Zachary and the Great Potato Chase

Written by Junia Wonders

Illustrated by Giulia Lombardo

Zachary is a clever, industrious rat who lives under the floorboards of a bakery which provides him with tasty treats. He is careful never to be greedy, eating only one pastry each day so as not to arouse suspicion. Zachary is content, but he has no friends because he refuses to share his treats.

One day a new delivery truck arrives at the bakery. Once Zachary tastes a potato, he is hooked on the taste. He becomes greedy taking more than his fair share and storing them in his lair. When the baker discovers his potatoes missing, Zachary will be found out. There will be huge consequences to pay.

This book is written in crisp rhyme that works well and the illustrations are bright and clever. The weakness lies in the fact that the connection between potatoes and the change in behavior is not explained. No reason is given for Zachary’s decision to change his relationship with fellow rats at the end of the story.

This book is a good read-aloud choice or bedtime story for preschoolers and early elementary school readers.

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Rosie the Runaway Raccoon (Not So Serious Jack Series Book 6)

Written by Jack Thompsen

Rosie the Raccoon believes that she has a talent for running. She decides that she wants to run against the other animals in the town race. Rosie is eager to win her parents’ approval and asks her mom to make her something special to wear. But Rosie’s mom gets busy at work and forgets her promise. To make matters worse, neither of Rosie’s parents take off time from work to attend her race. Rosie is proud to finish third, but her achievement is overshadowed by the disappointment she feels in what she perceives to be her parents’ lack of interest.

Rosie decides to make plans to run away. She decides that Rome would be the perfect spot. When Rosie overhears her parents talking about the race, she is shocked to learn their true feelings leading to an unexpected turn of events.

This picture book written in rhyme is intended for early elementary school-age children. The story is cute, even if the rhymes are sometimes forced and uneven. Recommended as a bedtime or read aloud story for children ages four through eight.

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Finalist in Easy Reader Category

AN IMPORTANT MESSENGER

Tooth Fairy’s Night

Written by Candice Ransom

Illustrated by Monique Dong

This is a Level 1 Step into Reading book for preschoolers and kindergarten children learning to read. The storyline is perfect for this age group as most children are beginning to lose baby teeth. The Tooth Fairy is illustrated as an adorable character who assiduously performs her duties. The author uses lots of familiar objects like stuffed toys, pets, moon and stars. This book is written in simple rhyme with nice large print font and vivid colors. I would have given it five stars, but the rhyme structure seemed difficult in a few spots.

Finalist in Early Chapter Book Category

A WORKING VACATION

The Princess in Black Takes a Vacation

Written by Shannon and Dean Hale

Illustrated by LeUyen Pham

Princess Magnolia has been busy battling monsters all week. As she prepares for sleep, the monster alarm sounds once again. She hurriedly dresses in her black costume and slides down the chute to the goat pasture, where a monster is threatening to eat the goats. The Princess is surprised to find someone dressed as The Goat Avenger; he looks suspiciously like her friend Duff. The Avenger suggests that Magnolia needs to take a vacation. He vows to stand guard while she is gone,

Princess Magnolia agrees and the next day she is off on her bicycle to the beach. Here she meets Princess Sneezewort. Suddenly, the tranquility of the day is broken by a giant sea serpent who is threatening to eat people. Of course, the princess immediately dons her costume and rises to the threat. Will The Princess in Black meet the challenge?

At the same time, readers are following The Goat Avenger in a parallel story as he strives to protect his goats. He sets traps for unsuspecting thieves. A squirrel is caught in one of his traps, but the tables are soon turned on The Goat Avenger. Is he successful in guarding the goat herd while the princess is away?

Lots of lively dialogue and large print size make this book appealing to young readers. Many of the colorful illustrations are full page. Onomatopoeia and action scenes move the story along quickly with just enough challenging vocabulary. Especially recommended for children for children ages six through eight.

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The Runaway Mommy

Written by Jane Paris

Illustrated by Scott Rim

This book contains a similar story to The Runaway Bunny except that in this edition the parent is running away from the child. The text layout and illustrations are simple, suggesting that the book is appropriate for younger children. On the other hand, the vocabulary which includes things like a tech startup, trauma surgeon, and flamenco dancer, probably won’t resonate with a younger child. The plot revolves around a mother bunny who threatens to run away and pursue new careers around the globe. Her young child is willing to accompany her no matter what role mom decides to pursue.

