I’m super excited to share something different with you all today – a PODCAST! But not any podcast – one for your kiddos that you will love, too!

Dorktales Storytime Podcast is classic children’s fairy tales told with a geek-ish twist! Jonathan Cormur is the host (and storyteller) of the family-fun podcast that featuring geeky-retellings of fairy tale classics and true tales about the Hidden Heroes of History. Think Fractured Fairy Tales meets Big Bang Theory and the History Detectives!

In Dorktales Storytime Podcast, Jonathan is joined by his plucky puppet sidekick, Mr. Reginald T. Hedgehog (or “Mr. Redge,” if you prefer) to tell goofier versions of tales that have delighted kids for generations. 

The shows are suitable for preschool and early elementary school ages and are an excellent way to keep kids engaged and learning while have loads of giggles and entertainment.

DORKTALES STORYTIME PODCAST IS AVAILABLE ON:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3kSUJZQ

Overcast: https://bit.ly/dorktales-overcast

Amazon Music: https://bit.ly/dorktales-amazon-music

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3iNgKHA

Stitcher: https://bit.ly/Dorktales-stitcher

Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/dorktales-google

Find more on Podcast website: https://jonincharacter.com/dorktales/

You may recognize Jonathan from his work with his mom, Jodi, from Geek Club Books and Zoom Autism Magazine. His new podcast for kids, Dorktales Storytime Podcast, showcases his career as a successful voice actor who also happens to be on the spectrum.  

CURRENT EPISODES:

Dorktales Storytime Podcast EP1: What are Dorktales?

Jonathan Cormur introduces himself as the host and storyteller of the Dorktales Storytime Podcast and answers the question you may be pondering, “What ARE Dorktales?”

Episode webpage: https://jonincharacter.com/dorktales-podcast-introduction/ 

Dorktales Storytime Podcast EP2: Three Little Hogs?!
By Karen Simpson Gardiner

The Three Little…HOGS? Who’s heard of that? According to Mr. Redge, our Dorktales sidekick, it’s a classic tale from the fairy tale cannon! Come hear our storyteller recount the story of hedgehogs Porky, Percy and Peregrin, and their ultimate triumph over the dastardly wolf using a glue pot, rapier and a wheelbarrow. According to Percy, “It’s epic, man!”

Episode webpage: https://jonincharacter.com/dorktales-three-little-hogs/ 

Dorktales Storytime Podcast EP3: Little Red
By Karen Simpson Gardiner

La, la, la, la-la! Have you heard the tale of Little Red Riding Hood? You know, the one about the sweet, innocent little girl in the beautiful red cloak who out foxes the big bad wolf? Well forget that one and think ninja granny with a stealthy rescue plan and fierce tranquilizer dart skills.

Episode webpage: https://jonincharacter.com/dorktales-little-red/ 

Dorktales Storytime Podcast EP4: RumpleTaleSpin
By Amy Thompson

“Rump, who?” asks Mr. Redge as Jonathan spins the tall tale of Daphne, the Miller’s daughter, who must spin thread into gold for a greedy king. It’s an epic yarn involving a magical lawn gnome, a clever guessing game and a Wizard of Oz ending!

Episode webpage: https://jonincharacter.com/dorktales-rumpletalespin/ 

Dorktales Storytime Podcast EP5: Mary Golda Ross 
Hidden Heroes of History
By Molly Murphy

The true tale of a woman who reached for the stars! Mary Golda Ross was one of the first women to rise in the ranks of engineering and one of the first Native Americans in the field. Her work in the early days of spaceflight was very important and is still to this day.

Episode webpage: https://jonincharacter.com/mary-golda-ross/ 

Dorktales Storytime Podcast EP6: The Prickly Duckling
By Amy Thompson

After the quacks and croaks of laughter from his siblings and bullying bullfrog, the poor little duckling waddles off through the marshes to find someone who will accept and love him. What about the gaggle of goslings? Or the brood of chicks? “No one understands me! I’ll never fit in,” he cries until he bumps into the best version of himself.

