environment – Mom Read It

The Wild Garden brings a community together

Posted on July 21, 2022July 21, 2022 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Wild Garden, by Cynthia Cliff, (May 2022, Prestel Publishing), $16.95, ISBN: 9783791375120

Ages 5-9

Jilly is a young girl who lives with her grandfather and her dog, Blue, in a small village. The community where they live works together to plan and grow their village garden as Jilly, Bleu, and Grandpa wander the woods outside the village walls, foraging in the wild garden for berries, nuts, and edible greens. When the community considers knocking down a wall to expand their garden, Jilly and Grandpa take action to raise awareness and respect for the wildlife currently living and thriving there. Alternating spreads show the community working together to care for their gardens and Jilly, Grandpa, and Bleu exploring the woods. The narrative and illustrations show both sides of a coin: love of nature and working together. Jilly and her grandfather create a walking path with signs to invite their neighbors to explore the area and develop their own relationships with the land. Once understanding is achieved, they create a “new kind of garden” where the people and the wildlife coexist. Colorful illustrations show diverse townspeople working and playing together; natural areas are vibrant with life. The story moves through the seasons, with a color palette that shifts from verdant greens to warm oranges and yellows. A good story about community and on coexisting with nature.

Uncategorized

Happy Multicultural Children’s Book Day: The Dreamcatcher Codes by Barbara Newman

Posted on January 28, 2022January 28, 2022 by Rosemary Kiladitis

It’s Multicultural Children’s Book Day, and the books just get better every year! This year, I received a copy of The Dreamcatcher Codes by Barbara Newman, and what a book this is! A YA story about our connection to the earth, with incredible female characters and a story that comes at a critical moment in time.

The Dreamcatcher Codes, by Barbara Newman,
(Aug. 2021, Green Writers Press), $15.95, ISBN: 9781733653473
Ages 10+

Earth is dying. Our bee colonies collapse; our oceans are choked with plastic; the animals we share our lands with are dying as we encroach on their land and their natural resources. The only hope is for the sacred Codes of Nature, but they’ve been stolen by a giant raven. Now, four girls must come together to seek out the missing piece of the Codes and restore order to the land. Powered by the four points of the compass and the four elements – Fire, Air, Water, and Earth – the girls must work together as they embark on an adventure that elevates climate change and the role of young women in our world. It’s fantasy grounded in reality; an empowering, unputdownable adventure that fantasy readers, environmental advocates and activists, and adventure/survival readers will love.

Author Barbara Newman’s webpage invites readers to become “Allies for the Earth” and posts links to environmental organizations like Zero Hour and Tree Sisters. A portion of the proceeds for The Dreamcatcher Codes goes to organizations for climate justice and environmental activism, so while reading your world, make your purchase count.

The Dreamcatcher Codes is an International Impact Award Winner for Multicultural Fiction and a Best Book Awards finalist in two categories: Multicultural Fiction and Fantasy/Fiction.

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 29, 2021, 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.

Uncategorized

Pack your bags, we’re going to Antarctica!

Posted on May 6, 2021May 5, 2021 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Antarctica: Continent of Wonder, by Mario Cuesta Hernando/Illustrated by Raquel Martin, (June 2021, Prestel Junior), $19.95, ISBN: 9783791374567

Ages 5-8

Are you ready for a journey? Antarctica: Continent of Wonder begins with an invitation to adventure: the narrator has been invited by the United States Antarctic Program to an expedition to Antarctica, and we’re coming along! As we voyage through the colorful pages of this oversize book, we’ll encounter penguins, whales, and seals, watch our shop break through large packs of floating ice, and hunker down in the research station during a snowstorm. Very easy to read, interactive, and with a visually interesting and effective table of contents, this is a great introduction to Antarctica for kids. Facts about the continent pair with spotlights on famed researchers, like Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott; a section on dangers Antarctica faces alerts readers to conservation and environmental concerns like climate change, overfishing, and pollution.

