AS A BOOK REVIEWER FROM THE INCEPTION OF THIS EVENT, I AM PROUD TO SHARE TWO WONDERFUL NEW CHILDREN’S BOOK EXAMPLES WITH YOU.

📚 Join us for the 11th Multicultural Children’s Book Day on 1/25/24! https://shorturl.at/wG389 🌍 Founded by two book-loving moms, Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen, this non-profit initiative celebrates diverse books and authors. Let’s spread the joy of multicultural literature to young readers and educators. #MCBD2024 #ReadYourWorld 📖

It Is Not What You Think

Old Clothes for Dinner?

Written by Nathalie Alonso

Illustrated by Natalia Rojas Castro

This multicultural picture book is a delight for a young child’s eyes, ears, and taste buds. The book packs a ton of information as well as a delightful story of a Cuban family’s culture and homelife.

Magaly and her brother’s grandmother from Cuba have recently joined the family in America. They are delighted with the delicious native recipes she cooks for the family. One day, when Magaly asks what is for dinner, her “abuela” replies “ropa vieja.” That translates to old clothes in English. Magaly and her brother, Camilo, hurry to search for and hide their favorite clothes. Turns out the joke will be on them.

This book targets an audience of children ages four through eight, but it delighted this adult as well. In addition to the interesting tale, the author includes recipes from around the world including their history, facts about Cuba, and details on how to cook two of the Cuban recipes from the story.

THE TREASURE IS IN EVERYDAY THINGS

Treasure Hunt

Written by Stephanie Wildman

Illustrated by Estefanía Razo

When Luis sees a delivery person with a huge cardboard box, he at once thinks of his younger twin siblings, Roberto, and Flor. Luis asks the worker to leave the box behind.

Roberto and Flor return home from school expecting to watch TV and play video games, but Luis has a better idea. He asks them if they would like to go on a treasure hunt. The twins cannot hold their excitement. Roberto hides clues in the kitchen, the bedroom, and the living room.

Flor and Roberto are puzzled when they find and name the objects. Luis brings them to the backyard and the gigantic cardboard box. Immediately, the twins know exactly what to do with it.

This book displays a loving multicultural family with strong sibling relationships. Elementary grade readers will love this colorful picture book with endearing, curious, and intelligent characters. Wildman enriches its value by providing detailed instructions for readers to create their own treasure hunt complete with props.

I highly recommend this interactive book for primary grade boys and girls who seek opportunities for creativity and imaginative activities to engage in at home.

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Lola and Mia’s Adventures: The Desert Jitters

Written and Illustrated by Megan JL Dudley

This picture book is part of a series that features two sibling pups searching for adventure in new places. Lola is an experienced traveler, but her sister Mia longs to follow in her footsteps.

This time, the duo travels to the Arizona desert to view its beautiful sunsets. Along the way, the pair encounter snakes, reptiles, dust storms, cacti, and beautiful vistas. Young readers will enjoy the funny “dogisms” shared by the siblings and the illustrations that capture their rapidly changing emotions as they experience their adventure.

I would especially recommend the book to animal and nature lovers who are early elementary school age readers.

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Monster Problems (A Magic Pen Adventure Book Book 1)

Written by Jason R. Lady

Middle-school and young adult readers will relate to this book with its quirky humor, memorable characters, and innovative lessons in dealing with peers and siblings.

Brad is a sixth-grade student who loves to draw. Unfortunately, that gets him into trouble with his science teacher when caught drawing in class. Brad’s grades have taken a nosedive, so his parents punish him by forbidding him to draw. To make matters worse, Brad has an intelligent younger brother named Daley, who blackmails and torments Brad whenever he gets a chance.

A mysterious crow arrives outside Brad’s window with a magic pen. Brad decides to draw a creature he names Daley-Destroyer, an ugly green monster who leaves a trail of orange slime who will stalk his brother. As the story unfolds, readers meet Quentin, Brad’s only real friend, different teachers, the unusual principal, and a mysterious girl, Blue Hoodie. These characters combined with a fast-moving plot keep readers turning the page. When the monster proves to be uncontrollable, Brad needs to decide how to handle a situation his emotions cannot handle. A good way to get readers to think about innovative ways to solve their problems.

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Molly’s Maze Discovery: (Molly Greenwood Adventures Book 2)

Written by Carmen Allen

This is a cute interactive book for elementary school children that encourages both artistic and storytelling skills and is part of a series.

Dragon Cat decides to buy a lottery ticket hoping to win $100. When he discovers he has won the next day, he gets the surprise of his life, discovering 100 otters in his kitchen. The book is filled with black and white illustrations that can be colored in the paperback edition. Yet, that is not the best feature of the book because the author leaves the ending of the story blank, allowing the young reader to become an author by finishing the story and becoming co-author of the book.

The book is a good choice for a reluctant or beginning reader. It could also be used with a group to encourage multiple outcomes to problem-solving.

Especially recommended for ages four through eight.

