Today is the BIG DAY!! It is Read Your World Day! To celebrate we get to share our last Read Your World review for 2026! The book is Raven's Gift: A Feathered Flight of Faith by Claire Annette Noland and illustrated by Desiree Cordon. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8 and is a Christmas book. But before I tell you about this fun book, let's tell you about Read Your World Day!
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, 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:
A timeless Christmas tale of faith, joy, and the extraordinary gifts found in an ordinary heart. Winner of the Illumination Book Award (Holiday – Silver) Winner of the Northern Lights Book Award (Religious/Spiritual) On a quiet night near Bethlehem, little Raven feels bored and unnoticed―until a brilliant star splits the sky and angels proclaim, “Baby Jesus is born!” Filled with excitement and purpose, Raven soars across the fields to share the news with the biblical birds. Owl, Dove, Rooster, and Quail each bring a special gift for the newborn Savior… but Raven wonders what he could possibly offer. Inspired by an ancient legend, this heartwarming Christian Christmas picture book celebrates: Faith and the Nativity story Perseverance, hope, and finding your purpose The truth that the greatest gifts come from the heart With its lyrical refrain, gentle message, and stunning illustrations, this award-winning picture book is perfect for: Christmas storytime Sunday school and church libraries Christian family traditions Holiday gift-giving A beautiful reminder for children and families alike: every act of love is a worthy gift for Jesus.
From Me:
Raven likes to watch the world each night from his nest. Nothing seems to happen though. He sees the shepherds and sheep and other birds sleeping. Then one night there is a bright light and angels. They tell him about the birth of the Savior. They tell him to fly fast and far under the Bethlehem Star. He is so excited and wants to tell the other birds. He flies fast and far and wakes the other birds up to tell them. They each have a gift to bring the baby, and Raven worries that he does not have a gift. When they all arrive to see the Savior, the other birds remind Raven they wouldn't be there without him. His gift was sharing the news and getting them all there.
The story is sweet and simple. The birds in the story are birds mentioned in the Bible and include an owl, rooster, hen, dove, and quail. The story shares how each of the birds including Raven have their own gift to share with Jesus and it works as a metaphor for each of us having gifts (and talents) to share with the world. It is a sweet Christmas book and shares just how special Christmas is to the Christians and how we believe the entire world celebrated when Jesus was born.
Now as a birdwatcher and lover, I love combining one of my favorite holidays with birds. It reminds me a bit of The Birds of Bethlehem by Tomie dePaolo except this book offers more than just the birds knowing something special is happening in Bethlehem. It offers that each of us is special and has something to offer others. This is an important message for kids to hear and rehear. I think this book will be added to my must-read Christmas books! To go with the book the obvious thing would be a bird craft. You can find some of the bird crafts we have shared here and specific birds from the books: owl crafts, ravens, doves, and roosters.
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!!
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