Multicultural Children's Book Day: Mystery of the Troubled Toucan

 Hi everyone! It's been a long time since I posted a review, hmm? I thought my Goodreads reviews had been cross-posted here all this time....oops. 

Today I'm lucky enough to review Mystery of the Troubled Toucan by Lisa Travis, illustrated by Adam Turner. It's part of the Pack-n-Go Girls Adventure series. The Pack-n-Go Girls series explores different countries through mysteries! 

This was my first time reading one of the books in this series, and I really enjoyed it! In Mystery of the Troubled Toucan, Sofia is off to Brazil with her father. It's a bit of a tough time for her, because her parents are separating, but she still excited to explore a new country. Sofia is resourceful, figuring out how to fix a boat on the way to the lodge she will be staying in during her time in Manaus, Brazil. She meets Julia, and the two become friends, practicing their Portuguese and English on each other while exploring the rainforest, looking for different animals. While exploring, a toucan follows them and steers them towards an area where they find botos, or pink river dolphins, tied up. They look like they are left there for poachers! Will Sofia and Julia be able to save the botos? 

I like that the book has a mystery, but also explores a lot of other parts about the area they are in. They discuss how Brazilians speak Portuguese instead of Spanish. The mystery felt just about right for the grade level, and the way it was solved felt realistic for the two characters. At the end of the book, there's information about Brazil and a glossary of words in English and Portuguese that you can practice!

I would love to try out another book in this series. Check out Pack-n-Go Girls Adventure's website for more information! 

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2022 (1/28/22) is in its 9^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 books into the hands of young readers and educators.

MCBD’s mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves. Read about our Mission & History HERE.

MCBD 2022 is honored to be Supported by these Medallion Sponsors!

SUPER PLATINUM: Make A Way Media

PLATINUM: Language Lizard

GOLD: Barefoot Books, KidLitTV, Candlewick, Capstone, Abrams Books

SILVER: Pack-n-Go Girls, Charlotte Riggle, Kimberly Gordon Biddle  

BRONZE: Carole P. Roman, Patrice McLaurin, Dyesha and Triesha McCants/McCants Squared, Redfin.com, Redfin Canada, Redfin Mortgage, Redfin/Title Forward, Create & Educate, Star Bright Books, Vivian Kirkfield, Dr. Eleanor Wint, Kind World Publishing, Snowflake Stories, Lisa Wee, SONGJU MA, Melissa Stoller, J.C. Kato and J.C.², Crystel Patterson, Audrey Press, Pragmaticmom, TimTimTom, Wisdom Tales 

MCBD 2022 is honored to be Supported by these Author Sponsors!

Charlene Mosley (official MCBD2022 Poster Creator)
Illustrator Isabelle Roxas (Class Kit Poster Creator)

Alva Sachs, Brianna Carter, Ebony Zay Zay, Rita Bhandari, Gwen Jackson, Lois Petren/The 5 Enchanted Mermaids, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, Josh Funk, Afsaneh Moradian, Eugenia Chu, Maritza Martínez Mejía, Diana Huang, Kathleen Burkinshaw, CultureGroove, Sandra Elaine Scott, Dorena Williamson, Veronica Appleton, Alejandra Domenzain, Lauren Muskovitz and Sandfish Publishing, Tonya Duncan Ellis, Kimberly Lee, Susan Schaefer Bernardo & Illustrator Courtenay Fletcher, Nancy Tupper Ling, Winsome Hudson-Bingham, Amanda Hsiung-Blodgett, Sivan Hong, Michael Genhart, Debbie Dadey, Elizabeth Cureton, Stephanie Wildman, Maryann Jacob, Sherri Maret, Rochelle Melander, Dia Mixon, Kiyanda and Benjamin Young, Shereen Rahming, Linda Thornburg and Katherine Archer,  Rebecca Flansburg and BA Norrgard , Maxine Schur  Natalie McDonald-Perkins

MCBD 2022 is Honored to be Supported by our CoHosts and Global CoHosts!

MCBD 2022 is Honored to be Supported by these Media Partners!

Check out MCBD's Multicultural Books for Kids Pinterest Board!

