A July Flash Sponsorship Sale Tutorial+ The Power of Collaboration
As I type this, I am so proud that Multicultural Children’s Book Day is in its eighth year. Eight years!
Time flies when you are loving your work! If you are new to this initiative, Multicultural Children’s Book Day (MCBD) is a non-profit initiative that is dedicated to supporting and shining the spotlight on diversity in children’s literature and their authors and publishers. Read more about our mission here.
The MCBD on and offline celebration occurs on the last Friday of January and our next celebration will be 1/29/2021.
So many amazing things have occurred over the last eight years and notable headway has been made in raising awareness on the importance of diversity in kid and YA literature. Check out our past post, 5 Ways that Increasing the Awareness of Diverse Books is Paying Off for more facts and victories.
But, I am also keenly aware that today’s world is not what it was 12 months ago.
If you are an Author or Publisher, I’m sure you have noticed that it seems that people are pulling back from buying a bit. And rightfully so. People are scared and unsure about where the next paycheck is coming from. I also know adults and kids alike need distractions, escape, and positivity that reading a book can provide. So if it feels like your book promotions/launches/sales are falling flat, don’t despair.
Keep going. Keep writing. Keep sharing.
I was recently doing some reading on innovative ways to marketing books during uncertain times and every.single.article mentioned collaboration as one of the most powerful ways to get your work in front of new eyeballs and pocketbooks.
THAT, is what MCBD is; collaboration. Authors and publishers support our non-profit with Sponsorship purchases so we can continue to donate books to organizations, centers, classrooms, and under-served readers.
In return, these same authors and publishers are tapping into a monstrous social reach and powerful name-recognition that we have worked 8 years to build.
It’s a win/win.
So, if you are a diverse children’s book author or publisher, being part of this epic online celebration is yet another unique and exceptional way to be seen.
To be heard. To be discovered. And our July Flash Sale is a way to save some moolah while locking in either a Platinum Level or Author Sponsor Level for 2021.
If you are a diverse children’s book author or publisher, go here to download our Sponsorship Packet for 2021 to see all the perks that are included in the different levels of participation.
**Our Super Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze Levels will be available September 1, 2020***
If you want to save some $$ and get on board for our 2021 celebration….
Go here to read more details about the Flash Sale.
Go here to secure a Flash Sale Platinum Level (only 2 spots left!)
Go here to secure a Flash Sale Author Sponsorship spot for 2021 (unlimited)
**Our Super Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze Levels will be available September 1, 2020***
In a nutshell, ALL MCBD sponsorships provide participants with an amplified level of visibility and recognition for their multicultural/diverse children’s and YA books.
Sponsorship Level Perks also include:
- Social proof that publishers, book reviewers, book buyers, and educators take note of for years to come
- Those who participate as a Sponsor during this wildly successful event also know they are tapping into epic buzz and visibility on social media.
- Our Sponsors are also matched with as many or as few vetted book reviewers who will read, review, and share the book on their social channels.
- The opportunity to be of service and work towards the greater goal of getting diverse books into the hands of under-served readers.
- As a non-profit, MCBD also works tirelessly to get those books in front of parents, caregivers, educators, and librarians while also getting them into the hands of young readers. Read more about our mission here.
Proof of Success and Warm Fuzzies from our 2020 Event
Maybe it’s just us, but the MCBD Team felt that our 2020 on and offline diverse kidlit celebration reached a whole new level of “Epic-ness!”
Needless to say, there were many, many examples of Multicultural Children’s Book Day Celebrations that made our eyes leak with happiness. Here are three stand-outs:
#1-Heartwarming Classroom celebrations: Over the last seven years, support and recognition from educators and librarians have continued to increase. This makes us incredibly happy. Some of the best rewards for the hard-working MCBD Team are to see all of the smiling faces and little hands clutching multicultural books and enjoying a classroom celebration.
Find a plethora of examples that will make your heart sing and give you the warm fuzzies for weeks on the Multicultural Children’s Book Day blog here!
#2-We Trended on Twitter!
January 31st was a tough day to try to trend on Twitter against a trifecta of disturbing and sad (Kobe Bryant, Coronavirus, Impeachment)…but we did it! During our #ReadYourWorld Twitter Party, we slightly broke the Internet with all of our diverse book-loving magic and trended on Twitter. Yay us!
