Fry Bread

Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard, illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal (Roaring Book Press, 2019). 

This is a wonderful book about the history and tradition of fry bread. Fry bread is also used as a metaphor for the Native American people in this lyrical story.  I loved that Native people of all colors, ages, and sizes are portrayed to show their true diversity, which often gets neglected in stereotypical representations in media. There is an author's note at the end, which includes a recipe and extended historical information. I highly recommend this beautiful book.

Alma and How She Got Her Name

Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal (Candlewick Press, 2018).

This sweet book is about a little girl with a big name: Alma Sofia Esperanza José Pura Candela. She tells her dad how she doesn't like her long name because it never fits when she's writing it. Her father proceeds to explain why she has the name she does. Each name is from a relative on her family tree, and he tells her a little about each person, so that they come alive to her. She notices the similarities between her relatives and herself. When they get to her first name, Alma, her father says he picked the name just for her. "You are the first and the only Alma. You will make your own story."

I've always been interested in family history, as well as origins behind names, so I really enjoyed this. Both the story and the illustrations are so lovely. Juana Martinez-Neal has illustrated a couple other books, but this is her debut as an author. I'm sure we'll see much more from her as she's obviously very talented in both areas! 

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

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.

Eli's 1st Winter Carnival

Eli's 1st Winter Carnival by Lisa Bowen, illustrated by Nina Vanessa Pontillas (Real Life Learning, 2016). 

This is a cute book about a little Canadian boy named Eli who is excited about going to his first winter carnival. He makes snow angels, goes sledding, has a snowball fight, and more. When he gets home, he has pancakes and cozy time with his family before going to bed thinking about his fun day. 

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

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go! by Alva Sachs, illustrated by Patricia Krebs (Three Wishes Publishing, 2009). 

This is the story of a day in the life of three best friends. Marcus, Justin, and Mario start their Saturday playing videos and making lunch. When they're not sure what to do next, Justin's dad suggests enjoying the nice weather outdoors, and helps them spruce up their old skateboards. They invite the other dads to come and watch them race in the park. While it's a simple story, it's nice to see diverse friendships and father-son relationships. I really love the illustrations by the Argentinean artist. 

The author and and illustrator have collaborated on several picture books. More information can be found here.

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

Anything But Pink

Anything But Pink by Adelina Winfield (self-published, 2016). 

This is a cute book about a little girl named Starri whose parents don't get her anything pink when she's a baby because they don't want to feed into the stereotype. Of course, as Starri grows up, all she wants is pink. Pink clothes, pink toys, pink room... everything pink! Finally her parents tell her, that while pink is great, there are so many other wonderful colors out there, and variety is the spice of life.

I liked both the message and the cute illustrations for this book. My only complaint is that all the characters' mouths are always puckered into O's like dolls, which is a little odd, and doesn't allow for variety of expression in their faces. But otherwise, I enjoyed this book. I also liked that the parents seem to be an interracial couple, or at least they could be seen that way, so that little mixed girls can see themselves in Starri as well. 

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

Muhiima's Quest

Muhiima's Quest by Rahma Rodaah, illustrated by Daria Horb (self-published, 2017). 

I really enjoyed this book. It's Muhiima's birthday, but she isn't expecting much because her family doesn't celebrate birthdays, so she's surprised when her mother hands her a map with no other instructions than to follow it. She takes off on her bicycle as the map leads her to visit family and friends around town who each give her a small wrapped box, along with some words of wisdom. At the end, Muhiima comes home to discover all her family and friends waiting to have a big dinner with her. All of the boxes contain a pearl to string together to make a necklace, which her mother explains represents the pearls of wisdom the whole village has given her and helped to shape her into the wonderful girl she has become. 

While I think Muslim families will really enjoy this book, it's a universal story. It would be great for non-Muslim kids to read and learn about other religious and cultural traditions, and to realize how similar Muhiima and her community are to the rest of us. It was hard to pick just a few illustrations to share, as I really loved them all. 

