It is January and that means #ReadYourWorld Day is coming!! This year I am one of the book reviewers once again. I believe I may have missed one year but have been reviewing books for almost every one of the fourteen years! Today we are sharing our first book for the 2026 day. It is Lorena and the Magic Mocha Mirror by Valerie Williams-Sanchez. It is recommended for ages 6 to 8 and the second edition is Dyslexia-friendly! Before we get to our review, we will share a bit about Read Your World.
Read Your World 2026 (1/29/26) is in its 14th year! Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen founded this non-profit children’s literacy initiative; they are two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural diverse books and authors on the market while also working to get those books into the hands of young readers and educators.
Read Your World’s mission is to raise awareness of the need to include kids’ books celebrating diversity in homes and school bookshelves. Read about our Mission and history HERE.
Read Your World is honored to be Supported by these Medallion:
FOUNDER’S CIRCLE: Mia Wenjen (Pragmaticmom) and Valarie Budayr (Audreypress.com)
🏅 Super Platinum Sponsor: Author Deedee Cummings and Make A Way Media
🏅 Platinum Sponsors: Language Lizard Bilingual Books in 60 Languages and Jeanne Walker Harvey
🏅 Gold Sponsors: Publisher Spotlight
🏅 Silver Sponsors: Red Comet Press
🏅 Silver Corporate Sponsor: Kathy Choi
🏅 Bronze Sponsors: Fabled Films Press
🏅 Corporate Sponsor: Crayola Education
Read Your World is honored to be Supported by these Author Sponsors!
Authors: Audrey Barbakoff, Federico Erebia, Teddi Ahrens, Stephanie M. Wildman, Maritza M. Mejia, Authors J.C. Kato and J.C.², Eugenia Chu, Dorktales Storytime Podcast, Josh Funk, Frances Díaz Evans, Gaia Cornwall, Eric Clock, Maria Wen Adcock, Diana Huang, Gwen Jackson, Gea Meijering, Amanda Hsiung-Blodgett, Ismee Williams, Karin Fisher-Golton, Kathleen Burkinshaw, Tami Lehman-Wilzig, Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou, Nancy Tupper Ling, Teresa Robeson, Crystal Z. Lee, Karen Leggett Abouraya, Elly Swartz, Robbin Miller, Shifa Safadi, Tonya Ellis, Lisa Stringfellow, Sylvia Liu, Kimberly Biddle, Robbin Miller, Eric Clock, Tonya Ellis, Nadine Pressley, Natahsa Yim Carter, and Lisa Chong.
Read Your World is Honored to be Supported by our CoHosts and Global CoHosts and by our Partner Organizations!
Check out RYW’s Multicultural Books for Kids Pinterest Board!
📌 FREE RESOURCES from Read Your World Day
- FREE RYW2026 Poster
- FREE Building Community with Bilingual Books 2026 Classroom Kit
- FREE Mental Health Support for Stressful Times Classroom Kit
- FREE Diversity Book Lists & Activities for Teachers and Parents
- FREE 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 Read Your World Virtual Party: https://readyourworld.org/virtualparty
Join us on Thursday, January 29, 2026, at 8 pm EST celebrating 14 years of Read Your World Day Virtual Party! Register here.
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 are 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 29, 2026, at our virtual party!
About the Book:
Lorena’s love of Magic Mocha Ice Cream makes her an easy target for body-shaming bullies on her family’s summer beach trip. But a trio of mermaids turn the tide and show Lorena that bodies come in all shapes and sizes.Crafted to be a conversation starter between young readers and their parent/caregivers, in this second edition story, neurodivergent readers in particular will enjoy new story features included to make this fun yarn accessible to all.
From Me:
Ice cream, the beach and mermaids!! This book has it all!! Three things most kids (especially young girls) love. Lorena is visiting her grandmother's house which is at the beach. Every summer they visit and her family loves the beach and the ice cream! However, one of the days Lorena is there one of her friends tells her she shouldn't eat ice cream because it makes her fat and even comments on her butt. After a few days Lorena talks about it with her mother and her mother explains about how there are different types of bodies and that her body is perfect for her type. Lorena can't wait to tell her friend the next day about what her mother said, but as she approaches her friend and two other kids, they look at her and laugh. She feels awful and heads to the water. When a big wave knocks her under water, she isn't sure what is happening until she hears someone telling her to open her eyes. She is underwater with three mermaids who tell her about their own experiences with body types. After she hears the information again, she really believes it and wants to go home. The mermaids tell her how to do so and she tells her parents about her adventure with the mermaids.
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| Mermaid Craft shared here |
I love the story. Lorena is having her annual family beach vacation, and it includes lots of ice cream and beach time. I can relate to our trips to Cape Cod. We don't spend lots of time on the beach when we are there but do have lots of ice cream in the summer. I skinny, small girl tells her the ice cream will make her fat, and her butt is already fat. First, young girls should not be worrying about being fat and they certainly should not be body shaming. I love the diversity in this book and love that the mermaids have different shades of skin.
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| Dramatic Play Fun -- Ice Cream Shop shared here |
This edition of the book is printed for neurodivergent readers. The font is Dyslexia-friendly and sentence word lengths. It is part of The Cocoa Kids Collection which includes multicultural and multiracial children to help promote reading and self-efficacy, prosocial skills and literacy learning. Needless to say, it is perfect for a lower elementary classroom or a book for home. It is also a great book for any adult to read a child and have a discussion about body image as well as how to be a nice friend.
Be sure to register for the Read Your World Day Virtual Party. It is full of giveaways!! Plus be sure to check out the big link party to find even more amazing diverse books perfect for different ages!!