#ReadYourWorld We are getting so excited to celebrate with all of our Rhodes friends and families! pic.twitter.com/nmWTpl8CEA
— Mrs. Rupnick (@Rhodes7and8LA) January 21, 2020
Multicultural Children’s Book Day is 1/31 and #worldreadaloudday is 2/5. Excited to kick off #ReadYourWorld challenge next week to get Ss excited about reading. #bearshine pic.twitter.com/XGK5nko2Go
— Angie Stallbaumer (@AngStallbaumer) January 17, 2020
Come celebrate Multicultural Children’s Book Day with us!#diversebooks #blackauthors #kidlit #readyourworld pic.twitter.com/iiIELZgrVc
— ReadJustLikeMe (@ReadJustLikeMe) January 17, 2020
First session of #ReadYourWorld already happening at #jcpsesl #ManyLanguages https://t.co/4vTkDnY1eP pic.twitter.com/NXoOr72pue
— JCPS en Español (@JCPSlatino) January 31, 2020
G6-8 Ss reading aloud to PS Ss to celebrate Multicultural Chidren’s Book Day @AIS_Eagles #ReadYourWorld @AIS_SSLibrary @AIS_PSLibrary via @pascaleviala pic.twitter.com/k6N1E772L0
— AISLearns (@AISLearns) January 31, 2020
For #ReadYourWorld Day we read books from all cultures and backgrounds. Made @Flipgrids of two summaries: a good summary and a summary missing parts. Then watched the videos and guessed the better of the two! #WeAreGroves #everydaycounts #bethelight pic.twitter.com/fPAtLry22g
— Christina Ross (@christinalyross) January 31, 2020
Understand and celebrate the difference @AIS_Eagles @AISLearns #MCBD #ReadYourWorld Ss enjoying our interactive board and books display @AIS_SSLibrary pic.twitter.com/EUxeTBrn9a
— Pascale Viala (@pascaleviala) January 31, 2020
So what makes a book multicultural? Join us in celebrating Multicultural Children’s Book Day by cracking open a book that shares and celebrates diverse perspectives! #Readyourworld #ownvoices pic.twitter.com/FWtc3W7rQj
— MO School Librarians (@MASLOnline) January 31, 2020
“The world is a diverse one. Publishing needs to accurately reflect the world as it is, from the books we publish to the people working in every facet of this business. “ Read the 2019 Diversity Baseline Survey Results from @LEEandLOW: https://t.co/2mUPTSACQh#ReadYourWorld pic.twitter.com/RqhMlOLHSI
— KidLit TV (@KidLitTV_NYC) January 29, 2020
We also watched this video and made Diwali diyas! Thank you @BollyGroove for sharing Maya and Neel’s adventures with us and for so many great online resources! What a great way to celebrate #MCBD2020 @MCChildsBookDay #ReadYourWorld https://t.co/AyHYt4ZNJP pic.twitter.com/ON27mYMCYo
— Jessica Berg (@MsBergsClass) January 31, 2020
So proud that our school celebrates Multicultural Children’s Book Day! #ReadYourWorld pic.twitter.com/pPXeipAjvX
— Eugenia Chu (@chuauthor) January 31, 2020
2nd graders celebrated Multicultural Children’s Book Day by reading a book, asking a peer questions about having diabetes & making Braille cards! #ReadYourWorld @GutermuthES #JCPSLibrarians #WeAreJCPS #GutermuthPride @sandralhogue pic.twitter.com/UQvSgoZdgu
— Cindy Hundley (@cindy_hundley) January 31, 2020
Today was a good @MCChildsBookDay! We talked identity, equality vs. equity, & I showed them the diversity in children’s lit stats from 2015 & 2018. We read about @iammarleydias & finished off with a book tasting and a read aloud of Sumo Joe by @pragmaticmom! #ReadYourWorld 📚🗺️ pic.twitter.com/To2a8kaoSj
— Vi Figueroa (@teacherfig) January 31, 2020
Closing out #MCBD together as a #PES community. Singing and signing, just part of what we learned today. @PomperaugES @PESlibrary1 #ReadYourWorld pic.twitter.com/ktpcgraasE
— Katie Gordon (@ureadIread) February 1, 2020
Just participated in my first ever #TwitterParty #ReadYourWorld That was overwhelmingly AMAZING! My head is spinning but my heart is full! Thank you @MCChildsBookDay @pragmaticmom @CapstonePub and everyone in the chat! pic.twitter.com/rysBYcEAfm
— Katie Thomas (@MrsTLoves2Read) February 1, 2020
From Super Platinum Sponsor, Make A Way Media
Raising awareness, celebrating diversity, and reading together. “Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.” Our ELs decided what qualities would be admirable, & how their “U”niqueness will make them the next undefeated. #ReadYourWorld #MulticulturalChildrensBookDay #JordanMSLegends pic.twitter.com/3juh0VZuFH
