Mindful Tots: Animal Antics…Focus and fun for little ones
This sweet, bright and boldly illustrated board book is a winner in bringing accessible mindfulness to the very young. The dialogue is simple to follow and encourages imaginative play to create a sense of happiness and focus. I found it to be an excellent warm up for tots yoga which led into some wild animal antics of our own. In this day, it transferred very easily as an online activity that I was able to share with my granddaughter,too. I love the straight forward approach using movement and imagination to bring mindfulness and fun to little ones.
Niños Mindful: Rest & Relax/Descansa y relájate
Mindful Tots: Rest & Relax…Sleepy time for little ones
Rituals make bedtime fun and productive. Following a simple routine of relaxing the body, mind and energy patterns can help tots settle down and get ready for sleep. I especially love the bi-lingual version of this story. The simple rhymes in both English and Spanish will assist all children to appreciate diversity and can plant the seeds for a broader worldwide view for peace, love and happiness for all. Three cheers! The illustrations by Rocio Alejandro are so adorable and the children just emanate sensitivity, cooperation and inclusion. Highly recommend!
Thank you to Whitney Stewart for sending me copies of these books. All opinions expressed are my own.
Madame Badobedah by Sophie Dahl and Illustrated by Lauren O’Hara
This book is just wonderful. It is a little bit Madeline with a dose of Eloise and a heaping side of Harriet the Spy. I thoroughly enjoyed it! The story is a multilevel of a cross-generational friendship seen through the eyes of a child who is curious, a little judgmental and a tiny bit naughty.
The young girl is fascinated with a new boarder at her family’s bed and breakfast and at first she imagines this woman to be a thief because the woman has a mysterious accent (she comes from across the ocean and had to flee her homeland) and trunks filled with “treasures” and a herd of little dogs. Taken by her curiosity, the girl does a little sleuthing but is caught red handed and to her surprise, invited into the object of her curiosity’s room.
A friendship ensues that is full of imaginative play, each scene accompanied by the beautiful watercolor hues of the seashore. The girl learns to trust her knew friend and even learns a bit about grace, taking responsibility for one’s actions and a nice hat tip to becoming an independent woman.
I especially like the illustration of the cut away of the bed and breakfast. Every nook and cranny is fulled with tiny detail that could hold attention for hours, like a dollhouse for the eyes. This is a new book for the ages and should be on every child’s bookshelf! The story and the art work are timeless. I highly recommend it!
Thank you to Candlewick Press for this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
Who Do You Think I Am? By Dawn McLaughlin; Ill. Hannah Rowe; Positively Publishing Kids
I love everything about this sweet book of soul-accepting affirmations accompanied by beautifully rendered pastel pencil drawings of children being everything that they can be. It is 100% a feel good book that embraces diversity, acceptance and creates an endless stream of possibilities a child can be from their moods, feelings, sensations and dreams. I can’t get enough of the doe-eyed children illustrated by Hannah Rowe, a young artist. Each unique set of eyes tells their story. Everyone who reads this book will be able to connect with the characters. I love this concept of empowering children with tools for creative self-expression and success. It is sure to aid in creating more mindful, resilient and positive people. Highly recommend.
Thank you to the author for sending me this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
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This is a wonderful book to help children express and release trauma in a very relatable way. Through the power of reading aloud, a parent can help their child release the “storm within” and how to climb out from under a heavy burden. Through the story, we learn that self-reflection can help us proceed through trauma, not with fear, but with curiosity, inner strength and peace. The book is very soothing with its rhyming sections, its use of healing and trusting words and has a lovely flow of onomatopoeia. The book comes a close with a sense of calmness, gratitude and confidence. It is all about love. I love the rich, earthy tones of the illustrations and the sweet faced animals are very endearing.
I highly recommend it! It will remain in my home library so that I can share it with my clients.
Thank you to the author, Susan Schaefer Bernardo, for sending me this book. All opinions expressed are my own. Reading Rainbow
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This book is simply delightful. From the very first turn of the page, which casts a gorgeous mandala shadow onto my hand, I was drawn into its sturdy die-cut frame and stained-glass creativeness. The poetic prose match perfectly with the play of translucent-jewel toned inserts that radiate around a bright yellow sun, together illuminating the story of the sun’s effect on the water cycle while at the same time reflecting the story back onto the reader. You cannot but hold it up to the light at each turn! It’s truly mesmerizing and joy-inducing. This book is very clever and artfully profound. It will certainly delight young children but it has a wider outreach due to its unique and beautiful presentation of both spirituality and natural scientific facts.
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This book is an absolute exuberant celebration of life. With few words, it reminds us to be mindful of our consumption, of our relationship to mother earth and of our connection to every living thing. It is truly an awakening. This book is the full package: creative concept, engaging story; good for young and old…and it is devotedly dedicated to STEAM. I love it!
Thank you to Candlewick Press for sending me a copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
Who doesn’t love Peppa? She is a sweet and caring pink piglet who is constantly surrounded by a menagerie of diverse animal friends and family members who show us a slice of life with humor, empathy and appreciation for the small things.