Episode webpage: https://jonincharacter.com/prickly-duckling/ 

Dorktales Storytime Podcast EP7: The Emperor’s New Quills
By Amy Thompson

Is the fancy fabric for the emperor’s new clothes really invisible to those who are not worthy? Or is this a case of double-dealing dupery by two wily weavers? As the emperor struts his stylish self through the streets of his kingdom, it will take one forthright boy to blurt out the naked truth.

Episode webpage   
https://jonincharacter.com/the-emperors-new-quills/

Dorktales Storytime Podcast EP8: Louis Armstrong
Hidden Heroes of History
By Molly Murphy

A tale of Mississippi river boats, parasol parades and breaking racial barriers! A man that built a music legacy and a legacy beyond music—Louis Armstrong transformed jazz music and became the beloved “Ambassador Satch” who performed all over the world! So much of his life was about a deep passion for music and using it to bring people together. 

Episode webpage: https://jonincharacter.com/louis-armstrong/  

Coming Soon!

• Dorktales Storytime Podcast EP9: The Boy Who Cried Hedgewolf
• Dorktales Storytime Podcast EP10: Ready, Set, Slow!
• Dorktales Storytime Podcast EP11: Tenzing Norgay Hidden Heroes of History

Great news for all you parents of babies and toddlers out there who want to expose your littles to Chinese at a young age! Peipei Zhou has come out with her second Chinese song book! My reaction to this book is the same as to the first: “OMG, how awesome! I wish this book was around when my son was a baby/toddler!” I know lots of parents who have the first book have been waiting for this second one to come out – it’s here, it’s here!

Let me tell you why this book, like the first, is so amazing – it’s not just a book, it’s a: (1) board book; (2) song book with music and singing; (3) book with some of the most popular Chinese nursery rhymes and translated American nursey rhymes that you all know; (4) interactive toy; and (5) a bilingual book in English, Chinese and Pinyin pronunciation – all rolled into one awesome book! What a wonderful concept!

The author/singer is a mommy who created this book for her baby – she has a beautiful soothing voice and the songs brought me back to my childhood as well as when my son was a baby/toddler. My mom used to sing many of these songs to me when I was little – now I’m feeling nostalgic and am going to call her as soon as I finish this blog post to tell her about this book and to thank her for always singing to me and my siblings while we were growing up! And then, when my son was a baby, I remember rocking him and singing these songs to him while smelling his sweet head (hey, I know you guys did/do this, too!). When he got older, we sang these songs together! Ok, I’m starting to tear up now!

Music is so important for babies and children. It has been shown that listening to music helps children develop the ability to decode auditory data and sharpen their auditory memory – abilities which are fundamental to language comprehension. This book will help your kids learn Chinese without it feeling like a lesson. 

The songs in this book are written in English with the Chinese and Pinyin pronunciation next to each phrase. Even if you can’t read Chinese, you can still sing along with the author by reading the Pinyin pronunciation. You will understand what you are singing/reading because the English is right there for you. This is also a fun and easier way to learn how to read the Chinese characters, too. As an added bonus, because this book is so sturdy and the song buttons are easy to push, your little ones can read/play with this book by themselves! Need a break for a few minutes? Give them this book!

I really can’t say enough good things about this book! 

If you would like to check out or buy this book, you can find it at: 

I am thrilled to share with you, my favorite peeps, that Chinese-English bilingual children’s book author, Katrina Liu, has a brand new book out entitled, Mina’s Ups & Downs! The story is written in English, Chinese and Pinyin pronunciation – great for learning Chinese vocabulary and reading.

This absolutely adorable book, beautifully illustrated by Rosalia Destarisa, follows little Mina on her first visit to a carnival! So many fun rides, games and yummy food to try! Mina experiences a whole host of difference emotions from feeling excited, to feeling scared, brave, confident, disappointed, surprised, happy, confused, angry, grateful and more! A wonderful story to learn how to explain and express different emotions – in English and in Chinese! 

