Book Launch: The Yellow Suitcase, at Mrs. Dalloway’s Bookstore, Berkeley, CA
With gratitude to every hand, heart, smile, and voice that welcomed and celebrated “The Yellow Suitcase” at the book launch on Saturday, March 17, 2019.
Upcoming: Book Launch – The Yellow Suitcase
My debut picture book in the U.S, THE YELLOW SUITCASE, that steps out into the world on March 12, 2019, is getting an official launch party as it begins its journey to reach homes, schools, libraries, and little hands and hearts everywhere.
Bring your kids, or just yourself, for a read aloud, and stick around for book signing, crafts and surprise treats. I’d love to see you there!
Here’e more information: Meera Sriram’s Book Launch!
Cancer Hates Kisses
Came across this book at the library and was happy to see content like this making it mainstream (and not niche!).
It’s well written, also real and optimistic.
“Mothers are superheroes when they’re battling cancer, and this empowering picture book gives them an honest yet spirited way to share the difficult experience with their kids.”
Young, Gifted and Black
A neat compilation of the lives and achievements of 52 heroes of color across borders and over many decades. Two things I really liked about the book:
1) the breadth of talents – we read about athletes, entertainers, astronauts, activists, leaders, and writers, and we also have a millionaire, an arctic explorer, a chess player, and a nurse
2) the countries we get to travel – from the U.S and UK to Jamaica, South Africa, France, Ghana, short bios introduce us to inspiring black achievers all over the world.
The illustrations are bold and colorful. My favorite spread however is the “Hall of Fame” that showcases real photographs. A final note – this book is wonderful but also important, almost necessary, because young dreamers of color need role models too. As the author puts it, “if you can’t see it, you can’t be it.” #0andUp #RepresenationMatters #WeNeedDiverseBooks
A Black Hole is Not a Hole
Title: A Black Hole is Not a Hole
Author: Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano
Illustrator: Michael Carroll
We picked up this book on black holes around the time we lost one of Science’s brightest stars, Stephen Hawking.
My 9 yr old and I have been thoroughly enjoying the fundamentals of something so absolutely intriguing, humbling, and fascinating! I highly recommend it to any adult or child that wants to get a first grip on the concept of black holes. #PictureThis #0andUp
Ghost
#PictureThis #0andUp #DiverseBookshelves
“No, don’t stop…keep reading, read more,” my son insisted several times.
And when we got to the finish line, we slowed down…sighed…and smiled.
Outstanding. Thank you, Jason Reynolds.
Celebrating HIDDEN WOMEN: Multicultural Children’s Book Day, 2018
HAPPY MULTICULTURAL CHILDREN’S BOOK DAY!
Here’s to bringing more books from around the world to bookshelves everywhere! #ReadYourWorld
This is my book review for MCBD 2018.
Here’s to bringing more books from around the world to bookshelves everywhere! #ReadYourWorld
This is my book review for MCBD 2018.
TITLE:
HIDDEN WOMEN – The African-American Mathematicians of NASA Who Helped America Win the Space Race (Ages 8 +)
HIDDEN WOMEN – The African-American Mathematicians of NASA Who Helped America Win the Space Race (Ages 8 +)
AUTHOR:
Rebecca Rissman
Rebecca Rissman
PUBLISHER:
Capstone Press
Capstone Press
On this exact same day (Jan 27th) in 1967, Apollo 1 swallowed up three NASA astronauts. NASA came out with a plaque: A rough road leads to the stars, to learn from the tragedy and to stay inspired. The quote, however, aptly captures the spirit in the lives of the women this book explores.
In a time of social and cultural oppression in America, in a time when few women pursued higher education or worked in STEM, in a time when racism was rampant, in a time when the nation raced to reach the moon, brilliant black women persevered and succeeded, but were never celebrated. This sums up why we need this book – why it is important for us, and children in particular, to read the book.
The chapters in this book offer detailed accounts of the invaluable contribution of six women in particular – Katherine Johnson, Miriam Mann, Mary Jackson, Dorothy Vaughan, Annie Easley, and Christine Darden. They were “computers,” engineers, programmers, and excellent mathematicians. But they were also strong women that fought gender and color discrimination every single day at work, in spite of NASA’s scientific quest heavily relying on their technical expertise. As we read through their work spanning more than two decades collectively, from the 50s to the 70s, we get great insight into both America’s Space Race (with the Soviet Union) and into the era of segregation.
Rissman’s writing is lucid, making it a great read for children. The language is powerful and motivational in many instances. The book also does a good job of covering historical space-related events and provides the big picture where the work of these ‘hidden’ women made a difference. It also presents several anecdotes to show kids how racial bias affected their careers. The most wonderful feature is the inclusion of real photographs – they are fascinating, and help kids connect with the story. The epilogue is an overview of the work of women in recent times that continue to break gender barriers in Space Engineering. The book ends with relevant back matter.
My 9 -year-old son made some artwork right after we finished the book, and dedicated it to his grand-uncle, a mathematician, who contributed to India’s Space Research Organization for decades.