I recently did a “Big Book” virtual readers advisory program with a colleague at my library, because these oversized books may not always get the love they deserve. With beautiful spreads showing humpback whales breaching against a backdrop of ice-covered mountains, or scientists making themselves at home in the research station while a snowstorm rails outside, I can’t wait to show this off at my next Big Book reveal. Give this to your armchair explorers. Revisit NatGeo’s 2020 Virtual Summer in Antarctica for videos and activities to share with your kiddos.

Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grade

You’ll want a Bob of your own!

Posted on April 26, 2018April 25, 2018 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Bob, by Wendy Mass & Rebecca Stead/Illustrations by Nicholas Gannon, (May 2018, Feiwel & Friends), $16.99, ISBN: 9781250166623

Do Fairies Bring the Spring? Let’s find out!

Posted on March 15, 2017March 13, 2017 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Do Fairies Bring the Spring?, by Liza Gardner Walsh/Illustrated by Hazel Mitchell, (Feb. 2017, Down East Books), $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-60893-633-5

A boy and his friend must act fast to save The Last Tree

Posted on January 20, 2017December 9, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Last Tree, by Ingrid Chabbert/Illustrated by Guridi, (April 2017, Kids Can Press), $17.95, ISBN: 9781771387286

Recommended for ages 4-7

A boy listens to his father describe running and playing in the grass as a child, but has only a concrete playing area with a diminishing patch of grass available to him. One day, the boy and his friend discover a baby tree – a sapling, really – hidden behind a wall and are amazed: it’s the first tree they’ve ever seen up close. The boy goes home and discovers, to his horror, that a luxury condo complex is scheduled to begin construction right in the very spot where the tree is growing, and the boys spring into action to save the last tree.

This is a powerful look at how lack of green spaces affects children. Ingrid Chabbert’s narrator is an adult, looking back on his childhood, and how important saving that tree was to him and his friend. It sends a message about the importance of conservation and preservation today, and offers some hope for tomorrow. Artist Guridi communicates this message using charcoal, gravure ink, gouache, pencil, and digital art to create a spark of hope in the grey, bleak future that faces us as we see more green spaces disappear under development.

A strong addition to collections for Earth Day, conservation units, and to empower kids who may not understand that they can have a long-lasting impact on the world with the smallest and kindest of acts. The Last Tree invites a discussion on empathy by examining the boys’ actions and asking children to contribute by sharing a time when they took action to help someone or something that needed it.

Intermediate, Middle Grade, Non-Fiction, Non-fiction, Non-Fiction, Tween Reads

Holiday Shopping: Nature

Posted on December 12, 2016December 11, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

First tech, now nature. This latest round of holiday gift ideas looks at science and nature books. These are perfect for the kid who loves to be outdoors and wants to know more about our world and the animals he or she shares it with.

Under Earth, Under Water, by Aleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinski, (Oct. 2016, Candlewick Press), $35.00, ISBN: 978-0-7636-8922-3

Recommended for ages 7-12

This book is stunning. It’s two books in one, each examining our worlds just below the surface: water and earth. The illustrations are amazing, and kids will flip as they see the inside of an anthill, take a look at an archaeological dig, check out a history of submarines, or tag along for a tour of the Mariana Trench. I can’t get enough of this book, and kids who love natural science won’t, either. Check out this spread on a Dreadnoughtus schrani!

Aliens From Earth: When Animals and Plants Invade Other Ecosystems, by Mary Batten/Illustrated by Beverly J. Doyle, (March 2016, Peachtree Publishers), $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-56145-900-1

Recommended for ages 9-12

Aliens From Earth takes a fascinating look at what happens when animals or plants invade a new habitat, upsetting an ecosystem’s balance. Fire ants, gypsy moths, even the cute little starlings that I see every morning when I head to work are all in here. Introducing an invasive species into an ecosystem unprepared for it can be responsible for the spread of disease, loss of habitat for current inhabitants, and reduction of natural resources for an area. This volume is beautifully illustrated by artist Beverly J. Doyle, whose acrylic paintings make me feel like I’m walking through a museum exhibit as I read. Previously published in 2006, Aliens from Earth is an Izaak Walton League of American Conservation Book of the Year. Give this to kids who are interested in environmentalism, preservation, and conservation.