It’s tough finding entertaining stories written in English, Chinese and Pinyin which will keep a child’s attention. That’s why this book is so great – it’s fun and relatable! All kids will understand the range of emotions Mina goes through during her carnival experience. And, because the Pinyin pronunciation is directly above the Chinese translation (which is above the English), even if you can’t read the Chinese characters, you can still pronounce the Chinese words and understand what you are reading! This is great for kids learning Mandarin (and their parents who may not be literate in Chinese)! Such a clever way to teach/reinforce everyday words and phrases. And for kids who are not learning Mandarin, this is a fun way to expose little ones to a new language! There’s even a free audio reading in Mandarin so you can check your pronunciation! How cool is that!

Finally, I love that the author bases her stories on her daughter (the real Mina) who is the inspiration for this series of delightful Mina books! She couldn’t find the books that she wanted, so she wrote her own. Sound familiar? 

As a special treat, the ebook version of this book is FREE for the next 3 days so go and download it NOW:  https://urlgeni.us/amazon/hLbR

Finally, please thank Kat for this FREE gift and all her hard work by posting a review on Amazon. Reviews are so very important to authors, as well as to potential new readers. Thank you!

Every once in a while I have another author take over my blog to share something special with my favorite peeps (that’s you all!). Today I am thrilled to introduce you to my friend, Anna Faversham, who writes wonderful grown-up books (yes, mommies and daddies and other adult friends – this is for YOU), the type you can’t put down! You know what I’m talking about!

Now, without further ado, here’s Anna!!!

I was asked what I would like for Christmas last year and I couldn’t think of anything in particular – except more time. Neither of my children felt able to conjure this up. I was very happy with their substitutes but still had a long delay in getting any writing done: my husband and I were moving house. Decluttering, packing and cleaning took precedence. 

Shortly after we moved to our new place, the Lockdown was declared and having no small children to attempt to educate, I now had much more time to write. Be careful what you wish for is a well-known phrase and even the title of an Eminem song and many, many books. But please don’t blame me for this terrible virus!

And so I come to the reason for writing a book which is dedicated to ‘The Swan’.

It all started many years ago when I was still reading ‘once upon a time’ stories. I heard the story in the Bible about a rich man who ignored the needs of a poor man. The rich man went to Hades, where he was in torment. The poor man went to Heaven. The rich man called out for relief but Abraham (in Heaven) said, more or less, ‘Tough. No can do.’ The rich man begged for someone from Heaven to return to Earth to let his family know of his terrible fate, to warn them. He was denied this with these words ‘…they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ It’s a story by that expert story-teller (no, not Jeffrey Archer) Jesus.

I remember my mother saying I always supported the underdog so you can imagine that this story captured my imagination and there it lay for many years until the main character kept making himself a nuisance in my head. I had to let him out and he was much better once he began his adventures.

Writing was exciting but also a bit worrying until I read a quotation by Charlotte Bronte. It’s too long to quote here but its essence revolves around the creation of Heathcliff. Charlotte Bronte tells of how we ‘are not always master’ of the ‘creative gift’. She states that ‘be the work grim or glorious, dread or divine, you have little choice left but quiescent adoption.’ Heathcliff was stronger than the muse which is a gentler giver of inspiration.

I like many of Mark Twain’s quotations and this one seemed to hit the nail on the head for Chester’s story. 

‘The two most important days in your life are the day you are born

and the day you find out why.’ —Mark Twain

Let me warn you, you aren’t going to like Chester; he’s not sure he likes himself. Having achieved his burning ambition to become a successful investigative reporter he is forced to hide from others who don’t like him either, in fact, they want to kill him.

Living off the grid in New Zealand, his quiet life is shattered when a stranger knocks on his door and takes him to the gates of Hell and back. He holds onto his sanity through the promise of returning to the only girl he has ever loved.

