Book review: Mystery of the Disappearing Dolphin (A Pack-n-Go Girls Adventure) by Janelle Diller; Illustrations by Adam Turner @worldtrekpublishing
This is a special book review for The Multicultural Children’s Book Day on January 27, 2017, whose mission it is to not only raise awareness for the kid’s books that celebrate diversity, but to get more of these of books into classrooms and libraries.
This was my first encounter with a Pack-n-Go Girls Adventure and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience! The author, Janelle Diller, has a very pleasant and captivating writing style and I love the unique words she uses that lend poetry to the book. The words flow easily and the tale is spiced up with clear explanations that make the book very accessible and exciting. Ms. Diller uses her story to share the culture and traditions of Mexico, interspersed with Spanish phrases and words, and to paint a very clear picture of what is takes to make new friends, to trust others and oneself, to be brave and to be honest. Her characters are multidimensional and they are bright, sensitive and true-to-life. The accompanying black and white illustrations by Adam Turner lend visual support to the story and I especially loved the boat diagram at the beginning of the book and the sweet characters he created.
This book is smart, well written and fun to read and I would recommend it to all children. It is a fun, thrilling adventure with great, strong female characters. Izzy is a modern day Harriet The Spy!
Check out the trailer for the book on YouTube!
I have also included some cute dolphin coloring pages!
Included in the book are some great tips for traveling to Mexico, a delicious Enchilada recipe, a Spanish phrase and word section and also some great travel organization ideas! The recipe definitely got me hankering for Elote’s , one of my favorite Mexican treats! ¡Olé!
Elote or corn on the cob is a popular street food in Mexico, although it is frequently served at home prepared in the same way (boiled or grilled in husk). It is customarily consumed on a stick, or by grasping the husk of the cob that has been pulled down to form a “handle”.
INGREDIENTS
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream or Mexican crema
- 1/2 cup finely crumbled cotija or feta cheese, plus more for serving
- 1/2 teaspoon ancho or guajillo chili powder, plus more for serving
- 1 medium clove garlic, finely minced (about 1 teaspoon)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems
- 4 ears shucked corn
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
DIRECTIONS
- Set half the burners of a gas grill to high heat. Set cooking grate in place, cover gill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate.
- While coals heat, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, cheese, chili powder, garlic, and cilantro in a large bowl. Stir until creamy and set aside.
- When grill is hot, place corn directly over hot side of grill and cook, rotating occasionally, until cooked through and charred in spots on all sides, about 8 minutes total.
- Transfer corn to bowl with cheese mixture and use a large spoon to evenly coat corn on all sides with mixture. Sprinkle with extra cheese and chili powder and serve immediately with lime wedges.
Full disclosure: The author sent me a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Ms. Diller has also created learning activities to make it easier for teachers, homeschoolers, & parents to enrich their teaching. Here’s a link to a sample of the activities: https://app.box.com/s/atte1k8cfyp8hkucu8wlzyauyaaudsxx For the full set of learning activities, people can find them on TeachersPayTeachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Pack-n-go-Girls
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 fromPragmaticMom. 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 CoHosts HERE.
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
I Am Uniquely Eve 