FREE RESOURCES from Multicultural Children’s Book Day

Diversity Book Lists & Activities for Teachers and Parents

Homeschool Diverse Kidlit Booklist & Activity Kit

FREE Teacher Classroom Activism and Activists Kit

FREE Teacher Classroom Empathy Kit

FREE Teacher Classroom Kindness Kit

FREE Teacher Classroom Physical and Developmental Challenges Kit

FREE Teacher Classroom Poverty Kit

FREE Homeschool Diverse Kidlit Booklist & Activity Kit

FREE Teacher Classroom Raising Awareness on Systemic Racism in America Classroom Kit

Gallery of Our Free Posters

FREE Diversity Book for Classrooms Program

Join us on Friday, Jan 28, 2022, at 9 pm EST for the 8th annual Multicultural Children's Book Day Twitter Party! Be sure and follow MCBD and Make A Way Media on Twitter!

This epically fun and fast-paced hour includes multicultural book discussions, addressing timely issues, diverse book recommendations, & reading ideas.

We will be giving away an 8-Book Bundle every 5 minutes plus Bonus Prizes as well! *** US and Global participants welcome. **

Follow the hashtag #ReadYourWorld to join the conversation, connect with like-minded parts, authors, publishers, educators, organizations, and librarians. See you all very soon on Twitter!

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

Review: The Orphan Band of Springdale

The Orphan Band of Springdale by Anne Nesbet
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I didn't love this quite as much as Cloud and Wallfish, but I really loved that book. It would have taken a lot to come close.

Gusta has been sent to live with her grandmother in rural Maine while her father is on the run and her mother works to earn enough money to maybe take her back. Her father is German but also a union organizer, two things that aren't great to be in the early 1940s. Gusta learns a lot about herself, her family and life in this coming of age tale.

The Maine setting felt true to me, which is fantastic to find in a book. Sometimes books get Maine wrong, and as a native, I am very picky. I also grew up about 40 minutes from where this book is set, which is a fun connection. I also loved how vivid Nesbet made the other characters. The dairy wars were one of my favorite parts. I also appreciated Gusta getting glasses, and what that was like.

Readers will love learning about Gusta and Maine in the early days of WWII.

View all my reviews

Review: Furyborn

Furyborn by Claire Legrand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced review copy of this book.

Normally I try to review my ARC copies closer to the release date, but I couldn't wait with this one. It's very good. It's about two women, Rielle and Eliana, who exist years apart but their stories start to relate in interesting ways. It's also about a prophecy: two queens will rise, one of blood and one of sun. I really liked how Legrand characterized each of these characters. They each were individual, complicated people, with interesting, complicated people around them.

My main complaint about the book is that it took me a little while to get into it. You're definitely thrown into the action, and it took me a while to get my bearings. Initially I also didn't read much of what the book was about, so the switch in narrators was also really confusing for me. By the end, I wasn't able to put it down, and it was a book I was reading on my phone, which normally I only read during my work lunch breaks.

View all my reviews

The Mad Wolf's Daughter by Diane Magras

I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this book as an ARC from the author. I've seen it on a lot of "Most Anticipated of 2018" lists for middle grade and friends, I think it is worth the hype. 

Drest lives with her family in a remote part of Scotland. Her mother is not in the picture, so she lives with her father and brothers and is trained in the same ways they are. One night, her family is captured by the local knights of Faintree Castle. One knight is left behind, and Drest takes him as a hostage on her trip to rescue her family. She thinks her family is beloved protectors of the land, but her travels teach her that not everyone may see her family that way. Can she still rescue them before they hang?

I'll admit this is as bit of a male heavy book. We don't know what happened to Drest's mother, and her two most constant companions are male, in addition to her family and the knights. At least Drest doesn't seem to harbor feelings that feminine traits are useless. There are a few women who come into the story and Drest reacts well to them.

I think my favorite part of the story is the way Drest's father and brothers talk to her in her head while she is on her mission to rescue them. They provide a sense of humor, and you also get a sense of each other's personality, since you only meet them briefly in the beginning. It will remind you of the way you hear the voices of your own family in your head.

This is an excellent middle grade addition to any library collection.