You are invited into this mystery: intriguing, exciting and deadly.

I hope you will accept the invitation and tiptoe into Chester’s strange life.

And why is it dedicated to the swan? One overcast day, when I was alone and worried about something, I sat on the beach with a book. No one else was on the beach. A swan waddled up to me and sat directly beside me. It tucked its head under its wing and stayed there with me until I left, some hours later. It was so close I could have stroked it. Shortly after it arrived, its mate sat on the other side of me, this time a couple of yards away. It settled but stayed on watch. I had no food to offer them in thanks, so years later… a dedication is all I can offer.

My thanks to Eugenia for letting me loose on her blog.

Anna Faversham

Thanks so much, Anna! Such an amazing story. Whenever I see a swan, I always try to approach it – but it always walks or swims away! You are definitely someone extraordinary! And so is your brand new book, Immortality, This is Probably a Novel (love the title, by the way).

Friends – if you would like to order Anna’s new book, Immortality, This is Probably a Novel, it is FREE if you have KU (Kindle Unlimited) or if you don’t, it’s only $0.99 for a limited time! What a great deal – you all know I ordered it and am reading it! You can find the book on Amazon at:

http://authl.it/B08BKTF6R9?d

I’m so excited to tell you all about this brand new hilarious book coming out on July 6, 2020 by Ben Jackson and Sam Lawrence entitled, Don’t Fart In The Pool! The book is seriously as funny as the title! 😂

I’m a HUGE fan of Ben and Sam’s books and this one does not disappoint! If you’ve been following my blog, you’ve seen my reviews of several of their other books, including a few from the Little Fart series which always crack me up! Don’t Fart in the Pool is a stand alone book which you will LOVE! I did! (Yes, that’s right – I am super special so I got an advanced copy! Don’t be jealous!) Here’s a little teaser about the book from the authors:

A small mistake could potentially haunt you for years to come, and one little ‘slip’ could be what haunts Stan for the rest of his life!

It may have started with an epic taco fiesta to end all taco fiestas but ended with the mother of all disasters for young Stanley. What should have been an uneventful swim at the local swimming pool quickly turned into a world-class environmental disaster!

This beautifully illustrated children’s book highlights the risks of and dangers associated with ‘farting’ in the pool. Read along as one small mistake changes Stan’s life forever, and the consequences of following through are made plain to see by all!

Author Ben Jackson – We’ve all been there. It’s a tremendously fine line between stealthy and squelchy. It’s easy to make mistakes in life, and one of the best things about silly mistakes is being able to look back and laugh about it. This book is in no way based on any real events or people – I promise!

If you love reading and laughing along with your children, then you’ll love Don’t Fart In The Pool! The perfect book for the fart enthusiast in your life!

You can preorder the book here:

BEN AND SAM, the Authors!

If you want to learn more about Ben and Sam and their books, or would like to follow them:

http://www.indiepublishinggroup.com/ Indie Publishing Group

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15144197.Ben_Jackson Goodreads Page 

https://www.amazon.com/Ben-Jackson/e/B00S4A4W5C/ Amazon Author Page 

http://bennsam.tumblr.com/ Tumbler 

https://au.pinterest.com/benandsamauthor/ Pinterest 

https://www.facebook.com/BenandSamAuthors/ Facebook Ben & Sam 

https://twitter.com/AuthorsBen_Sam Twitter 

Be the first to get this book and preorder now at the link above!

Ronit Tal Shaltiel is the author of two series, ” The Adventures of the Numbers” and “Coloring with the numbers.” She has also published several coloring books, including holidays coloring books.  Her passions in life are reading, writing, photography and graphic design.  She combines them all in her adorable books.  She does all of her work on the computer, using different graphics software.
 
Ronit lives with her family in Katy, Texas.