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

I Am Mixed

I Am Mixed by Garcelle Beauvais and Sebastian A. Jones, illustrated by James C. Webster (Strangers Comics, 2013). 

This is a great book about a brother and sister who are of mixed race and whose parents have different cultural backgrounds, and how the siblings are the best of both. The book has some impressive blurbs from celebrities like Halle Berry and Heidi Klum, and was written by two actor/authors. 

I found the story to be imaginative and fun; I think it would really help mixed kids with seeing themselves represented in a book and to feel proud of who they are. My only reservation is one aspect of the illustrations. There is something unsettling about the characters' eyes in many of the pictures; they remind me of dolls', but more in a creepy than cute way. Maybe kids wouldn't notice, or just it's me, I don't know. But it's too bad because I do feel that it detracts from my love of the story itself. 

Rice and Rocks: Multicultural Children's Book Day

Rice and Rocks by Sandra L. Richards, illustrated by Megan Kayleigh Sullivan (Wise Ink Creative Publishing, 2016.)

It's that time again!  This is my third year participating in Multicultural Children's Book Day, which is January 27. Thank you to the author for providing me with this book to review.  It actually had been on my "to read" list for a while, so I was so happy when we were matched. Also, just an interesting coincidence... I saw that she is from a town in Long Island five minutes from where I used to live before moving back to my home state of Connecticut earlier this year. 

This is a fun book about a boy named Giovanni who is embarrassed to have his friends come over for dinner because his grandmother will be serving rice and beans, or "rice and rocks" as he calls them. He thinks his family's traditional Jamaican dish will be seen as weird to his friends. But with the help of his aunt and a magical talking parrot, he learns how rice and beans is a staple in all different countries around the world, just prepared in different ways. I really enjoyed the creative story, fun illustrations, and important message. 

For more information, see the author's website here.

This book also provides a great excuse to cook with kids! For a good place to start, here is a website with 24 different rice and beans dishes from around the world.

About MCBD:

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2017 (1/27/17) is its fourth year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness on the ongoing need to include kid’s 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. 

Despite census data that shows 37% of the US population consists of people of color, only 10% of children’s books published have diversity content. Using the Multicultural Children’s Book Day holiday, the MCBD Team are on a mission to change all of that.

Current Sponsors:  MCBD 2017 is honored to have some amazing Sponsors on board. Platinum Sponsors include Scholastic, Barefoot Books and Broccoli. Other Medallion Level Sponsors include heavy-hitters like Author Carole P. Roman, Audrey Press, Candlewick Press,  Fathers Incorporated, KidLitTV, Capstone Young Readers, ChildsPlayUsa, Author Gayle Swift, Wisdom Tales Press, Lee & Low Books, The Pack-n-Go Girls, Live Oak Media, Author Charlotte Riggle, Chronicle Books and Pomelo Books

Author Sponsor include: Karen Leggett Abouraya, Veronica Appleton, Susan Bernardo, Kathleen Burkinshaw, Maria Dismondy, D.G. Driver, Geoff Griffin,  Savannah Hendricks, Stephen Hodges, Carmen Bernier-Grand,Vahid Imani, Gwen Jackson,  Hena, Kahn, David Kelly, Mariana Llanos, Natasha Moulton-Levy, Teddy O'Malley, Stacy McAnulty,  Cerece Murphy, Miranda Paul, Annette Pimentel, Greg Ransom, Sandra Richardss, Elsa Takaoka, Graciela Tiscareño-Sato,  Sarah Stevenson, Monica Mathis-Stowe, SmartChoiceNation, Andrea Y. Wang

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 work tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.

MCBD Links to remember:

MCBD site: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/

Free Multicultural Books for Teachers: http://bit.ly/1kGZrta

Free Kindness Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians and Educators: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/teachers-classroom-kindness-kit/

Free Diversity Book Lists and Activities for Teachers and Parents: http://bit.ly/1sZ5s8i

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