This short book could be an amusing bedtime story if the parent is careful to explain he or she does not intend to run away. The humor will be appreciated more by adults than children.

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#InternationalBookGivingDay

Happy Valentine’s Day – give the gift of reading to someone you know or love!

The Rainbow Dragons and Little Sleepy

Written by Anton Sunberry

Illustrated by Konstantin Federov and Svetlana Moroz

 This is a delightful tale about a little boy called Little Sleepy because he had difficulty waking up each day. Little Sleepy enjoyed his dreams so much that he often slept through most of his daily routines. One night the boy slid down a rainbow right into his dream. There he met several dragons who were different colors of the rainbow. Each of the dragons thought himself to be the best because each possessed a unique talent. These talents included things like being strongest, funniest, most observant, best cook, best musician, and most creative. Sleepy cannot decide who is the best and suggests that the dragons will be better served by combining their talents. Only then will the dragons be able to create the rainbow bridge. If they agree to work together, Sleepy will succeed in returning home to his parents with a valuable lesson.

Illustrations are done with heart and in brilliant colors. Preschoolers and primary grade children will enjoy this tale. Sleepy-heads might even be encouraged to wake up and see their world.

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I am delighted to have been a part of Multicultural Book Day since its inception. This year,  I received two wonderful books from the publisher and author. If you enjoy reading these reviews, please consider following my blog by clicking on the word Follow or by hitting the orange RSS Feed Button in the upper right-hanc corner of this post.

THE PUMPKIN PROTECTOR

Pattan’s Pumpkin: A Traditional Flood Story from Southern India

Written by Chitra Soundar

Illustrated by Frané Lessac

I am delighted to share a Southern Indian flood tale story for 2017 Multicultural Book Day. Pattan and his wife, Kanni, lived on their farm alongside the Sahyadri Mountains. They tended goats, bulls, and elephants. Their crops included peppers, rice, nutmeg, and bananas, which they generously shared.

One day Pattan discovered a sickly plant so he decided to care for it next to his hut.  Due to his tender care, the plant miraculously grew into an enormous pumpkin. When a terrifying rainstorm did not abate, the couple decided they must flee with every living thing that lived on their farm. Where could they hide? Pattan made the decision to harvest the pumpkin. All the animals pitched in to hollow out the pumpkin as Kanni filled sacks with food supplies. When they were finished, the animals dove into the pumpkin as Pattan cut the stem holding it in place. Kanni sang a lullaby to soothe the young animals as the storm thrashed outside.

Eventually, the rains let up, and the pumpkin came to a halt. Pattan peeked out and discovered that the sun had appeared. They began their journey home. Pattan had kept one seed from the pumpkin savior. Ever since that day Pattan and his descendants look after their animals and pumpkin crop in the Kerala valley.

This hardcover book is richly illustrated in primitive folk style. The colors are brilliant and rich. I would recommend the book for young readers in preschool and the primary grades who will appreciate the narrative that unfolds through the pictures. Suggested as a bedtime story or read aloud.

SHELLY BEAN, SPORTS QUEEN

Shelly Bean the Sports Queen plays a game of catch

Written by Shelly Biyum-Breen

Illustrated by Marieka Heinlen

Shelly, her brothers, Matt and Ben, and her friends Audrey and Maya, are having fun attending a softball game in which Shelly’s cousin, Olivia is playing. As the game continues Shelly decides that she would like to learn how to play. Shelly eagerly accepts Olivia’s invitation to play catch with other teammates after the game. At first, Shelly throws and catches underhand, but Olivia urges her to progress to overhand throws. Soon Olivia can do both.

Olivia arrives home and proudly adds another “jewel” to her paper sports crown. Olivia sets realistic goals for herself and rewards herself for achieving them. At the end of the tale, the author includes tips on how to throw and catch a softball with a mitt. She also provides a glossary of basic baseball terminology.