In her own words, she introduces her newest book:

In my series -The Adventures of the Numbers, the Numbers are traveling the world and have math fun together. I would like to present my book Travel with Number 7. In this book, Number 7 is traveling the world with Numbers 1,2,3,4,5 and 6. When they come to Beijing, China, he decides to stay. In this book, Number 7 is traveling through China where he meets the local animals and they do math together. Number 7 shares interesting facts about the animals and China.

If you would like to check out this brand new book:

To learn more about Ronit and her books:

Amazon Page:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=ronit+tal+shaltiel&link_code=qs&sourceid=Mozilla-search&tag=mozilla-20

Website: 

https://www.ronits-art.com/

 Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62539968-ronit

Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.com/ronitshaltiel/

Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/Ronit-Tal-Shaltiel-504158060090895/?

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/ronits_childrens_books/

I am so proud to be participating as a Reviewer again this year for Multicultural Children’s Book Day!  This year I am lucky enough to be reviewing not 1, but 2, beautiful multicultural children’s books. Here is my review for one of the books I was gifted to review for this event.

Kutu the Tiny Inca Princess, written by Mariana Llanos and illustrated by Uldarico Sarmiento, is a wonderfully illustrated bilingual (English and Spanish with a few phrases in Quechua) story of bravery, selflessness, perseverance and self-worth – all set in Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire. In this book, the heroine, Kutu, is a tiny Inca princess the size of a cob of corn. She is kept in a bag for her own safety. She hates it and wishes every day that she wasn’t so small.

When Kutu’s city is devasted by a drought, everyone runs around trying to remedy the situation, but to no avail. Kutu also wants to help, but everyone tells her not to touch anything for fear she will get hurt. Everyone wants to protect little Kutu. But, courageous Kutu refuses to sit idly by and do nothing, and instead goes out on her own to find the gods for help. She dares to go where no one else will. She finds and asks Apu, the spirit of the mountains, as well as Mama Killa, the moon god, for help – but they are unable to bring the water back to Cusco. Kutu finally finds Inti, the sun god, and begs for help. I don’t want to give away the ending so you’ll have to read the book to find out how Kutu brought the water back to Cusco, ended the drought and saved her people! At the end, Kutu learns to love herself and no longer wishes to be bigger. 

The lesson in this story is such an important one, not just for kids but for adults, too. Everyone has insecurities or something they wish they could change about themselves, but these things don’t have to hold you back. If you are brave, care about others, have confidence in yourself and try your best and persevere – you can accomplish great things! For the little ones, they will see themselves in Kutu and learn that being small doesn’t mean you can’t do big and important things!

As you can probably tell, I love multicultural children’s books and this is the first one I’ve seen about Inca culture and folklore – so it’s extra special. The author weaves a beautiful heart felt story and as an added bonus, includes a few phrases in the Quechuan language to make the story even more authentic feeling. This is a lovely and unique book to add to any library!

Now, for more about MCBD:

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020 (1/31/20) is in its 7^th 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.  

Seven 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.

MCBD 2020  is honored to have the following Medallion Sponsors on board

Super Platinum

Make A Way Media/ Deirdre “DeeDee” Cummings,

Platinum

Language Lizard, Pack-N-Go Girls, 

Gold

Audrey Press, Lerner Publishing Group, KidLit TV, ABDO BOOKS : A Family of Educational Publishers, PragmaticMom & Sumo Jo, Candlewick Press,

Silver

 Author Charlotte Riggle, Capstone Publishing, Guba Publishing, Melissa Munro Boyd & B is for Breathe,

Bronze

Author Carole P. Roman, Snowflake Stories/Jill Barletti, Vivian Kirkfield & Making Their Voices Heard. Barnes Brothers Books,  TimTimTom, Wisdom Tales Press, Lee & Low Books,  Charlesbridge Publishing, Barefoot Books Talegari Tales

