Author: Varian Johnson
Published: 2018 Candice finds a mysterious letter in her grandmother's attic. On the envelope there is a note in her grandmother's writing that says, "Find the path. Solve the puzzle." The anonymous letter is addressed to her grandmother, and it talks about an injustice that took place years and years ago against the Washingtons, a black family who lived in Lambert, South Carolina. The person who wrote the letter was so upset about this injustice that he sought revenge, causing the city to almost go bankrupt. In the letter, they say that they are giving the town a chance to earn back all the money that was lost. All that has to happen is she needs to solve the puzzle. If she solves the puzzle, she gets to keep a portion of the money. Candice's grandmother has passed away. She never solved the mystery. Candice decides it's time for her to solve it. She starts learning about the Washington family and what happened in 1957. She uncovers dark secrets about the town and the people who lived there. The Parker Inheritance is such a good mystery. I loved the flashbacks that brought us back to the time that this injustice occurred. Extremely satisfying read!
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Author: Sarah Darer Littman
Published: 2018 Stella and Farida are best friends. Stella is white, and Farida is a Muslim Iraqi-American. Farida often will point out racism that she and other people of color experience that Stella doesn't even see. Stella is pushed by her friends into running for class president, against Chris. Chris is the son of the mayor who also is running for governor. He blames immigrants and refugees for the state's problems. His son seems to have adopted his viewpoint. Ever since Stella's brother Rob got back from Afghanistan, he has been different. He has PTSD and doesn't like being around people. When one of his friends who served with him takes his own life, Rob really has a hard time dealing with it. Stella thinks Rob just needs to try to leave the house. She invites him to come along with her to a movie theater. When he starts to see some teenagers being disrespectful and racist to an employee, Rob loses it and is arrested for assault. Rob's story is all over the news. People start calling him a terrorist sympathizer, and he is painted as this angry man. Anything But Okay deals with lot of issues in our world, including racism, privilege, and the struggles veterans go through when they come home and how they don't get the assistance they need. This book may be eye-opening to people who may not realize the privileges they have just because of the color of their skin. Author: Lisa Travis Published: 2015 January 25 (Tomorrow!) is Multicultural Children's Book Day. To celebrate, here is information about an amazing book I read for the event! Mystery of the Troubled Toucan is about a girl named Sofia. Her parents announce they are separating just before her dad brings Sofia along on his work trip to Brazil. Sofia thinks that the trip will be miserable, especially with the news she just received about her parents. When they get to Brazil, Sofia meets Julia, the daughter of a man Sofia's dad works with. The two soon become good friends and start exploring the Amazon rainforest. Soon they run into a toucan who is squawking like mad. It's almost as if the toucan wants them to follow it. When the girls discover that the toucan may indeed actually want to lead them somewhere, they discover a situation that they cannot ignore. Mystery of the Troubled Toucan is a great read for those who like adventure stories. Bilingual readers who can read Spanish or Portuguese will enjoy the phrases in different languages scattered throughout the book. I love how the girls are strong-willed and come up with a plan to stop an injustice. I will definitely be reading the other books in the Pack-n-Go Girls series! Here's more information on Multicultural Children's Book Day!
Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2019 (1/25/19) is in its 6th 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 homes and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators. MCBD 2019 is honored to have the following Medallion Sponsors on board!*View our 2019 Medallion Sponsors here: https://wp.me/P5tVud- *View our 2019 MCBD Author Sponsors here: https://wp.me/P5tVud-2eN Medallion Level Sponsors Honorary: Children’s Book Council, The Junior Library Guild, TheConsciousKid.org.Super Platinum: Make A Way MediaGOLD: Bharat Babies, Candlewick Press, Chickasaw Press, Juan Guerra and The Little Doctor / El doctorcito, KidLitTV, Lerner Publishing Group, Plum Street Press,SILVER: Capstone Publishing, Carole P. Roman, Author Charlotte Riggle, Huda Essa, The Pack-n-Go Girls,BRONZE: Charlesbridge Publishing, Judy Dodge Cummings, Author Gwen Jackson, Kitaab World, Language Lizard – Bilingual & Multicultural Resources in 50+ Languages, Lee & Low Books, Miranda Paul and Baptiste Paul, Redfin, Author Gayle H. Swift, T.A. Debonis-Monkey King’s Daughter, TimTimTom Books, Lin Thomas, Sleeping Bear Press/Dow Phumiruk, Vivian Kirkfield,MCBD 2019 is honored to have the following Author Sponsors on board Honorary: Julie Flett, Mehrdokht Amini,Author Janet Balletta, Author Kathleen Burkinshaw, Author Josh Funk, Chitra Soundar, One Globe Kids – Friendship Stories, Sociosights Press and Almost a Minyan, Karen Leggett, Author Eugenia Chu, CultureGroove Books, Phelicia Lang and Me On The Page, L.L. Walters, Author Sarah Stevenson, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Hayley Barrett, Sonia Panigrah, Author Carolyn Wilhelm, Alva Sachs and Dancing Dreidels, Author Susan Bernardo, Milind Makwana and A Day in the Life of a Hindu Kid, Tara Williams, Veronica Appleton, Author Crystal Bowe, Dr. Claudia May, Author/Illustrator Aram Kim, Author Sandra L. Richards, Erin Dealey, Author Sanya Whittaker Gragg, Author Elsa Takaoka, Evelyn Sanchez-Toledo, Anita Badhwar, Author Sylvia Liu, Feyi Fay Adventures, Author Ann Morris, Author Jacqueline Jules, CeCe & Roxy Books, Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace, LEUYEN PHAM, Padma Venkatraman, Patricia Newman and Lightswitch Learning, Shoumi Sen, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, Traci Sorell, Shereen Rahming, Blythe Stanfel, Christina Matula, Julie Rubini, Paula Chase, Erin Twamley, Afsaneh Moradian, Lori DeMonia, Claudia Schwam, Terri Birnbaum/ RealGirls Revolution, Soulful Sydney, Queen Girls Publications, LLCWe’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, Agatha Rodi Books, All Done Monkey, Barefoot Mommy, Biracial Bookworms, Books My Kids Read, Crafty Moms Share, Colours of Us, Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes, Descendant of Poseidon Reads, Educators Spin on it, Growing Book by Book, Here Wee Read, Joy Sun Bear/ Shearin Lee, Jump Into a Book, Imagination Soup,Jenny Ward’s Class, Kid World Citizen, Kristi’s Book Nook, The Logonauts, Mama Smiles, Miss Panda Chinese, Multicultural Kid Blogs, Raising Race Conscious Children, Shoumi Sen, Spanish Playground TWITTER PARTY Sponsored by Make A Way Media: MCBD’s super-popular (and crazy-fun) annual @McChildsBookDay Twitter Party will be held 1/25/19 at 9:00pm.E.S.T. TONS of prizes and book bundles will be given away during the party ( a prize every 5 minutes!). GO HERE for more details. FREE RESOURCES From MCBD 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. Author: Dan Gemeinhart
Published: 2015 Mark has cancer. He has had cancer since he was five-years-old. After getting more bad news, Mark is done. He decides he is going to run away from home with his dog Beau and go climb Mount Rainier. He begins his journey, carrying his dog in a duffel bag to keep him hidden in public. So many unexpected and dangerous things happen and Mark finds himself wanting to give up. Meanwhile, Mark's story is all over the news. Everyone is looking for this kid who doesn't want to be found. His family is going crazy trying to find him. They want him home safe. Jessie, Mark's best friend, may have some idea where he is going. But could she betray him and tell someone? The Honest Truth is about a boy who has had to deal with too much in his life. He just wants to be able to do this one thing, even if it's the last thing he does. Absolutely amazing story for readers who like adventure or who maybe are dealing with something tough in their own lives. Author: Nicholas Bowling
Published: 2018 Alyce's mom was accused of being a witch and then killed. They try to take Alyce next, but she kills one of the men and escapes. Soon after, she is found half-dead in a ditch. Alyce is brought to Bedlam Asylum, which supposedly is a hospital but is actually more of a prison. Before she was killed, her mom gave her instructions to take a sealed letter to a man named John Dee. Two people show up at Bedlam asking about Alyce. She assumes that they are more witch hunters who want to kill her. Alyce manages to escape, but there are people after her. She finds shelter in an inn, and a friend in a boy named Solomon who has his own dark secrets. But Alyce can't stay safe there forever. Soon she finds that the original witch hunters are still after her. Even the one who she is positively certain she killed. Meanwhile Queen Elizabeth is ruling England, but there is a rival queen, Mary Stuart who will stop at nothing to gain power. Alyce finds herself in the middle of this feud as she uncovers secrets about who she really is. Witch Born is is an interesting fantasy mixed with historical fiction that will have readers hooked until the very end! Author: Sharon M. Draper
