It's here! #MCBD #ReadYourWorld Review & Activities: The Rock Maiden by Natasha Yim

ISBN: 978-1-937786-65-6

Publication: March 2017

Publisher: Wisdom Tales

Page Count: 36, hardcover

Ages: 4+

Summary:
When her fisherman husband fails to come home after a storm at sea, the beautiful maiden Ling Yee is heartbroken. Every morning, she puts her baby on her back and clambers to the top of a cliff looking for any signs of his return. But day after day, she is disappointed. The villagers try to convince her to give up her vigil. “No,” she would say, “He will come home soon.” Tin Hau, the Goddess of the Heavens, takes pity on her grief and turns Ling Yee and her child into stone so that they would mourn no more. The fisherman eventually finds his way home―only to discover that his wife has been transformed into the Rock Maiden.

My review:
This book is a retelling of an old Chinese tale based upon a real rock called the Amah Rock in Sha Tin, Hong Kong. In the real legend, the story is not as happily ended. This telling is much sweeter and gives hope, but it also shares love and loyalty.

The tale also introduces a Goddess of the Heavens called Tin Hau, this is nice to illustrate that children around the world do not necessarily worship the same God. At the very least, it can bring the conversation about others and their beliefs that may not be the same as their own.

The illustrations were beautifully done by Pirkko Vainio in muted watercolors. Yellow, grays, and blues are main staples throughout the book which lends themselves to the overall feel of the book.

I recommend this book and give it 5 stars.

About the author:

Northern California children's author, freelance writer, and playwright. Born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and grew up in Singapore and Hong Kong. Came to California in 1979 to attend Dominican College (now University) where she graduated with a B.A. in English Literature with a Writing Emphasis and an M.S. in Counseling Psychology. As a Social Worker, she worked primarily with emotionally disadvantaged children in group home and foster home settings, and with Child Protective Services. Currently, she works part-time at the Mendocino County Office of Education, but works on writing every chance can get.

She has written stories since she was 11 years old, and even though interested in writing in a wide-range of genres and topics from picture books to plays, from travel and food writing to profiles, her heart has always been in writing for children.

Activities:

1. Set up a "village" around a baby swimming pool that acts as the sea. Make "sampans" from larger sitting toys and have children "fish" in the sea. Use wooden poles with magnets on the end to catch fish made out of paper and paper clips. The "fish" could have Chinese words on them or words from the book. Younger kids the "fish" could have words they are learning or alphabet.
2. (For older children)Talk about different stories the children have heard. Discuss what a legend is and maybe share and contrast other legends. Have them write their own retelling of a legend.
3. Go on a walk with children and climb different "mountains" or set up a "mountain" on a slide. Discuss the mountain of Amah Rock and what it might look like. Discuss other mountains maybe the children have seen.
4. Have the children paint rocks based on the different colors in the book. Have them write their names on one side and the people they love on the other side.

Happy reading! M.M. Hudson aka Naila Moon

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Thank you Wisdom Tales Publishing for providing me this book for Multicultural Book Day Celebration. 

Wisdom Tales is the name of the children’s book imprint of the award-winning publishing house, World Wisdom, which was founded in 1980. Wisdom Tales publishes both children’s and teen titles and was created for the purpose of sharing the wisdom, beauty, and values of traditional cultures and peoples from around the world with young readers and their families. The content, illustrations, and production quality of these books is intended to assure them a lasting value for children, parents, teachers, and librarians.

#Review & Activities: For the Right To Learn Malala Yousafzai's Story by Rebecca Langston-George/ Illustrated by Janna Bock #ReadYourWorld #Peace @MalalaFund

"In some parts of the world, students are going to school every day. It's their normal life. But in other part of the world, we are starving for education... it's like a precious gift. It's like a diamond."

~Malala Yousafzai

• Age Range: 8 - 11 years
• Grade Level: 3 - 4
• Paperback: 40 pages
• Publisher: Capstone Press; Reprint edition (July 1, 2016)
• 
  

Summary:
She grew up in a world where women were supposed to be quiet. But Malala Yousafzai refused to be silent. She defied the Taliban's rules, spoke out for education for every girl, and was almost killed for her beliefs. This powerful true story of how one brave girl named Malala changed the world proves that one person really can make a difference.

My review:
Looking back into my teenage years, I could never imagine not being able to learn or read books. I came from a parent who was a teacher, so, it was a given. In essence, I took my education for granted.
This is why I admire Malala and her father so much. For them, education is highly important and they stood up without fear so all could learn.

From the very first time I heard Malala's story, I have wanted to read about her and know more about her. Isn't ironic that I finally have had the opportunity to read and review this children's book about her? Think about it, at the point that she began to stand up against the Taliban, she would not even have been able to read this book about herself. Wow!