Author Sponsor Link Cloud

Jerry Craft, A.R. Bey and Adventures in Boogieland, Eugina Chu & Brandon goes to Beijing, Kenneth Braswell& Fathers Incorporated, Maritza M. Mejia & Luz del mes_Mejia, Kathleen Burkinshaw & The Last Cherry Blossom, SISSY GOES TINY by Rebecca Flansburg and B.A. Norrgard, Josh Funk and HOW TO CODE A ROLLERCOASTER, Maya/Neel Adventures with Culture Groove,  Lauren Ranalli, The Little Green Monster: Cancer Magic! By Dr. Sharon Chappell, Phe Lang and Me On The Page, Afsaneh Moradian and Jamie is Jamie, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, TUMBLE CREEK PRESS, Nancy Tupper Ling,Author Gwen Jackson, Angeliki Pedersen & The Secrets Hidden Beneath the Palm Tree, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, BEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN’S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 by Mia Wenjen, Susan Schaefer Bernardo & Illustrator Courtenay Fletcher (Founders of Inner Flower Child Books), Ann Morris & Do It Again!/¡Otra Vez!, Janet Balletta and Mermaids on a Mission to Save the Ocean, Evelyn Sanchez-Toledo & Bruna Bailando por el Mundo\ Dancing Around the World, Shoumi Sen & From The Toddler Diaries, Sarah Jamila Stevenson, Tonya Duncan and the Sophie Washington Book Series, Teresa Robeson  & The Queen of Physics, Nadishka Aloysius and Roo The Little Red TukTuk, Girlfriends Book Club Baltimore & Stories by the Girlfriends Book Club, Finding My Way Books, Diana Huang & Intrepids, Five Enchanted Mermaids, Elizabeth Godley and Ribbon’s Traveling Castle, Anna Olswanger and Greenhorn, Danielle Wallace & My Big Brother Troy, Jocelyn Francisco and Little Yellow Jeepney, Mariana Llanos & Kutu, the Tiny Inca Princess/La Ñusta Diminuta, Sara Arnold & The Big Buna Bash, Roddie Simmons & Race 2 Rio, DuEwa Frazier & Alice’s Musical Debut, Veronica Appleton & the Journey to Appleville book series  Green Kids Club, Inc.

We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.

Co-Hosts and Global Co-Hosts

A Crafty Arab, Afsaneh Moradian, Agatha Rodi Books, All Done Monkey, Barefoot Mommy, Bethany Edward & Biracial Bookworms, Michelle Goetzl & Books My Kids Read, Crafty Moms Share, Colours of Us, Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes, Educators Spin on it, Shauna Hibbitts-creator of eNannylink, Growing Book by Book, Here Wee Read, Joel Leonidas & Descendant of Poseidon Reads {Philippines}, Imagination Soup, Kid World Citizen, Kristi’s Book Nook, The Logonauts, Mama Smiles, Miss Panda Chinese, Multicultural Kid Blogs, Serge Smagarinsky {Australia}, Shoumi Sen, Jennifer Brunk & Spanish Playground, Katie Meadows and Youth Lit Reviews

FREE RESOURCES from Multicultural Children’s Book Day

• Free Multicultural Books for Teachers
• Our New FREE Teacher Classroom Physical and Developmental Challenges Kit http://ow.ly/kcbZ30p3QWz
• Free Empathy Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians, and Educators
• Free Understanding Developmental & Physical Challenges Classroom Kit

TWITTER PARTY! Register here!

Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.

It’s finally Multicultural Children’s Book Day (MCBD) and I am proud to be participating as a Reviewer again this year!  This year I got to review not 1, but 2, beautiful multicultural children’s books. Here is my review for one of the books I was I was lucky enough to be gifted for this event.

Big Cities Little Foodies – HONG KONG is an absolutely ADORABLE counting board book, written by Cheryl Yau Chepusova and illustrated by Isabel Foo. Every page is beautifully illustrated depicting some of the most popular (and many of my favorite) Hong Kong delicacies. The tiny characters are incredibly cute and easy to fall in love with as you follow them through their delicious food journey! Little ones will happily flip through these fun pages over and over again while learning about numbers and different foods. As an added bonus, all the yummy food is labeled in Chinese as well as English so kids will be exposed to Chinese writing, too! 

