Lump Lump and the Blanket of Dreams: Multicultural Children's Book Day

Lump Lump and the Blanket of Dreams by Gwen Jackson, illustrated by Lissa Calvert (self-published, 2016). 

"Winter is coming, but the little black bear, Lump Lump, isn't ready to go to sleep! With the help of his mother, the wise Blue Bird, and his forest friends, Lump Lump gathers materials for Spider Woman to weave him a Blanket of Dreams. Inspired by Navajo/Diné culture and folklore, and featuring the work of famed weaver Barbara Teller Ornelas, this beautiful tale of family and friends takes the reader on a journey through the spectacular traditions and landscapes of the Southwest."

You find more information about the book and author here, including resources and activities for the classroom. 

Watch Barbara Teller Ornelas talk about weaving:

About MCBD:

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2017 (1/27/18) is in its 5^th 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 

HONORARY: Children’s Book Council, Junior Library Guild 

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

Honorary Author Sponsors: Author/Illustrator Aram Kim and Author/Illustrator Juana Medina

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.

My Family, Your Family

My Family, Your Family by Lisa Bullard, illustrated by Renée Kurilla (Millbrook Press, 2015). 

This is a great book about a little biracial girl named Makayla who goes around visiting her friends in the neighborhood. She sees how there are all different types of families, including kids who live with divorced parents, grandparents, and two dads, as well as couples with no children. 

See my Pinterest for more books about mixed race/multicultural kids and families.

The Biggest Little Brother

The Biggest Little Brother by Aminata Jalloh, illustrated by Kim Sponaugle (self-published, 2016). 

This book is about a little boy named Sowa whose family is preparing for his older brother Hindo to travel from Sierra Leone to join them in America. At first Sowa is excited that his brother will be coming, but when Hindo arrives, Sowa realizes that he is no longer the big brother in the family, just a non-special middle child. But Hindo reassures Sowa there is plenty he can teach him, like how to play the piano, and soccer. 

I really loved both the story and illustrations. The illustrations were sweet and playful. The story was well written and did a good job of showing Sowa's point of view and his feelings regarding the change to his family. Since it's not explained in the story, some children may wonder why Hindo was still living in Sierra Leone away from the rest of his immediate family, but that can be a good opportunity to talk about possible reasons this may happen. I definitely recommend this book.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. All opinions are my own.