The book teaches readers the values of determination and good sportsmanship. It encourages girls to pursue competition in sports.  Colorful and simple pictures with large print text allow primary grade readers to follow along easily. Recommended for girls who want to become players as well as princesses.

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2017 (1/27/18) is in its 5^th 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.

2018 MCBD Medallion Sponsors

HONORARY: Children’s Book Council, Junior Library Guild

PLATINUM:Scholastic Book Clubs

GOLD:Audrey Press, Candlewick Press, Loving Lion Books, Second Story Press, Star Bright Books, Worldwide Buddies

SILVER:Capstone Publishing, Author Charlotte Riggle, Child’s Play USA, KidLit TV, Pack-n-Go Girls, Plum Street Press

BRONZE: Barefoot Books, Carole P. Roman, Charlesbridge Publishing, Dr. Crystal Bowe, Gokul! World, Green Kids Club, Gwen Jackson, Jacqueline Woodson, Juan J. Guerra, Language Lizard, Lee & Low Books, RhymeTime Storybooks, Sanya Whittaker Gragg, TimTimTom Books, WaterBrook & Multnomah, Wisdom Tales Press

2018 Author Sponsors

Honorary Author Sponsors: Author/Illustrator Aram Kim and Author/Illustrator Juana Medina

Author Janet Balletta, Author Susan Bernardo,  Author Carmen Bernier-Grand, Author Tasheba Berry-McLaren and Space2Launch, Bollywood Groove Books, Author Anne Broyles,  Author Kathleen Burkinshaw, Author Eugenia Chu, Author Lesa Cline-Ransome, Author Medeia Cohan and Shade 7 Publishing, Desi Babies, Author Dani Dixon and Tumble Creek Press, Author Judy Dodge Cummings, Author D.G. Driver, Author Nicole Fenner and Sister Girl Publishing, Debbi Michiko Florence, Author Josh Funk, Author Maria Gianferrari, Author Daphnie Glenn, Globe Smart Kids, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Author Quentin Holmes, Author Esther Iverem, Jennifer Joseph: Alphabet Oddities, Author Kizzie Jones, Author Faith L Justice , Author P.J. LaRue and MysticPrincesses.com, Author Karen Leggett Abouraya, Author Sylvia Liu, Author Sherri Maret, Author Melissa Martin Ph.D., Author Lesli Mitchell, Pinky Mukhi and We Are One, Author Miranda Paul, Author Carlotta Penn, Real Dads Read, Greg Ransom, Author Sandra L. Richards, RealMVPKids Author Andrea Scott, Alva Sachs and Three Wishes Publishing, Shelly Bean the Sports Queen,  Author Sarah Stevenson, Author Gayle H. Swift Author Elsa Takaoka, Author Christine Taylor-Butler, Nicholette Thomas and  MFL Publishing  Author Andrea Y. Wang, Author Jane Whittingham  Author Natasha Yim

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.

TWITTER PARTY Sponsored by Scholastic Book Clubs: MCBD’s super-popular (and crazy-fun) annual Twitter Party will be held 1/27/18 at 9:00pm.

Join the conversation and win one of 12-5 book bundles and one Grand Prize Book Bundle (12 books) that will be given away at the party! http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/twitter-party-great-conversations-fun-prizes-chance-readyourworld-1-27-18/

Free Multicultural Books for Teachers: http://bit.ly/1kGZrta

Free Empathy Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians and Educators: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/teacher-classroom-empathy-kit/

Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.

My Mom is My Hero: (Children’s Book about a Cute Boy and his Superhero Mom)

Written by Michael Gordon

Illustrated by Max Laren

Short rhyming bedtime story or read aloud for toddlers and preschoolers. Oscar views his mommy as a superhero. From morning to night, she addresses every need and concern. Although mommy does not wear a superhero costume, she protects him from danger, cooks him the best food, entertains him, spends time with him, finds his lost treasures, bathes him and reads him a story before bed. Above all, she finds the time to listen to his dreams and believe in him.

The story line is well written; I especially like the play on words with “souperman.” While the illustrations are simple and appropriate for the target audience, I do think that a larger size would have made them stand out. Recommended for ages five and under.

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