Similar in essence to the popular movie, “Hidden Figures,” and highly relevant in the current social and pollical climate, this book is a timely and empowering read for children. We need many such books to fill up our bookshelves in homes, schools, and libraries.
Note: This book was sent to me by Capstone Press towards MCBD, in an effort to promote multicultural literacy. But the decision to review it was mine.
Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2017 (1/27/18) is in its 5th year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators.
Current Sponsors: MCBD 2018 is honored to have some amazing Sponsors on board.
2018 MCBD Medallion Sponsors
PLATINUM:Scholastic Book Clubs
GOLD:Audrey Press, Candlewick Press, Loving Lion Books, Second Story Press, Star Bright Books, Worldwide Buddies
SILVER:Capstone Publishing, Author Charlotte Riggle, Child’s Play USA, KidLit TV, Pack-n-Go Girls, Plum Street Press
BRONZE: Barefoot Books, Carole P. Roman, Charlesbridge Publishing, Dr. Crystal Bowe, Gokul! World, Green Kids Club, Gwen Jackson, Jacqueline Woodson, Juan J. Guerra, Language Lizard, Lee & Low Books, RhymeTime Storybooks, Sanya Whittaker Gragg, TimTimTom Books, WaterBrook & Multnomah, Wisdom Tales Press
2018 Author Sponsors
Author Janet Balletta, Author Susan Bernardo, Author Carmen Bernier-Grand, Author Tasheba Berry-McLaren and Space2Launch, Bollywood Groove Books, Author Anne Broyles, Author Kathleen Burkinshaw, Author Eugenia Chu, Author Lesa Cline-Ransome, Author Medeia Cohan and Shade 7 Publishing, Desi Babies, Author Dani Dixon and Tumble Creek Press, Author Judy Dodge Cummings, Author D.G. Driver, Author Nicole Fenner and Sister Girl Publishing, Debbi Michiko Florence, Author Josh Funk, Author Maria Gianferrari, Author Daphnie Glenn, Globe Smart Kids, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Author Quentin Holmes, Author Esther Iverem, Jennifer Joseph: Alphabet Oddities, Author Kizzie Jones, Author Faith L Justice, Author P.J. LaRue and MysticPrincesses.com, Author Karen Leggett Abouraya, Author Sylvia Liu, Author Sherri Maret, Author Melissa Martin Ph.D., Author Lesli Mitchell, Pinky Mukhi and We Are One, Author Miranda Paul, Author Carlotta Penn, Real Dads Read, Greg Ransom, Author Sandra L. Richards, RealMVPKids Author Andrea Scott, Alva Sachs and Three Wishes Publishing, Shelly Bean the Sports Queen, Author Sarah Stevenson, Author Gayle H. Swift Author Elsa Takaoka, Author Christine Taylor-Butler, Nicholette Thomas and MFL Publishing Author Andrea Y. Wang, Author Jane Whittingham Author Natasha Yim
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.
TWITTER PARTY Sponsored by Scholastic Book Clubs: MCBD’s super-popular (and crazy-fun) annual Twitter Party will be held 1/27/18 at 9:00pm.
Join the conversation and win one of 12-5 book bundles and one Grand Prize Book Bundle (12 books) that will be given away at the party! http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/twitter-party-great-conversations-fun-prizes-chance-readyourworld-1-27-18/
Free Multicultural Books for Teachers: http://bit.ly/1kGZrta
Free Empathy Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians and Educators: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/teacher-classroom-empathy-kit/
Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.
The Hundred Dresses
by Eleanor Estes and illustrated by Louis Slobodkin
Ages: 7+
Realistic Fiction
Polish-American Wanda Petronski is the target of ridicule in her school, mostly for her name. But more significantly for wearing the same shabby blue dress to school every day. When picked on, Wanda claims to have a hundred dresses lined up in her closet. Popular classmate Peggy is in the habit of grilling Wanda about this every morning for harmless pleasure. The silent accomplice to this, Maddie, on the other hand can see how the ritual can impact Wanda. However she chooses to do nothing, to simply stand and watch. Until one day Wanda and her family move away to the big city where they think they will be better accepted. When the “hundred dresses” finally surface, Maddie feels awful. Sleepless and restless she wishes she could have done something. Maddie and Peggy go on a mission to let Wanda know how they truly feel, and in the process are in for a surprise!
Robi Dobi
By Madhur Jaffrey, Illustrated by Amanda Hall
Age:7+
Fantasy, Adventure
It starts off with Kabbi Wahabbi (the mouse) running around frantically for help. It’s understandable considering he is drenched in smelly orange paint so much so that he is unrecognizable! And who did it? The wicked Slimey Kimey. Robi Dobi, the genial elephant, promises to help him. And that’s how an exciting adventure gets kicked off! An escapade in which a horde of engaging characters join the caravan, like Kamla-saurus (The Great Painter) and Maya Wishkaya (of The Dancing Butterflies). There is also an edge-of-the-seat segment when the entire team joins General Aman and his Great Parrot Army to rescue Princess Tara from The Wicked Purple Panthers. The journey continues steadily with two more brave rescues enroute, and that of course includes the downfall of Slimey Kimey!
Meera Sriram 