Ultimate Oceanpedia, by Christina Wilsdon, (Nov. 2016, National Geographic Children’s Books), $24.99, ISBN: 978-1426325502

Recommended for ages 7-13

Know a kid who would live in the aquarium if she or he could? Fascinated by fish, crazy for sea turtles, smart about sharks? The Ultimate Oceanpedia is the book for them. Stunning photos accompany entries on earth’s oceans, sea life, exploration, weather, the coast, and conservation of our underwater habitats and saving sea life. There are fast facts, stats, food webs, and maps galore. Sections on climate change and offshore drilling take on today’s big issues and present the facts without bias, letting readers form their own opinions. A call to action provides simple ways kids can help make the world a better, cleaner, healthier place to live. A glossary and in-depth resources encourage kids to keep learning and changing the world around them for the better.

These books are all available right now and are dying to go home with you! Shop your local bookseller, or click on over to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, or Indie Bound to buy.

Intermediate, Middle Grade, Non-Fiction, Non-fiction, Non-Fiction, Tween Reads

Road Trip! Ranger Rick’s Travels: National Parks

Posted on September 19, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Ranger Rick’s Travels: National Parks!, by Stacy Tornio & Ken Keffer, (Aug. 2016, Muddy Boots), $14.95, ISBN: 9781630762308

Recommended for ages 8+

In a fabulous love letter to the National Parks of America and the National Park Service, the folks at Ranger Rick Magazine – remember them? They have books now! – put together this beautiful book, featuring each one of the 58 National parks across America. Ranger Rick and his best friend, Deputy Scarlett, appear throughout the book to join readers on a countrywide sightseeing tour.

The book opens with a map of the United States, including Hawaii, Alaska, and the US Virgin Islands. Each park is numbered and corresponds to the Table of Contents, which organizes the parks into 9 groups: Eastern Parks, Midwest Parks, Mountain West Parks, Southwest Parks, Utah and Nevada Parks, California Parks, Pacific Northwest Parks, Pacific Island Parks, and Alaska Parks. Each park’s profile includes stunning photos and facts that will make readers want to pack their bags and take a month or six off from work or school!

Each park feature provides information in quick bites that read like a tourism guide. About the Park provides a quick overview and basic facts; What to Watch For are Ranger Rick’s top nature picks on what plants and animals to keep an eye out for. Ranger Rick’s Top Things To Do is a bucket list for each park – don’t leave without seeing Old Faithful in Yellowstone Park, naturally, but also make sure not to miss out on a hike through the park! Finally, Ranger Rick’s Amazing Facts are the “WOW” factor for each park: did you know that you can only reach Northwest Alaska’s Kobuk Valley National Park by foot, dogsled, snowmobile, or air taxi? Now you do!

This is a great book to have in collections and to have available when you’re talking about the U.S. There’s 100 years of history in the National Parks Service, but there are far more years in the history of these parks; there are petrified trees, dinosaur footprints and bones, and formations carved out of rock thousands of years ago, here for all to enjoy. Families planning a vacation or two can use this as a jumping off point (I know I am).

Don’t forget to head to the Ranger Rick website, where kids can read more about nature and the environment, play some games, and get craft ideas. Educator resources included lesson plans and webinars.

Ranger Rick and Scarlett image courtesy of Photobucket.

Early Reader, Fiction, Preschool Reads, Realistic Fiction

The Branch gets a new lease on life after a storm

Posted on July 15, 2016May 14, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Branch, by Mireille Messier/Illustrated by Pierre Pratt (Sept. 2016, Kids Can Press), $16.95, ISBN: 9781771385640

Recommended for ages 3-7

A little girl’s favorite tree branch comes clattering down during an ice storm. A neighbor teaches her how to repurpose the branch, to create new memories.

