On My Desk | New Diverse Kids’ Books to Consider {December 7, 2017)
A few months ago I shared that, because of my role as Project Manager, I get the honor of seeing and reading a TON of amazing multicultural books for kids that are donated to our project. And as a result, I wanted to find a fun way to share those books with the loyal folks who show up here to read every week and support this non-profit.
I am so proud of how well this series has taken off and even more pleased at the enthusiastic reactions of the authors and the readers every time I offer up a new “load” of Diverse Picture Books that the Mailman Book Fairy brought me. This week is no different 🙂
More New Diverse Kids’ Books to Consider
Manjhi Moves a Mountain by Nancy Churnin
Dashrath Manjhi used a hammer and chisel, grit, determination, and twenty years to carve a path through the mountain separating his poor village from the nearby village with schools, markets, and a hospital. Manjhi Moves a Mountain shows how everyone can make a difference if their heart is big enough.
Illustrated by Danny Popovici.
Nancy Churnin made her picture book debut with The William Hoy Story, How a Deaf Baseball Player Changed the Game. Nancy is the theater critic for The Dallas Morning News and grew up in New York City going to Broadway shows and Yankee games. She graduated from Harvard University cum laude and has a masters in journalism from Columbia University. She is raising four boys and two cats with her husband, Dallas Morning News arts writer Michael Granberry.
Charlie Takes His Shot by Nancy Churnin
How Charlie Sifford Broke the Color Barrier in Golf
Charlie Sifford loved golf, but in the 1930’s only white people were allowed to play in the Professional Golf Association. Sifford had won plenty of black tournaments, but he was determined to break the color barrier in the PGA. In 1960 he did, only to face discrimination from hotels that wouldn’t rent him rooms and clubs that wouldn’t let him use the same locker as the white players. But Sifford kept playing, becoming the first black golfer to win a PGA tournament and eventually ranking among the greats in golf. Illustrated by John Joven
Rumplepimple by Suzanne DeWitt Hall
Living with a Wire Fox Terrier means that every day is an adventure! Rumplepimple tells the story of one typical day in the life, when our hero is bored and decides to stir things up a bit.
Life isn’t easy when your big sister is an annoying cat and your moms can’t understand a word you say. But that doesn’t stop Rumplepimple from saving the day in a most unusual way. Find out how a car ride transforms a naughty terrier into a grocery store hero.
Suzanne DeWitt Hall is a Huffington Post Contributor and author of the Rumplepimple adventures and Where True Love is: An Affirming Devotional for LGBTQI+ Individuals and Their Allies. She is also hard at work on two kid’s books about gender.
Her work is designed to shine the light of love into hearts darkened by discrimination and fear. You can learn more at www.sdewitthall.com
Do I have to Make my Curly Hair Straight by Lesli Mitchell
What do you do when you have curly hair?
Do I Have To Make My Curly Hair Straight is a story about an African-American girl and some of her school friends that try to encourage her to straighten her natural hair. The story shows most of the various straightening methods and some of the associated issues. A fairy with natural hair shares pros/cons of straightening their hair, talks about damage and encourages them to care for their hair and minimize damage. The fairy celebrates natural hair and suggests that if they do choose to straighten it, they can learn to be cautious, gentle and in order to damage it less alternate styles by learning how to include natural styles.
Lesli Mitchell is an author and illustrator. Lesli worked many years as a social worker, MSW and has worked with children, families, and individuals as a therapist. Lesli celebrates both her and her daughter’s natural hair and wishes for girls to learn about their natural hair choices. Lesli attended UC Berkeley, Columbia University, and Cal State Long Beach. She lives in California with her husband and daughter Ava.
Where Will I Live by Rosemary McCarney
Where do you go if your home is no longer safe?
Every child needs a home. They need somewhere safe where they can be happy, eat their meals with their family, play with their toys, and go to sleep at night feeling unafraid.
But many children all over the world have had to leave their homes because they are no longer safe. Because of war and conflict, they and their families have become refugees. For them, life is hard and full of questions. In spite of everything, they find time to laugh, play, and make friends. And most importantly, they have hope that somewhere, someone will welcome them to a new home.
Written by Rosemary McCarney, Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Where Will I Live? will help children whose lives are not directly affected by this crisis think about the importance of home, and what life is like for a child refugee who does not have a permanent, safe home to shelter them and their family. The beautiful photographs in this book were taken by the UNHCR—the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees—and include images of children on the move and in refugee camps in countries such as Lebanon, Rwanda, Iraq, Niger, Hungary, Jordan, South Sudan, and Greece.
Book Reviewers! We need you for MCBD2018!
ABOUT US
The Multicultural Children’s Book Day website and view our booklists, reading resources and other useful multicultural information.
Multicultural Books for Kids Pinterest Board has even more reading ideas.
Watch for the #ReadYourWorld hashtag on social media and share
List of our CoHosts- https://readyourworld.org/about/co-hosts/
Our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/MulticulturalChildrensBookDay
-Our Twitter https://twitter.com/MCChildsBookDay
Our Paper.li https://paper.li/MCChildsBookDay/1419776073#
Our Instagram Account: https://www.instagram.com/readyourworldmcbd/
Our Facebook Group {please join!}: https://www.facebook.com/groups/259709034187671/
SUMMARY OF THE EVENT
FIRST, a giant blog tour —
so that readers, parents, teachers, librarians, and caregivers can explore lots of books with diversity content via book reviews, book lists, and links.
SECOND, a giant networking event —
to connect organizers, sponsors, co-hosts, bloggers, and others interested in expanding awareness of, and promotion of multicultural children’s books.
THIRD, a virtual book drive —
to place multicultural books in locations where they are needed.
Following the book review, you will find information and links for the generous SPONSORS, CO-HOSTS, and PARTNERS of the MCCBD global event.
Have Questions? Email the MCCBD Project Manager at Becky (at) MulticulturalChildrensBookDay (dot)com.
MCBD is on Instagram! Connect with us and #ReadYourWorld!
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