I found it interesting that she wrote scientific formulas in henna on her arms just so she could keep learning. I also thought it was interesting that of all the things she received in the hospital, that her prized possessions were her books and a couple of shawls.That is what I call continued education and the desire to learn.
 I also loved that her father reopened the school for boy and girls after they were able to return from exile. His continued support of his daughter in a world where women have no standing is admirable.

The illustrations only enhance what is already and excellent book. The colors are muted are appropriate for the subject matter. 

As a whole, the book is straightforward and honest. It packs and punch and leave the reader wanting to take action. Excellent book!
5 stars!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for free. The views expressed here are 100% my own and may differ from yours. This review is also part of the Multicultural Book Day posting which as of this review, takes place Jan.27, 2017. Book activities and further information is attached below. ~ M.M. Hudson aka Naila Moon

Where to find the author:

Rebecca Langston-George is a middle school language arts teacher who also trains teachers in writing instruction.  Her articles, poetry and puzzles have appeared in many children’s magazines. When she’s not at the keyboard Rebecca volunteers for the local chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).  She is also a past president of the Kern Reading Association.  The granddaughter of a fabulous flapper, Rebecca lives in Bakersfield, California. Amazon Facebook

Janna Rose Bock is a freelance illustrator in Long Beach, California. She earned a BFA in illustration from California State University, Long Beach, and later continued her education at Concept Design Academy in Pasadena. She specializes in digital illustration and whimsical stylized illustrations.


Activities for further extension of this book:

1. Donate to the Malala Fund
    Inspired by co-founders Malala and Ziauddin Yousafzai, Malala Fund’s goal is to enable girls to complete 12 years of safe, quality education so that they can achieve their potential and be positive change-makers in their families and communities. We work with partners all over the world helping to empower girls and amplify their voices; we invest in local education leaders and programs; and we advocate for more resources for education and safe schools for every child.

2. Tweet to Malala and keep up with what she is currently doing. @MalalaFund

3. Be a pen pal to another girl from another country. You could talk about what it is like to be in your school, what you are studying, draw pictures, send each other photos, always sign your name.

4. Watch Malala's speech to the United Nations upon accepting her Peace prize.

5. Make posters that promote peace and/or education, post them in prominent places.

6. Volunteer to help a younger kid read or help with homework

ABOUT MULTICULTURAL BOOK DAY:

​Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2017 (1/27/17) is in 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 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. 

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 is 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, Delores Connors, 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 Richards, 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 works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHostsHERE.

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

#Review: Crazy Horse's Vision by Joseph Bruchac/Illustrated by S.D. Nelson #ReadYourWorld #MCCBD

Summary:

Crazy Horse is among the best known Native American heroes. Yet many people do not know his boyhood name was Curly, inspired by his curly hair.

Curly was a leader even as a young boy, taming wild horses and hunting powerful buffalo. But all his bravery could not prepare him for the trouble he and the other Lakota Indians would face with the white settlers. Wanting to help his people after a fierce battle that mortally wounded Chief Conquering Bear, Curly defied traditional custom and risked his own life by running away, up to the hills, to seek a vision.

Renowned Abenaki author Joseph Bruchac tells a gripping and compelling story of how the dedicated young boy, Curly, grows into the brave warrior Crazy Horse.

My review:

As with many other people I have heard or at least known about the legend of Crazy Horse and his fierce battles. I especially have know about the Battle of Little Big Horn with Custer's defeat. 

What I did not know was Crazy Horse had another name given to him as a child or the fact his adult name was actually after his father, Tashunka Witco. "Crazy Horse" is the English translation of his name and most well know. The origins of names always fascinate me.

I was impressed to find out the many things about Crazy Horse that lead him to the person he is known as today. I will not reveal all but one most impressive was that he was actually a very gentle man among his people. That is a truly different picture of the man, isn't it?

The book was fantastic in itself but the added illustrations are top notch. The pictures, according to the illustrator, whom writes in the back of the book, were all done with acrylics on wood. He did them in the traditional style of ledger books from the Lakota people using the same colors the nation would use. To me, that adds to the authenticity of the book.

This book is without a doubt a 5 star book for me. The book also won the Parent's Choice Gold Award and should be on all children's books shelves.

Disclosure: I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my open and honest opinion. The views expressed here are 100% my own and may differ from yours. 

