Tag: Multicultural Children’s Books

New Year’s Activities for Kids

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New Year’s is known as a time to reflect on the past year and make goals for the new one. New Year’s resolutions are set and there’s a sense of optimism and hope as we end the holiday season.

Now that Miss Molly is four, I wanted to start explaining the importance of this holiday to her. As always, I start by researching some books and other forms of media to help me with this process. Below are some great activities to help kids learn and celebrate this holiday.

Squirrel’s New Year’s Resolution by Pat Miller. To be honest, I was drawn to this book because Molly always points out squirrels. This picture book does a fantastic job of not only explaining what a New Year’s resolution is, but following the main character Squirrel come up with one. This book is available in paperback, hardcover and ebook on Amazon. There is also a really lovely audio recording of a read aloud on YouTube by Storytime Now! .

Happy New Year Around the World (coloring book) by Sylvia Walker. I’m in love with this book for a couple reasons. First, it introduces young readers to how different cultures around the world ring in the new year. Some countries include: China, Germany, Italy and Mexico. But the absolute best part is this story has pictures for readers to color! So it’s pretty much a 2 in 1! My little reader always needs to be busy, so the fact that we can read AND color this book is fabulous!

Rudolph’s Shiny New Year. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the classic holiday films from the 70s, even if Eon still freaks me out a little. I love how this movie discusses the passage of time through songs and Rudolph’s journey that help little viewer’s understand the theme. It’s available on DVD and it can also be streamed on Amazon.

Little Reading Coach is a certified Teacher of English (K-12) and Reading Specialist (P-12) offering online reading,  writing and home-based learning support tutoring services for students in grades 6-12. For more information click here.

Lost Book Review

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A few months ago I was watching Inside Out with Molly. We were watching the scene where the imaginary pink elephant does not get in the wagon. Molly asked where the elephant went and when I told her that he would not be coming back she instantly started to cry. As a parent, I was no where near prepared for this moment, and realized I didn’t even have a go to book in Molly’s library on this topic, until now.

Lost, written by Christine Reynebeau and illustrated by Rachael Hawkes, is an honest picture book that explains loss to young readers.

Lucy has a favorite toy, her stuffed giraffe Lou, who goes everywhere with her. Lou and Lucy have an incredible bond and go on many adventures together. Lou is always there for Lucy. One day Lucy goes on a cruise with her family and Lou falls off the ship into the sea. He is officially lost. Lucy goes through the emotional stages of grieving the loss of her favorite toy.

As with other books by this author, I LOVE the way that concepts are explained. Loss is by no means an easy idea to explain to a child, but this book does a fantastic job of discussing a difficult topic.

I love that Lucy seeks out comfort from her parents and that her dad makes it a point to explain loss. Dad uses kid friendly language to not only comfort Lucy, but to guide her through the process. The illustrations that support the text are absolutely spot on and help elaborate on Dad’s words. Readers can easily infer the text based on the pictures.

Readers see Lucy experience joy, sadness, and love throughout the story. Some days she feels happy and may not think about Lou, but then feels guilty for this. The realness of Lucy’s journey is authentic and relatable to readers of all ages. It gives readers all the feels.

DreamBuilt Books has created diverse texts and Lost is no exception.  I love the inclusiveness represented in the story.

I would recommend this books for ages preschool-2nd grade.

To purchase the book, click here 

 

Little Reading Coach is a certified Teacher of English (K-12) and Reading Specialist (P-12) offering online reading and writing tutoring services for students in grades 3-12. For more information click here.

 

Celebrate Book Review

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It’s wedding season!! My social media accounts have pictures and posts at least once a week of a wedding. It’s that time of year where love is definitely being celebrated.

Celebrate by Christine Reynebeau, and illustrated by Kimberly Wix, is a delightful story about honoring a couple getting married.

A few months ago I had the pleasure of doing a virtual author visit with Christine. She is an absolutely amazing woman who is filled with determination and energy. She totally inspired me to push through my slump I was in, and I will always be grateful for that.Christine Author Visit

Usually stories about weddings focus on dramatic emergencies or details about the dress and flowers, but Celebrate takes a different approach. The story really explores how meaningful marriage is and highlights the importance of a wedding as a new beginning instead of just a big party. For instance, when discussing the bridal party, the author writes, “The wedding party is filled with people who are important to the pair, asked to stand at the altar, as people who have always been there.” Instead of merely just saying friends and family stand with the bride and groom, Reynebeau dives into the deeper meaning and significance.

I was also a HUGE fan of the illustrations for this book. There is something about it looking like a child drew the pictures that adds a warm and fuzzy feeling. Personally, I think that it definitely helps the appeal for younger audiences. I also love how the illustrations incorporate diversity.

The structure of the text is simple. There is a sentence on each page with simple vocabulary words and a smidge of rhyming. It’s perfect for toddlers to beginner readers. It’s an ideal book to use when discussing weddings with children, especially if they are in the wedding.