This book is wonderful for the littlest ones (and their adults). Children familiar with these dishes will point in delight as they identify the ones they love. Other children may be encouraged to try new dishes and learn about a new culture and language. There are only a few words on each colorful, lyrical page, perfect to keep the attention of the very young.

On a more personal note, my father is from Hong Kong and I have spent some time there. I love so much about Hong Kong, especially the food! This book made me nostalgic and brought back lots of fond memories of one of my favorite cities in the world. Only one problem with this book – it made me so hungry! Ai ya! Do not read on an empty stomach – haha!

Now, for more about MCBD:

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020 (1/31/20) is in its 7^th 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.  

Seven 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.

MCBD 2020  is honored to have the following Medallion Sponsors on board

Super Platinum

Make A Way Media/ Deirdre “DeeDee” Cummings,

Platinum

Language Lizard, Pack-N-Go Girls, 

Gold

Audrey Press, Lerner Publishing Group, KidLit TV, ABDO BOOKS : A Family of Educational Publishers, PragmaticMom & Sumo Jo, Candlewick Press,

Silver

 Author Charlotte Riggle, Capstone Publishing, Guba Publishing, Melissa Munro Boyd & B is for Breathe,

Bronze

Author Carole P. Roman, Snowflake Stories/Jill Barletti, Vivian Kirkfield & Making Their Voices Heard. Barnes Brothers Books,  TimTimTom, Wisdom Tales Press, Lee & Low Books,  Charlesbridge Publishing, Barefoot Books Talegari Tales

Author Sponsor Link Cloud

Jerry Craft, A.R. Bey and Adventures in Boogieland, Eugina Chu & Brandon goes to Beijing, Kenneth Braswell& Fathers Incorporated, Maritza M. Mejia & Luz del mes_Mejia, Kathleen Burkinshaw & The Last Cherry Blossom, SISSY GOES TINY by Rebecca Flansburg and B.A. Norrgard, Josh Funk and HOW TO CODE A ROLLERCOASTER, Maya/Neel Adventures with Culture Groove,  Lauren Ranalli, The Little Green Monster: Cancer Magic! By Dr. Sharon Chappell, Phe Lang and Me On The Page, Afsaneh Moradian and Jamie is Jamie, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, TUMBLE CREEK PRESS, Nancy Tupper Ling,Author Gwen Jackson, Angeliki Pedersen & The Secrets Hidden Beneath the Palm Tree, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, BEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN’S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 by Mia Wenjen, Susan Schaefer Bernardo & Illustrator Courtenay Fletcher (Founders of Inner Flower Child Books), Ann Morris & Do It Again!/¡Otra Vez!, Janet Balletta and Mermaids on a Mission to Save the Ocean, Evelyn Sanchez-Toledo & Bruna Bailando por el Mundo\ Dancing Around the World, Shoumi Sen & From The Toddler Diaries, Sarah Jamila Stevenson, Tonya Duncan and the Sophie Washington Book Series, Teresa Robeson  & The Queen of Physics, Nadishka Aloysius and Roo The Little Red TukTuk, Girlfriends Book Club Baltimore & Stories by the Girlfriends Book Club, Finding My Way Books, Diana Huang & Intrepids, Five Enchanted Mermaids, Elizabeth Godley and Ribbon’s Traveling Castle, Anna Olswanger and Greenhorn, Danielle Wallace & My Big Brother Troy, Jocelyn Francisco and Little Yellow Jeepney, Mariana Llanos & Kutu, the Tiny Inca Princess/La Ñusta Diminuta, Sara Arnold & The Big Buna Bash, Roddie Simmons & Race 2 Rio, DuEwa Frazier & Alice’s Musical Debut, Veronica Appleton & the Journey to Appleville book series  Green Kids Club, Inc.

We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.

