Sumo Joe #bookreview

January means Multicultural Children's Book Day, and MCBD makes me happy because it means book characters that look like my girls.  

This year, we got to review Sumo Joe by Mia Wenjen.  Sumo Joe comes across as a sweet picture book about sibling love, even in the face of peer pressure.  

Sumo Joe introduces children to 2 kinds of martial arts:  sumo wrestling and aikido.  The story includes a few Japanese words, and has a helpful glossary in the back for further explanation.  

While Hannah and Katie are too old for this story now, I'm sure my K-3 students will appreciate this book.   I'm looking forward to the big linkup (which you'll find at the bottom of this post) where I'll be able to find reviews for other multicultural books for kids.  Every year I find a couple we need to read.  Be sure to check out a few links that might interest your kids.  

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2023 (1/26/22) is in its 10th 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.

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

MCBD 2023 is honored to be Supported by these Medallion Sponsors!

FOUNDER’S CIRCLE: Mia Wenjen (Pragmaticmom) and Valarie Budayr’s (Audreypress.com)

🏅 Super Platinum Sponsor: Author Deedee Cummings and Make A Way Media

🏅 Platinum Sponsors: Language Lizard Bilingual Books in 50+ Languages 

🏅 Gold Sponsors: Interlink Books, Publisher Spotlight 

🏅 Silver Sponsors: Cardinal Rule Press,  Lee & Low, Barefoot Books, Kimberly Gordon Biddle

🏅 Bronze Sponsors: Vivian Kirkfield, Patrice McLaurin , Quarto Group, Carole P. Roman, Star Bright Books, Redfin.com, Redfin Canada, Bay Equity Home Loans, Rent.com, Title Forward

Poster Artist:  Lisa Wee

  

Classroom Kit Poster: Led Bradshaw

MCBD 2023 is honored to be Supported by these Author Sponsors!

Authors: Sivan Hong, Amanda Hsiung-Blodgett, Josh Funk , Stephanie M. Wildman, Gwen Jackson, Diana Huang, Afsaneh Moradian, Kathleen Burkinshaw, Eugenia Chu, Jacqueline Jules, Alejandra Domenzain, Gaia Cornwall, Ruth Spiro, Evelyn Sanchez-Toledo, Tonya Duncan Ellis, Kiyanda and Benjamin Young/Twin Powers Books, Kimberly Lee , Tameka Fryer Brown, Talia Aikens-Nuñez, Marcia Argueta Mickelson, Kerry O’Malley Cerra, Jennie Liu, Heather Murphy Capps, Diane Wilson, Sun Yung Shin, Shannon Gibney, John Coy, Irene Latham and Charles Waters, Maritza M Mejia, Lois Petren, J.C. Kato and J.C.², CultureGroove, Lindsey Rowe Parker, Red Comet Press, Shifa Saltagi Safadi, Nancy Tupper Ling, Deborah Acio, Asha Hagood, Priya Kumari, Chris Singleton, Padma Venkatraman, Teresa Robeson, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, Martha Seif Simpson, Rochelle Melander, Alva Sachs, Moni Ritchie Hadley, Gea Meijering, Frances Díaz Evans, Michael Genhart, Angela H. Dale, Courtney Kelly, Queenbe Monyei, Jamia Wilson, Charnaie Gordon, Debbie Ridpath Ohi, Debbie Zapata, Jacquetta Nammar Feldman, Natasha Yim, Tracy T. Agnelli, Kitty Feld, Anna Maria DiDio, Ko Kim, Shachi Kaushik 

MCBD 2023 is Honored to be Supported by our CoHosts and Global CoHosts!

MCBD 2023 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

• MCBD 2023 Poster

• Mental Health Support for Stressful Times Classroom Kit

• 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

• Gallery of Our Free Posters

• FREE Diversity Book for Classrooms Program

📌 Register for the MCBD Read Your World Virtual Party

Join us on Thursday, January 26, 2023, at 9 pm EST for the 10th annual Multicultural Children's Book Day Read Your World Virtual Party!

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

We will be giving away a 10-Book Bundle during the virtual party plus Bonus Prizes as well! *** US and Global participants welcome. **

Follow the hashtag #ReadYourWorld to join the conversation, and connect with like-minded parts, authors, publishers, educators, organizations, and librarians. We look forward to seeing you all on January 26, 2023, at our virtual party!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Our Science Fair Week

Science fair.  Is there an involved parent that doesn't quake a little when they hear those words?  I was going to report with glee that this is the first year we made it through science fair without tears, but one of the brothers made a snarky remark last night when Katie shared, "Mrs. L knew which one was mine without me even telling her!"  :sigh:  Maybe next year can be tear free?  One can only hope.  