Published: 2018 Isabella's father is black, and her mother is white. She has always felt like she doesn't really fit because of this. It's gotten worse ever since her parents divorced. Now she spends one week living with her mom, and then the next week she spends living with her dad. She feels like she is caught between two worlds. It doesn't help when people come up to her and ask "what she is," or tell her that she looks so exotic or unusual. In class when talking about civil rights, a white classmate makes light of the fact that African American people used to be lynched by white people. One of Isabella's best friends, Imani, who is black, confronts him and tells him that what he did was not okay. Soon after, Imani finds a noose in her locker. Police get involved, and a lot of conversations start happening about racism. More than ever, Isabella wants to know if people look at her and see black or if they see white. Blended is an absolutely amazing book about what it is like to be biracial. It deals with racism in a way that may enlighten those who are unaware it still happens all the time. I absolutely loved this book. Blended would be great for lovers of Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes or readers who aren't quite ready for The Hate U Give or All American Boys. Author: Kathleen Lane
Published: 2016 Maggie worries. A lot. She worries about the murderer on the loose who shot a convenience store worker in her neighborhood. She worries about middle school. She worries that the bunnies her neighbor has will die. She thinks that she can control some of these things if she repeats phrases over and over or if she does certain things, like counting to 60 while holding her breath. Maggie has a ritual she goes through every night. Front door locked, kitchen door locked, kitchen window closed, basement door closed. But wait, did she check behind the shower curtain in the bathroom? Is the closet clear? Are the bedroom windows closed? Soon the anxiety Maggie is experiencing starts taking over her life. There are things we can control, and things we can't control. Will Maggie be able to tell the difference? The Best Worst Thing is a good book that portrays a character with anxiety. This would be a good book to recommend to students who experience anxiety in their own lives. Author: Kwame Alexander & Mary Rand Hess
Published: 2018 Walt and Noah are best friends. Walt is a hilarious boy who spends his time trying (and failing) to get on the baseball team and listening to a podcast that talks about love. He is trying to be cool, and he thinks that these two things will help him. Noah is busy having a crush on another one of his friends named Sam. Sam has been his friend forever, but she is dating a different boy and has never thought about Noah that way before. One day Noah discovers a bunch of old love letters written by two people he doesn't know. He can't come up with the words on his own to tell Sam how he feels, but he thinks he can use the words he finds in the old love letters to tell Sam how he feels. He starts creating blackout poetry from the love letters with the intention of showing them to Sam. Meanwhile, someone is going around town putting American flags everywhere. Some people think it's just somebody being dumb, while other people think somebody is trying to make a statement by doing it. Swing is a fantastic book that looks at some really important issues, like the prejudices that still exist in America today. I really enjoyed this book, and I was definitely not expecting that ending! Author: Jo Knowles
Published: 2012 Fern used to be the baby of the family, until her parents had Charlie. Now she feels completely invisible. Charlie is three-years-old and completely adorable. Everybody loves him. Fern's older sister and older brother have their own issues, and Fern just kind of gets lost in the middle. Their family owns a restaurant called Harry's, so they are busy all the time trying to keep it running. Fern's dad is always trying to get the family to help promote the restaurant. Charlie is the only one excited about the ideas of being in commercials or having his picture on a t-shirt. When something terrible happens to their family, their world comes crashing down. Fern doesn't know if they can all get through it. See You at Harry's is a heartbreaking book about grief. This book really looks at what it's like to lose someone. It is heartbreaking and real and beautiful. Author: M. Azmitia
Published: 2019 Elena and Marianella are twin sisters, but they are so different from each other. Elena doesn't really buy in to their Puerto Rican culture; while, Marianella embraces their culture. Marianella also is suffering from depression, something that no one in her family really understands. When it all gets to be too much, Marianella takes her life, leaving Elena behind. Elena doesn't know how to cope with her sister's death. She starts partying and doing things that help her forget the guilt she feels for not getting her sister the help she needed. The Same Blood is a novel written in verse about two very different girls and what happens after one of them makes a decision that affects both of their lives. |
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