Our World and the Great Outdoors

Disclosure: We were sent these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are our own.

Well Earth Day happened last month and my life has been so crazy I never got around to sharing the amazing books I have gathered for it. So I am going to share some of them with you today. We will start with Champion: The Comeback Tale of the American Chestnut Tree by Sally M. Walker. 

Japanese Crafts -- Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Disclosure: We were sent these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are our own.

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. This year I thought I would focus on Japanese crafts. I have written a few posts about Japan and Japanese culture over the years. If you want a general overview of the country and its culture you should check out my review here. When I looked at my shelf of books to review I saw a bit of a pattern and realized I had a collection of books about crafts in Japan. Part of what I love about these books is most of them also teach a bit about the culture.

Books for Ages 7-12

Disclsoure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I have to admit that I am having trouble keeping up with my reading and the great books keep on coming in. Of course this week hasn't helped since I have been focused on starting my new career as a Thirty-One Consultant. I would love to have you shop my party this month and help me kick off my new career. There are wonderful choices for gifts and more! But back to my books. I have a large number of books to review and have not gotten through all of them, so I am going to share some with you today and I will admit that I have not finished them yet (but I don't have room on my review shelves for them either). These books are perfect for ages 7 to 12 so second through sixth grade. We will start with one that is perfect for Hispanic Heritage Month which ends on Monday. The book is Merci Suarez Changes Gear by Meg Medina.

National Homemade Cookie Day -- Let's Get Baking -- Recipe Round-Up and Fun Facts

There is nothing better than a homemade cookie fresh out of the oven. What is your favorite kind? Today, October 1st, is National Homemade Cookie Day, so I thought I would share some fun facts and a cookie recipe round-up so you can get baking!!

Fun Facts about Pizza -- National Cheese Pizza Day!

Today is National Cheese Pizza Day! In honor of this favorite treat, I thought I would look at some fun facts about pizza and share a round-up of crafts, books and recipes. So go grab a slice and enjoy!!

Fun Facts about Cats for World Cat Day

Did you know today (August 8th) is World Cat Day? To honor our furry friends (we have two) I am sharing some fun facts about cats. There are so many interesting things about cats out there so I divided them up into categories: General Facts, Cats in History and Around the World, Cat Records and Cats versus Dogs. 

Fluffy Napping with Hazel and Steve

Fun Facts about Ice Cream Sandwiches -- National Ice Cream Sandwich Day!

Did you know today is Ice Cream Sandwich Day? To celebrate here are some fun facts about ice cream sandwiches and at the end there is a round-up of recipes to try!

A Look at Japan for Asian / Pacific Island Heritage Month

Disclosure: I was sent these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Multicultural Kid Blogs is hosting a blog hop today for this heritage month and I decided to focus mostly on Japan. I have a bunch of fun books to share with you to help focus on Japan and its culture. It is a mixture of coloring books, origami kits, a novel and an Asian cookbook. The first book I am going to share is another book in the Friendship Dolls Series from Candlewick Press. I reviewed the other two previously. Today's book is Dolls of Hope by Shirley Parenteau. 

Multicultural Children's Book Day is Here!! Link Party #ReadYourWorld

Share at Sharing Saturday This Week!! 

It is here!! Today is Multicultural Children's Book Day 2018!! As a co-host I get to provide the link party right here, so be sure to check out all the amazing reviews of these multicultural books. There is something for everyone!! Be sure to check out my reviews this year (and past years) as well: Orthodox Christian Holidays, a mystery chapter book about a Chinese American in Australia, Harriet Tubman, STEM book on water cycle, the African-American women computers, engineers, and more of NASA, and a Japanese fairy tale and a picture book about an African-American photographer. 

Multicultural Books for Different Ages

Disclosure: I was sent these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Today is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday. I have been sharing many of my past posts about Dr. King on my Facebook page this weekend. Be sure to check them all out plus the review I wrote over at Multicultural Kid Blogs this month. 

Mystery of the Min Min Lights - a Multicultural Children's Book Day Review

Disclosure: Janelle Diller of Pack-n-Go Girls sent me this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

It is hard to believe the Multicultural Children's Book Day is coming quickly. It is on January 27th and I am a co-host so be sure to come back and check out all the reviews at the link up!! 

New Year Traditions from Around the World

How do you celebrate New Year's? Most of the people I know go to a party or celebrate with their family at home, but have you ever looked at what some of the traditions are from around the world? There are some interesting ones.

Animal Books -- Stories, Activities & More!