What a great book to communicate so many ideas! First, we have the imagination of the tree branch. As the little girl says, the branch,”was my castle, my spy base, my ship…”, and she experiences the grief of losing the branch when she spies it on the sidewalk. She doesn’t want to part with it right away, so her mother allows her to hold onto it for a little while – long enough for the girl to encounter her neighbor, who tells her that the branch is “full of potential! …it means it’s worth keeping”, and we learn that he builds things from salvaged wood, and encourages the little girl to think about what the branch could become. When she uses her imagination and reaches into herself to reimagine the branch, she and the neighbor work together to give the branch new life.

In addition to imagination, we’ve got reusing/recycling, which is great for the environment; showing a child unwilling to discard a tree branch as a casualty of the storm, and finding ways to recreate it will get kids thinking about what they could create with objects in the world around them: cereal boxes could become robots or cities for superheroes to protect; old cans can become pencil holders; soda bottles can become terrariums. There are thousands of ideas on the Internet, so there’s no need to wait for Earth Day to come around again to make kids aware of the fun things they can make when they reduce/reuse/recycle.

Finally, we’ve got making: the whole creative process is here: sketching out plans, sawing, planing, drying the wood, waiting, waiting, waiting. It’s a great book to feature with The Most Magnificent Thing, HowToons, and fun nonfiction books, like those in the Make series. Encourage kids and parents to work together on anything from paper airplanes (great use of catalog paper) to repurposing a tree branch – large or small – of your own.

Mireille Messier is a Toronto-based author who’s had over a dozen books published in French. She’s also one of the French reviewers for the National Reading Campaign. Her website is available in English or French and offers information about her books, school visits, and her blog. Pierre Pratt is an award-winning illustrator of over 50 books for children. He lives and works in Montreal, Quebec, and in Lisbon, Portugal.

Fiction, Preschool Reads

Toshi’s Little Treasures: An adorable Search and Find story

Posted on January 6, 2016November 21, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Toshi’s Little Treasures, by Nadine Robert/Illustrated by Aki, (Apr. 2016, Kids Can Press), $17.95, ISBN: 9781771385732

Recommended for ages 3-7

Growing up, I loved Highlights magazine; one of my favorite features in the magazine was the hidden pictures page. When my own children were big enough to start getting Highlights, I’d pitch in and help them find some of the more challenging hidden pictures. When I came across Toshi’s Little Treasures, I was thrilled – it’s a seek and find storybook!

Toshi is a little boy who loves to take walks with his grandmother. During their walks, they discover new little treasures that Toshi can store in his brand new backpack. Toshi and his grandmother explore six places in this book: the riverbank, the town, the forest, the country, the park, and the beach. An introductory page to each location shows kids the treasures they can expect to discover, and a full spread of each spot promises fellow treasure seekers a good hunt. There are activities that help identify the treasures from each place by matching them to related items. An answer key at the back of the book provides interesting facts about Toshi’s treasures and the animals he and his grandmother encounter, really rounding out the experience and giving kids and parents a chance to learn more, together.

The art is very calming, relaxing readers and encouraging them to take their time searching for hidden objects. You’re a guest on a walk with Toshi and his grandmother, there’s no rush! There’s also a quiet nod to diversity with the renderings of Toshi and his grandmother, which I loved.

By offering facts about the animals in each location Toshi and his grandmother visit, the book also offers educators (and parents!) the opportunity to start discussing habitats and the environment with little readers and listeners. It could also inspire a fun field trip to discover treasures of your own.

Toshi’s Little Treasures will be in stores in April. Keep an eye on their website, too: Kids Can Press offers some great learning resources to accompany their books; I’m looking forward to seeing what they develop for this title.