My theme in the library this week was snow.  I talked about biographies, including Snowflake Bentley with the 6th graders.  So I had to try out a couple of snowflake crafts.  Instead of tracing with a marker, I traced with glue and added glitter.  I decided my 1st & 2nd graders would enjoy this.  

This is not a snowflake craft.  This is the first step in a lunar new year lantern.  That's our theme for next week.  Probably the next 2 weeks, since it's a long holiday.  

Ah, there's my other snowflake test craft.  Marshmallows & toothpicks.  

  

  

My 6th graders got pretty creative.  The goal seemed to be using the most marshmallows.  

One student attempted to recreate the Statue of Liberty.

I'm not loving the blue on blue letters or the white on white snowmen, but the irony is delicious.  

I'm pretty pleased with how this worked out.  It was "hard" for a few of them, but everyone was able to complete their tracing.  Good fine motor skills.

Students could choose from blue, pink, or silver glitter.  

I did find glitter on myself the day after we did this, and the library is a little more sparkly than usual, but I'm quite happy with this one project over all.  

 

Katie's science project

Hannah's science project

Our Back To School Week

Last week I got one day of work; the kids got two days of school.  All in all, it was a nice, gentle return to our routine.  This week, we're off Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. day, so it will be a regular work week for me (Tu-Th) and a 4 day week for the kids.  

My first graders loved the BIG book I read to them.  Always fun to shake things up a little.  I pulled a few of these giant books from the school rummage sale last summer.  

Even though we're still getting rain off and on (mostly on), I rolled Matilda through my happy place:  the car wash.  It's a place where I have to pause and just breathe for a moment.  

More books books books.  We had a conversation at dinner that made me realize the girls hadn't formed some of the connections that most kids make in preschool, so I requested a bunch of farm books.  Katie asked for dog books.  

Hannah has started going upstairs for the teen books at the library, so we had a conversation about knowing when to set a book aside and not finish it.  

Two things:  Fiona knocked over the ironing board, which resulted in quite a big thump, due to the iron being on it.  We were downstairs, and I guessed what had happened when we heard the noise.  Also, if you notice the colorful pile Fiona is sitting on, I've been sewing a bit.  I was going to touch a couple pieces up with the iron before taking pictures, but I might need to use the lint roller instead.  

Happy January!

Every year, after Christmas is over, I take a breath and think, "Okay, what comes next?"  Usually, it dawns on me that Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year is the next thing coming.  Unfortunately, after Christmas is too late to order silks from China and have them arrive here in time.  

So instead of lovely silks, we're making do this year with... 

 

A Year of the Bunny t-shirt I made with my Cricut.  I've got a couple blank tees for Valentine's Day, too, I just haven't decided what I want on them yet.  

We've been to the library several times over the longer than expected break.  

The next book I'm thinking of reading to my 3rd grade class is set in Hawaii, so I tested out a simple lei craft.  Just colorful straws and flowers strung on yarn.  It will give the kids another opportunity to use the yarn needles.  I think I'm also going to do some lacing cards soon, as I was really surprised at how poorly our last "sewing" craft went.  It inspired me to want to work on manual dexterity a little bit.  

So we've had some storms here.  And the town where our school is has been evacuated a couple of times.  And the roads flooded, and the power went out, and trees fell over, and the internet is still down there.  This resulted in us having an extra week and a half off from school after our expected Christmas break.  We just never went back.  

But since we're in the next town over, we've been okay, for the most part.  Just off school/work because we literally could not get there, or it was dark/cold, etc.  So we've been reading.  A lot.  I'm 11 books into 2023 so far.  

I feel like we spent a lot of our 3+ week long break at the library.  

Not a bad thing; just... an unplanned one.  Later on, when the weather is nice and we have to make up all those lost days, I'm afraid spring fever will hit hard.  

Because storms are not my idea of go outside and play weather.  

I more than hit my reading goal of 80 books in 2022.  

Hullo!  Why is that tree napping in our yard?  

Dear me, that's not good.

That just snapped right off, didn't it?  

Paul set to work with the chain saw, and I came along behind him, pulling branches out of the way and tossing them into a pile.  

We made quick work of turning a big tree into small pieces.  

And a rather impressive pile of branches.  

I know what's going to be in our yard waste trash can for the next 6 months.  

This is Josiah's "Darn you!" face when he came in from finding the potato in a Santa hat by the spudometer in his car.  

Fiona has a new terrible habit.  She's been chasing her tail--while standing on the small, narrow banister.  Here, she seems to be surrendering to the space heater.  

Hannah continues to try out new recipes for dinner.  She made an Asian egg drop soup that was quite tasty.  

Oh look.  More books.  

Looking forward to finally heading back to school tomorrow and taking down my Christmas bulletin board!