— Sonia Sida (@SidaSonia) February 1, 2020
It’s #MulticulturalChildrensBookDay!We celebrated in room 221 by going on a hunt for multicultural books in our classroom library. My @FrayserTigers found so many great books to add to their book bins for next week! #ReadYourWorldJCPS #ReadYourWorld #WeAreJCPS pic.twitter.com/qJJhesWBIH
— Stephanie Burrow-Carpenter (@MrsBC221) January 31, 2020
This is just a small sample of the global fun and book-inspired participation. Search #ReadYourWorld on any social media channel to discover MORE memorable moments of Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020. THANK YOU, everyone!
Ways To Get Involved
Some other things you can do to not only stay in the loop on what Multicultural Children’s Book Day is up to but also raise awareness for your work in affordable ways. Here are a few ideas:
5. Social Media Shout-Outs! Leverage the robust social media presence of MCBD with the uber-affordable Social Media Shout-out to shine the spotlight on your book (or an author or book you admire). Multicultural Children’s Book Day has some serious social media juice on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and shout-outs are a marketing nugget of gold for authors and publishers! Get all the details HERE.
6. Guest Posts on the MCBD Blog: Tell us the story of your author’s journey. Tell us why YOU think diversity in kidlit is important. Tell us about a diverse book-related topic that you believe in, have experience in, or one that simply needs deeper discussion. Connect with the Project Manager at Becky (at) MulticulturalChildrensBookDay (dot) com with your idea and to request our Guest Post Guidelines.
Have questions on How You Can Get Involved In Multicultural Children’s Book Day? Connect with the Project Manager at Becky (at) MulticulturalChildrensBookDay (dot) com.
Others ways to participate in the Multicultural Children’s Book Day Initiative:
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- 1. {Teachers} Multicultural Children’s Book Day FREE Book for Your Classroom Campaign-If you know of a classroom or library that would like a free hardcover, library-approved, diversity children’s book, have them sign up HERE.
- {Parents/Librarians/Teachers/KidLit Lovers} Free Book to Review. MCBD offers a free diverse children’s book to parents, grandparents, and educators that are willing to write a review and this year we are not limiting reviewers to just bloggers. Just share on your review on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or your blog. Get sign up details here.
- {Everyone} Be an MCBD2021 Sponsor: Sponsorship is not only a great way to support this event; it is an excellent way to get an author’s name and books in front of thousands of readers. Sponsorship levels range from Platinum to Author Level and a Friends of MCBD option is also available for those who would like to support the initiative with a monetary donation. MCBD Sponsors not only keep the MCBD machine humming, it enables us to support underserved readers, libraries, and schools all year long.
- {Everyone} Multicultural Children’s Book Day Free Resources, Booklists, and Extension Activities for Teachers and Parents. Enjoy this vast resource list of diverse children’s books categorized by culture, religion, sexual orientation, special needs or ethnicity.
- Check out the MCBD2020 Big Giant Linky for HUNDREDS of diverse kids’ and teen book recommends and reviews to help expand your home or classroom bookcase. Go HERE and scroll down.
– Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/MulticulturalChildrensBookDay
– Twitter https://twitter.com/MCChildsBookDay
-Instagram https://www.instagram.com/readyourworldmcbd/
-Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/pragmaticmom/multicultural-books-for-kids/
As the next MCBD event approaches on January 29, 2021, I encourage everyone to follow along via the MCBD website and social media to win even more books, hear from authors and learn the importance of “windows and mirrors” in today’s children’s literature.