Co-Hosts and Global Co-Hosts

A Crafty Arab, Afsaneh Moradian, Agatha Rodi Books, All Done Monkey, Barefoot Mommy, Bethany Edward & Biracial Bookworms, Michelle Goetzl & Books My Kids Read, Crafty Moms Share, Colours of Us, Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes, Educators Spin on it, Shauna Hibbitts-creator of eNannylink, Growing Book by Book, Here Wee Read, Joel Leonidas & Descendant of Poseidon Reads {Philippines}, Imagination Soup, Kid World Citizen, Kristi’s Book Nook, The Logonauts, Mama Smiles, Miss Panda Chinese, Multicultural Kid Blogs, Serge Smagarinsky {Australia}, Shoumi Sen, Jennifer Brunk & Spanish Playground, Katie Meadows and Youth Lit Reviews

FREE RESOURCES from Multicultural Children’s Book Day

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We still have almost 2 weeks left of the Chinese New Year celebration so today I am sharing a lovely Chinese-English bilingual book which discusses all of the major Chinese holidays, written by Yujia Zhao and illustrated by Yulin Li. I showed this book to my son’s Saturday Chinese school teacher and she immediately wanted it for her class, so of course I’ve ordered it for her! Her students (including my kiddo, Brandon) will have lots of fun learning about the holidays with Little Sen!

In this book, each Chinese holiday is introduced by name in Chinese and English, and the reader is informed when each holiday occurs (either according to the Lunar Calendar or Western Calendar). Each holiday – including: Spring Festival/Lunar New Year; Lantern Festival; Tomb Sweeping Day; Dragon Boat Festival; Mid-Autumn Festival; and Double Ninth Festival — is seen through the eyes of Little Sen and you can feel the joy (and sometimes sadness) he experiences with each celebration. You also get to see all the yummy food he eats during each holiday (don’t read this book while hungry)! The whole story is written in Chinese and English. Wonderful for those learning Chinese, but just as enjoyable and entertaining for those who are not. 

Growing up in the US, I did not celebrate all of these special holidays, so I learned a bit from this beautiful book, too! I plan to mark my calendar and discuss and teach my son about all these traditional Chinese holidays as they come up! 

If you would like to buy or see more info about this book, check out their website at: https://shinylantern.com. And, if you order this book before Jan 31, shipping is FREE with the code FSHIP! Gotta love free shipping!

Did you know that we celebrate Chinese New Year for 15 days? Nice, right? Well, in the spirit of the continued celebration of the Year of the Rat, I have another super cute Chinese New Year board book to share with you and your tiny ones!

Jet Celebrates the New Year, by Virginia Yang, is an adorable Chinese-English bilingual counting board book all about Chinese New Year! Follow Jet (Jia-jia), the most endearing little monkey ever, and see how he spends Chinese New Year day from the time he wakes up to when he goes back to bed! And along the way, learn how to count in Chinese as well as some common measure words (yes, in Chinese, the unit of measure can differ depending on the subject)! As a bonus, not only is this book in English and Chinese, it also includes Pinyin pronunciation so you can “read” (i.e. pronounce) the Chinese, even if you are illiterate in Chinese, like I am!

Your little ones will fall in love with Jia-jia, and you may too (I know I did)! Those familiar with some of the traditions of Chinese New Year will smile and proudly shout, “hey, we do that, too!” Those who are not will learn something new and be exposed to a new language, celebration and culture. However, I do have a warning for you parents and grandparents (and a bit of a spoiler alert), Jia-jai gets not 1, but 8 red envelopes (hong bao)! Perhaps be ready to explain that Jia-jia got 8 because he has 8 parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who each gave him a hong bao! Haha!

Finally, don’t be afraid to let your kids play with this beautiful little book by themselves! It’s super sturdy and seems drool-proof!

If your interested in buying or seeing more about this book, it’s on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com//dp/1733019707/

Happy New Year, everyone! Xīnnián kuàilè (新年快乐)!