey through Israel
Hello to 2018! I’ve been absent from the blogging world for awhile but I have been reading piles of books and traveling. It’s good to be back! I just returned from a field trip of Biblical proportions. We journeyed through Israel and are still processing all that we saw, learned, and experienced. It was a […]
New Book to help celebrate National Adoption Day
Today I’d like to share a special book for those of us who have chosen international adoption as a way to build our families: Babies Come From Airports by Erin Dealy (author) and Luciana Navarra Powell (illustrator) “Some babies come from the hospital, Some babies come from airports, but all babies come from love.” This […]
The Life and Legacy of Pura Belpre lives on in Fresno
Here in the Central Valley of California, we are fortunate to have Artes de Americas , a museum whose mission is to make Central California a flourishing place for Latino arts. For the past few weeks, a number of REFORMA de Fresno* members Josie Bustos, Aideed Medina, Armando “Luie”Garcia, Ivan Calimano, Sandra Rios Balderrama […]
Hispanic Heritage Month – Rebozo Revival
September 15th to October 15th has been designated National Hispanic Heritage Month. Here, in Central California, there is much to celebrate. The Rebozo Revival is one of the exciting events being held this week. This five-day celebration was founded by rebozo expert Lourdes Sevilla. She has brought four master weavers from Mexico to exhibit their […]
Forest World by Margarita Engle – a Field Trip review #ownvoices #diversekidlit
There’s always reason to celebrate when a new book by U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate and author Margarita Engle is released. We are doubly fortunate this week because two new books have become available! Forest World (Atheneum Books for Young Readers) is her latest middle grade verse novel which follows the journey Cuban-born but U.S. raised Edver […]
N is for Nicaragua and the library we built #atozblogchallenge
Welcome to today’s A to Z Blog Challenge Post. This year I am writing about Library Love and today I’d like to share a library near and dear to my heart. When you step away from your normal routine, amazing things can happen. Last year a friend invited me to go on a woman’s retreat […]
I is for Iraq #atozchallenge
I is for Iraq One of the saddest things imaginable to bibliophiles, is the destruction of a library. Librarians fearlessly defend the right of their patrons to have access to information and they care for the collections entrusted to them so that they will be available for future generations. Alia Muhammad Baker was the chief […]
5 Multicultural Cybils Chapter Book Nominees
As a first round Cybils judge, I have had the opportunity to read some of the best books published this past year for young readers. It is important to note that many of the books included diverse characters. Children need to see others like themselves in the pages of the books they read. Today I […]