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Dragon Cat Wins the Lottery(The Make-Your-Own Ending Collection)

Written by Audrey Beth Stein

Illustrated by Alina Lutaeva

This is a cute interactive book for elementary school children that encourages both artistic and storytelling skills and is part of a series.

Dragon Cat decides to buy a lottery ticket hoping to win $100. When he discovers he has won the next day, he gets the surprise of his life, discovering 100 otters in his kitchen. The book is filled with black and white illustrations that can be colored in the paperback edition. Yet, that is not the best feature of the book because the author leaves the ending of the story blank, allowing the young reader to become an author by finishing the story and becoming co-author of the book.

The book is a good choice for a reluctant or beginning reader. It could also be used with a group to encourage multiple outcomes to problem-solving.

Especially recommended for ages four through eight.

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My Friend Toothy: A Journey to Fairyland Book # 2

Written by Stacey Laviolette

Illustrated by Kateryna Rohotova and Sara Abbas

What a wonderful picture book series to teach dental hygiene to toddlers, preschoolers, and primary grade readers. This rhyming book features Piper and her brother, Colton. The book explains what happens to baby teeth after The Tooth Fairy collects them. Young readers see them nurtured to be special helpers that teach children how to brush, floss, and practice oral hygiene.

The colorful illustrations and crisp rhymes make the book fun to read as a bedtime story or beginning read aloud. The author includes diagrams and charts about how teeth grow, a few funny jokes, and fun activities.

A must for teaching and parent libraries. Highly recommended for young patients to read in a dentist waiting room.

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The First Unicorn

Written by Kathleen J. Shields

Illustrations by Aashay Utkarsh

A beautiful rhyming picture book written for Christian children and their families.

What child does not love the mythical unicorn creature? Aden is introduced as a young yearling with spirit. He has a tender heart filled with compassion and kindness for others and never seems to put himself first.

One day Aden is gifted with a magical power. He is transformed into a unicorn. Rather than becoming impressed with this gift, Aden continues to be kind and unselfish. His love for others is soon tested. Will Aden ever fit in? Does he really want to be like all the others.

This book teaches children lessons from the Bible as well as strong character values.

I received a copy of this book from the author and voluntarily chose to read and review it with my honest opinions with no compensation.

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FISTON TELLS IT ALL

Fiston’s Secrets

Written and illustrated by Lieve Snellings

I was elated to receive book five in this author’s stunning picture book series about groundhogs, chipmunks, and squirrels. In this edition, adorable Fiston reveals the secrets of life as a chipmunk.

I love watching these adorable creatures prance around my backyard in the northeastern U.S. Snellings taught me how they eat, move, hibernate, raise their young, and protect themselves.

It is fascinating that these creatures can weigh only two to four ounces yet manage to collect as many as 165 acorns a day when preparing for hibernation! As a history buff, I was delighted to learn about the Iroquois myth connected to them and the analogy of their coloring to the uniforms of the Swiss Guards at the Vatican. The photography is spectacular. Children can visually understand and relate to the fascinating facts that Fiston reveals to his new friends.

I highly recommend adding this beautiful book both to a home or classroom library as a gem of knowledge and a beautiful piece of photography.

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Born in a Treacherous Time (Dawn of Humanity Book 1)

Written by Jacqui Murray

I read Jean Auel’s series and as other reviewers have mentioned, this series has a similar flavor.

The reader meets Lucy, a Homo Habilis creature, living in Africa 1.8 million years ago. She struggles each day to live to the next one. The author introduces a slew of characters. At the beginning of the book, it is difficult to sort them out, but they add depth to a plot that includes descriptions of ancient peoples struggles to communicate, to hunt and be hunted, and compete with an environment they did not know how to control.

This book is, of course, historical fiction. The amount of historical evidence is scant and much is left to our imagination. In my opinion, Murray does an excellent job of fitting the pieces together while adding compassion and empathy to soften the rough edges.

Recommended for readers ages ten and older who enjoy historical fiction, especially in the prehistory genre.

INTERESTED IN MORE BOOK REVIEWS?

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Adventure in Butrint National Park (Magilicious Journeys Book 1)

Written by Barbara Pinke

Illustrated by Tehreem Igbal

Siblings Simon and Olivia experience mixed emotions when waking up in a new house. They feel sadness at friends left behind but nervous anticipation of new adventures.

That anticipation is heightened when they discover a magical book hidden in the floorboards of Olivia’s room. They decide to visit Butrint National Park in Albania as they already possess a keepsake to activate their time travel. Soon they whisk readers off making a new acquaintance who serves as a tourist guide.

Not long after, tragedy strikes when a precious statue is stolen. The siblings must confront a band of pirates. Will Olivia and Simon find their way home safely? The answer is at the end of this first book in a series, perfect for new chapter book readers. The book is packed with information about Albania. There are a plethora of learning activities including mazes, puzzles, reading comprehension, and design activities which also appeal to middle-grade readers.

Highly recommend this series to parents and teachers of children ages eight and older.

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