Disclosure: I was sent these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Hazel has always loved animal books and stories. I know a friend who says her five-year-old boy could care less about truck books, but a book with animals he loves. Do you have an animal lover in your life? Today we are sharing some fun books that include stories, activities and more. Several even take you on a trip around the world. Ready to join us?

It's a Small World Felted Friends -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Have you entered my giveaway for a 16 x 20 canvas print?

Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing sent me this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Tonight I am sharing a fun needle felting book. It gives instructions to make miniature needle felted animals, buildings, and other things that make you think of certain countries. It even includes a mini flag garland. The book is It's a Small World Felted Friends by Sachiko Susa. 

If You Were Me and Lived In.... a Look at Cultures Around the World

Disclosure: Carole P. Roman sent me these books for free in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Do you like to read books about different cultures? Since we don't travel very often, I love to teach Hazel about different cultures and I have found books to be a wonderful way to do this. Today I get to share three books from a wonderful series by Carole P. Roman. The series is If You Were Me and Lived In...A Child's Introduction to Cultures Around the World. Unlike the books in the Ancient Culture series I shared last week, these books focus on current cultures in the countries. The series of books that include a map of the country as well as a picture of a globe showing where the country is and a pronunciation guide with meanings as well. We will go in alphabetical order with our three countries and start with If You Were Me and Lived in...Australia. 

Our Japanese Tea Party -- Exploring Japan with Tea Parties Around the World

Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing gave me copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.


So last month our plan was to have a Japanese tea party for Tea Parties Around the World, but life interfered and our tea party happened in May instead, but this is perfect since it is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month. So through April and into May we have been exploring Japan. Now Japan is known for its tea ceremony. It sounds so fancy and has an interesting history. To learn more about the tea ceremony we read Tea Ceremony by Shozo Sato. 

Multicultural Children's Book Day -- Link up!

Welcome to our 4th Multicultural Children's Book Day! Here's how to celebrate:

1. Link up your diversity book reviews
2. Win diversity book bundles at our Twitter Party tonight! We're giving away 100+ children's books from 9pm to 10pm EST. RSVP here. Use hashtag: #ReadYourWorld.
3. Get your a copy of Read Your World: A Guide to Multicultural Children's Books for Parents and Educators. It's FREE today through January 31st!

Announcement: Multicultural Children's Book Day Twitter Party (and Giveaways)

Please join us for our Multicultural Children's Book Day

Win 1 of 12 Book Bundles! Giving away Book Bundles every 6 minutes!

Twitter Party

Friday, January 27th

9 pm to 10 pm EST

Hashtag: #ReadYourWorld

We will be discussing the state of children's book publishing and giving away diversity book bundles every six minutes! We invite EVERYONE to join us: authors, publishers, parents, caregivers, librarians, KidLit lovers. You don't have to be an author or publisher sponsor to join us! Let's talk about our favorite multicultural and diverse children's books, authors, and illustrators!

How do you join the Twitter party? Just use hashtag #ReadYourWorld to find us. When you tweet, use the hashtag so everyone can find you!

Register below to be able to win!!

Holiday Cookie/Treat Swap Around the World -- a Multicultural Link Party

Christmas time always brings cookie swaps and I thought it would be fun to have a virtual one around the world. Cookies have many different names around the world like biscuits in England and Australia and galletas in Spain.  The idea of Christmas cookies probably started in the Middle Ages. The use of spices started in Europe during the Middle Ages. Cookies have probably evolved quite a bit since then, but think of some of the heavier spiced cookies like gingerbread that we associate with Christmas. (Sources: What's Cooking America and History Channel) To make this swap happen I asked my fellow Kid Blogger Network and Multicultural Kid Blogs members to join me. A few signed up and I am hoping you will join us as well!! Then I googled our favorite kind of Christmas cookies--thumbprints and discovered they are from Sweden!!

6 New Holiday Books including Advent and Alternatives to Elf on the Shelf -- Holiday Preparations

Disclosure: I was sent these products free of charge. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As always I am providing links to the book for your convenience.

I missed the sixth of November by a day, so: "On the 7th of November my stress-free holiday preparations brings me six new holiday books to read." Included in this grouping are some Advent ideas and an alternative to Elf on the Shelf (which I find really creepy). Now I should add I will be preparing more holiday books, and have tried to group them in various ways. This one is the non-religious and non-Christmas tree group. We will start with one that is more winter related rather than an actual holiday book. It is Poles Apart by Jeanne Willis and illustrated by Jarvis.