Review: Before She Was Harriet

Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Beautiful. Stunning. It also illustrates important parts of Harriet Tubman's life. She contained multitudes and did so many more heroic things than many of us will ever do. Someone for all to admire.

View all my reviews

Review: I Love You, Michael Collins

I Love You, Michael Collins by Lauren Baratz-Logsted
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved this one. Mamie reminded me a bit of myself. As a kid, I would have picked the least popular thing because I was afraid it would feel bad and then tell people it was really the best. I love episolatory novels, like this one and I think the style really works. I also thought the potential disintegration of the family made sense. I didn't like that it was happening, but it felt real. This is a great story.

View all my reviews

Review: Into the Wild

Into the Wild by Erin Hunter
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read the next series a while ago, but read this one recently. I can see why kids like it, even if I don't feel the urge to go back and read more.

You can hear more of my thoughts, as well as two other bright people, here: http://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers...

View all my reviews

Review: Long Way Down

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'll be honest: I have loved every single thing Jason Reynolds has ever written. I even think he has the best author bio on his books. I adore him, and his mission, and then he has amazing writing skills on top of that. It's incredible.

This is a novel in verse, and it's the story of Will, whose brother Shawn was just murdered. He knows the rules: 1. Don't cry. 2. Don't snitch 3. Revenge. So he takes his brother's gun and goes into the elevator, convinced he knows who shot Shawn. Over the course of the minute-long elevator ride, ghosts visit him, talking about how they died. Can they have any influence over how he thinks, or will the Rules override all?

Just so good.

View all my reviews

It's Multicultural Children's Book Day!

Happy Multicultural Children's Book Day!

I was lucky enough to receive a book to review. I received Brandon Makes Jiǎo Zi (餃子)  by Eugenia Chu from the author. In this story, Brandon loves making jiao zi, especially with his grandmother. She comes for a visit, and they work together to make the delicious dumplings. Brandon makes a silly dumpling at the end, and his whole family laughs. It's great to see an inter-generational story, especially one about a grandmother and grandson working on something together. This picture book is the first I've read that includes Mandarin Chinese, so it was fun to see the characters and the words together, and to practice sounding the words out. I also love that Chu includes audio on her website to further help with the pronunciation.  The illustrations were not as strong as the text. I found them to be a bit too simple, even if they are better than something I could do!


Thank you so much Ms. Chu for sending me your book! If you would like more information about Brandon or Ms. Chu, you can visit her website or one of her social media pages.

http://eugeniachu.com

https://www.facebook.com/eugeniachuauthor/

https://twitter.com/chuauthor

https://www.instagram.com/eugeniachu8245/

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.

Review: Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers

Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers by Deborah Heiligman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Deb Heiligman wrote another winner, folks. (And I know I'm not alone in saying this, as the Horn Book has recognized this book already as being worthy of an award.) This paired very well with my viewing of "Loving Vincent," the oil-painted animation film that came out this year. It was interesting to see the two different perspectives on the life and death of Vincent Van Gogh, and his brother Theo. Heiligman has written a work that feels like a painting. It changes as time goes by, it's flexible about it's format, and it's written in gallery stages. At first, I wasn't sure what to think about this, and it grew on me. Noticing formatting of a book isn't something I normally spend a lot of time on, but this was worth examining. Highly recommended.

View all my reviews

Review: Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building

Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building by Christy Hale
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was more fun than I expected to read in storytime. The kids liked the illustrations on the left side, the adults the photographs on the right.

For children's librarians--it's a good book to pair with a Lego/block building event.

View all my reviews

Review: The Someday Birds

The Someday Birds by Sally J. Pla
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is really good. Charlie lives with his grandmother, older sister, and twin younger brothers. Their father is in the hospital, having suffered a brain injury while in Afghanistan. Charlie has a particular way of viewing the world, which is unique to him. He displays traits of OCD and autism, but neither is explicitly named. Events happen which require him to go on a road trip with his siblings and a woman they sort of know from the hospital. While on the trip, Charlie will be testing on how much he can handle. He will also attempt to find all the birds on the "Someday" list that he and his dad have created.

Charlie feels so real. You feel for this kid, who sees the world a specific way, knows it's different, but sticks to his own guns for the most part. He's struggling with a lot, but he makes his way through it. He doesn't always make the best choices, but he makes the choices that make sense for him. I really enjoyed it.