In Peppa Pig and the Career Day, the adult’s in the neighborhood come to school to share about their careers, ranging from everyday workers to artists to specialists, and there is even a sea captain (who everyone needs in their neighborhood!). The wide variety of jobs and careers offer a great outlay of possible aspirations for kids to explore in creative play and then possible what they might become as they grow older.
In Peppa Pig and the Silly Sniffles, offers a sneak peak into the funny ways that kids play and how easily they switch between creative play scenarios. Here they enact a scene when one of the friends is sick and has to go to the doctor’s office and they discover, even though they cannot cure the sniffles, they can make their friend feel much better just by being good friends.
Both books come with a awesome coloring poster that is hidden on the back of the book jacket.
These are lovely hardcover books and will make great gifts this holidays season! I know my granddaughter is going to love them! I highly recommend Peppa Pig: the stories offer great diversity in character and educate about self-esteem, empathy, compassion and acceptance. A wonderful entry into the beauty of all the varied people in this world! They belong in every preschool, home and library! Hooray for Peppa! She’s awesome!
¡Olé Namaste! Eve Costarelli
Thank you to Candlewick Press for sending me these books. All opinions expressed are my own.
For more information about my accessible mindfulness/yoga/dance program, please visit alwaysbedancing dot com.
This book is not only coffee table worthy, it could actually be a coffee table-just add legs! I love everything about this giant-sized, hardcover picture book that is full of awesome, fun illustrations accompanied by big, bold words in varied, unique fonts. Each poster-sized page is full of delightful city attractions, richly detailed with endearing characters. This is a truly whimsical celebration of city life that will be poured over for hours-and-hours.
This book would make a perfect gift for the holidays (Can’t deny the super “wow factor” of its size) and for every day. I absolutely love the gorgeous illustrations and fancy fonts!
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¡Olé Namaste! Eve Costarelli
Thank you to Candlewick Press for sending me a copy of this book.
For more information about my accessible mindfulness/yoga/dance program, please visit alwaysbedancing dot com.
This is a gorgeous, oversized picture book that can be enjoyed by children and adults alike. The multi-colored drawings that accompany each page spread are thought provoking, sensitive portrayals of this legendary rock duo. I love the special appearance of Bob Dylan atop a brightly colored rainbow. This book tells their story through poetic verse, filling each stanza with details, thoughts and inspirations of their journey together. I enjoyed learning about who they were and where they came from. Great non-fiction book. It would look great on a coffee table-commanding space with its richly hued cover (both the book cover and the actual book are beautiful!)
Thank you to Candlewick Press for sending me a copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
I love this little tigers determination! This is a delightful story about believing in oneself. It’s a story about resilience, learning that where there’s a will there’s a way and and knowing when to laugh. The illustrations accompany the words wonderfully. The tiger is so sweet and is accompanied by a whole menagerie of other sweet wild animals. Above all this is a book about knowing it is good to be you. It is a great confidence building book for young children. I have already used it in my early education yoga classes and the kids took to it right away and it paired perfectly with yoga poses such as tiger, elephant, rock, snake, monkey and frog. Love it! Sweet message!
Thank you to Candlewick Press for sending me a cop of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
In conjunction with the Multicultural Children’s Book Day, I received several wonderful, diverse books, from both Second Story Press and Star Bright Books. I really appreciate that both companies have shared missions to include a strong representation of underserved communities. Special shout out to the #readyourworld community for spreading this mission across the planet.
Dynamic Women Dancersby Anne Dublin
This book will help your child (or you) fall madly in love with dance. These women were risk takers, self-determined, creative forces in movement. The book offers a great variety of dance styles with dancers I both knew about and those I had never heard of before. I was able to expand my knowledge. This is a great mid-grade non-fiction book about dance. The author, Anne Sokolow, takes great pride in revealing unique details and a strong history for each dancer. This book is a marvelous jewel!
Emily Includedby Kathleen McDonnell
This is a wonderful book! It is not just the earnest tale of a brave and determined young girl but it is an honest and openhearted story about a young girl with cerebral palsy that allows us to witness her feelings, experience her disability first hand and also how to become supportive, communicative allies. Not everyone knows how to act with people who are bound to wheel chairs or with other physical, developmental or learning restrictions but through the telling of her tale, Emily, shows us how to be respect, act with compassion and just allow that everyone is part of what makes life natural. This is the groundbreaking story of a family determined to fight for equality and justice, not just for themselves, but for all people with disabilities. Their message is heard loud and clear, “Inclusion benefits everybody.”
Papa Gave Me A Stickby Janice Levy; Illustrated by Simone Shin
Love this book! So cute and sweet! The illustrations are totally charming. I love the similarity in the boy’s and his father’s faces. That really pulls you into the story. The color palette is soft and subtly textured and very beautiful. Very, very nice!
The story takes you through a series of mindful and kind hearted events that lead to its happy ending. I love this book and its positive message about the beauty of imagination, creativity and the belief in the unknown.
Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2017 (1/27/18) is in its 5th 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.
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.
Papa Gave Me A Stick by Janice Levy; Illustrated by Simone Shin
Always Be Dancing 