**This book review is part of Multicutural Children's Book Day. For more information about the day and its sponsors see below.**

Where to find the author:

Amazon

Activities to go along with this book:

1. Have children research the meaning of their name and Lakota alphabet symbols. Taking colored pencil and lined paper, have the individual child draw symbols that they think represent their name. Find More HERE and HERE

2. Talk about visions. What does it mean? Have children write a dream that they have had and illustrate it.

3. Talk about how Crazy Horse was very brave. Ask children how they think they are brave. Find out about others who might be brave. 

4. Have children research about the Lakota Nation. What does their name mean? Have them tell another person about them. If possible, visit a Pow Wow and seek out the Lakota people. Listen to their stories.

ABOUT MULTICULTURAL BOOK DAY

Mission

Sponsors (Thank You!)

Multicultural Children's Book Day #Review: Grandfather Counts by Andrea Cheng/Illustrated by Ange Zhang #ReadYourWorld #Kidsbooks #Multicultural #ReadingRainbowBooks

About Multicultural Children's Book Day:

The overall mission of the Multicultural Children’s Book Day: Celebrating Diversity in Children’s Literature event is primarily raise awareness for the kid’s books that celebrate diversity, but also to get more of these books into classrooms and libraries.

"The importance of diversity in children’s literature. Our young readers need to see themselves within the pages of a book and experience other cultures, languages, traditions and religions within the pages of a book. We encourage readers, parents, teachers, caregivers and librarians to follow along the fun book reviews, author visits, event details, the multicultural children’s book linky and via our hashtag (#ReadYourWorld) on Twitter and other social media.”

Thank you to the sponsors of this event:

MCCBD’s  2015 Sponsors include Platinum Sponsors: Wisdom Tales Press, Daybreak Press Global Bookshop,Gold Sponsors:  Satya House,  MulticulturalKids.com,   Author Stephen Hodges and the Magic Poof, Silver Sponsors: Junior Library Guild,  Capstone Publishing, Lee and Low Books,  The Omnibus Publishing. Bronze Sponsors:Double Dutch Dolls, Bliss Group Books, Snuggle with Picture Books Publishing,  Rainbow Books,  Author FeliciaCapers,   Chronicle Books   Muslim Writers Publishing ,East West Discovery Press.

Special shout out to Lee & Low Books who sent me several books for review. I chose Grandfather Counts for today's event.

Details:

• Age Range: 6 - 8 years
• Grade Level: Preschool and up
• Series: Reading Rainbow Books
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Lee & Low Books; Reprint edition (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584301589
• ISBN-13: 978-1584301585
• 
  

Summary:

In this contemporary intergenerational story, a biracial girl and her Chinese grandfather overcome language differences and develop a special bond.

My review:

This is a sweet book that tells how generations can come together in love and understanding to learn from each other. 

Grandfather has come from China to live with his daughter and family. He does not know English and the family, other than his daughter, do not know Chinese. Adjustments have to be made with all parties concerned. It is only with a daily travel of a train that runs in the back yard, that things begin to change.

Written in first person, I enjoyed how Grandfather and the young grand-daughter would sit out on the concrete wall waiting for the train go by. These sittings helped each to come to an understanding of each other. I am sure by the title of the book, you can figure out what each of them learned but they also learned so much more.

This book reminded me so much of fun times I had with my own Grandfather and by listening to him and watching him intently, I learned something. I hope that some day, my own grand-children will learn something from me. I always learn something from them and that is what love and family is all about.

The illustrations in the book were colorful, large and somewhat exaggerated, a nice addition to the book as a whole. This book was truly great and I would highly recommend it for families who are inter-generational or intercultural. 5 stars!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for my open and honest opinion. The views here are 100% my own and may differ from yours. ~Naila Moon

Family Activities related to the book:

• Learn a little Chinese! On the inside cover are the Chinese number to 8 and other words learned in the book. Make flash cards, like I did, with the Chines word on one side and the meaning on the other. 

• Count train cars! Grandfather and his Grand-daughter sat and counted trains every day to learn numbers and words. Find a train near you,or make your own train and count the train cars in Chinese and then English.

• Talk and color! Grandfather and Grand-daughter wave to the train conductor every day.Have your child draw their own train and color it. Talk about what the conductor might be thinking when he sees the pair every day.

Where to find the author:

Facebook

Goodreads

Amazon

Help Spread the Word about MCCBD!

1. Spread the word about MCCBD and the need for diverse children’s books! Remember our hashtag, #readyourworld

2. Like MCCBD on Facebook to learn more about authors and books that celebrate diversity.

3. Make a donation.  Click here to help get multicultural books into the hands of kids who need them most.

4. Bookmark MCCBD blog to have continual access to an extensive list of diverse children’s books from around the world.

5. Follow MCCBD on Pinterest to keep the inspiration coming. This board is filled with great books and activities related to diversity.