View all my reviews

Review: Dreams of Gods & Monsters

Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One of the most beautifully written series I have ever read. Love, love, love it. I love all the ships. I don't really have great words for my feelings about it, just that it is wonderful and that I stayed up late reading it.

View all my reviews

Review: Still Life

Still Life by Louise Penny
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Believe the hype. This was excellent.

View all my reviews

Review: The Gauntlet

The Gauntlet by Karuna Riazi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this one. It's a lot like Jumanji in a chapter book, with some cool twists. Farah loves to play games, despite the fact that she always has to include her younger brother, Ahmed. It's her 12th birthday party, and friends and family are gathering in her new apartment on the Upper East Side of New York City. Things with her friends are a little strained, but she's hoping they get better. Her aunt gives her a gift of a mysterious game. When Ahmed impulsively goes into the game, Farah and her friends Alex and Essie must go in after him and beat the game in order to make it back out...alive.

I am a big fan of diversity in books, and so I was excited to read this offering from Salaam Reads. I think Riazi does an excellent job of setting the groundwork for a game in a world different from others. I had to do a little research to picture everything, but it was fun to do. I do think the actual world of the Gauntlet was hard to picture, I was imagining clockwork and minarets together but trying to get all the different levels was a little hard. I did find the games intriguing. Overall, I liked it a lot.

View all my reviews

Review: Strange Fruit: Billie Holiday and the Power of a Protest Song

Strange Fruit: Billie Holiday and the Power of a Protest Song by Gary Golio
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

While I didn't like this as much as his previous book about Jimi Hendrix, this book is an excellent introduction to Billie Holiday and the song. I think it treats the subject of lynching with the respect it deserves, while also not being too much for the age group it is aimed at to handle.

View all my reviews

Review: A Letter to My Teacher

A Letter to My Teacher by Deborah Hopkinson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved it! It's definitely a great gift for the teachers that have been special in your child's life.

View all my reviews

Review: Ms. Bixby's Last Day

Ms. Bixby's Last Day by John David Anderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I didn't have a chance to read this during MSBA pre-season, so I read it now. It's funny, because I wasn't a huge fan of Anderson's Sidekicked, but I really enjoyed his two more recent stories. This one is about three boys who want to give their teacher her ideal last day, after she leaves school due to cancer treatments. It's funny and sad all at once, and if you are an educator, it reminds you of the impact you can have on student lives. An excellent choice for the list.

View all my reviews

Review: My Lame Life: Queen of the Misfits

My book club picks a lot of different books. We've read middle grade poetic biographies, YA fantasy, adult literary fiction, and non-fiction. One time we picked a book called People I Want to Punch in the Throat by Jen Mann. I laughed so hard at her book, and immediately went and asked her to be my friend on Facebook, which she graciously allowed me to do. Ever since, I have been enjoying her thoughts there and on her blog, and hope to read her other books soon.

My Lame Life: Queen of the Misfits is Mann's first foray into the field of young adult literature. Plum Parrish, our narrator, is about to move from New Jersey to Kansas because of her father's job transfer. She is not excited about the move, but it is a chance for her to start over. In New Jersey, she has two friends, and one of them is her French teacher. Can Plum find her tribe in a new state?

I laughed just as hard at this book as I did at People. Mann has realistically captured the teen experience, from the self-centered way they view the world, to the horrors of gym class and having a "cooler" sibling. I loved the journal format, and the way Plum had a list of people or things that she wanted to punch after each entry. The way that Plum's friendships and relationships with her family change over the course of the novel felt natural too. Additionally, I have a fear of bats, and the scene with Plum, the bat, and her family had me laughing and cringing. If I had a daughter with a bat in her hair, I'm not sure I would immediately jump to help either.

I immediately added to the YA collection at the library I work at. I did receive a free copy of the book from the author in return in for my honest review.

Review: Saving the Whole Wide World

Saving the Whole Wide World by Judd Winick
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read this one because it was the only nominee for the Children's Book Award in the middle-grade category that I hadn't read yet. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the first book in the series. Hilo is pretty cool, and the ending is quite a cliffhanger.

View all my reviews