New Books about Race, Stereotypes and Black Lives!

 

Disclosure: I was sent digital copies of these books in exchange for honest reviews. All opinions are my own.

Have you been enjoying your holidays? I have not been writing since I have been taking time to be with my family. This holiday season has been special for us because we are realizing it is probably the last one with my father being somewhat mentally present. His Alzheimer's is getting bad and we know the end is coming whether he will be alive and not aware or die this year we are beginning to prepare ourselves. This week I am getting ready for Hazel's birthday. We decided to have a small gathering of girls from her school and doing our best to keep them socially distant and with masks. But before the year ends I wanted to review these four books. Two of these books have not been released yet and the other two are new in the past couple of months. It seems fitting to end 2020 with books about race, stereotypes and Black lives. 

Fun Books that Teach

 

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

Have you heard of the four gift rule? It says parents should give their kids only four gifts: something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read. With the holidays quickly approaching I want to share some fun books this week in time for you to make purchases for gifts. If your child is like mine you will be buying books for both something they want and something to read. My family has been complaining because the only things on Hazel's wish list for the most part are books. (Hard to believe when you think about all the books I get to review but they are not all of the series she loves.) Anyway, today I am going to share with books that teach something to the reader.  These books are for ages 8 - 18. Most are for ages 8-12 but there is one for high schoolers. We will start with Brain Candy 2 by Kelly Hargrave.

Meet Rachel Sage Carapella of Native Sage Nutrition -- Native American Heritage Month

 

How is the weather where you are? We have been having a warm stretch and I have been enjoying it and not on here writing the posts I had planned. Sorry! However November is Native American Heritage Month and I love Native American culture and what to share it with you!! This year instead of doing research on Native American history and finding books, etc. I have changed it up by sharing Native American business owners and their businesses with you. This year has been tough on so many of us and especially on our small businesses. I am hoping by sharing these businesses with you, you will help support them! Last week we learned about Diane Tells His Name and her dolls and for Indigenous Peoples' Day I shared some of Aaron Carapella's posters from Tribal Nations Maps. Today I want you to meet Rachel Sage Carapella. She owns Native Sage Nutrition. In this post you will learn a bit about Rachel and her business and she provides some tips for us to stay healthy as flu season starts up among the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The Moon and the Sun -- Fun Facts, Books and Craft & Activity Round-Up

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for honest reviews. All opinions are my own.

I have some fun books sitting on my review shelf. One is about the Mid-Autumn Festival. This year (2020) Mid-Autumn Festival is October 1st. Then I received a cute book about the sun and moon for younger kids. And finally I am sharing the new National Geographic Kids Almanac 2021 because of course it has something about the sun and moon. It has something about everything! As I was thinking about these books I thought it would be fun to share a bit about the moon and sun as well as some crafts and activities to go with them. 

A Place Inside of Me -- #blacklivesmatter

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

It is Labor Day, a day for rest. I have been taking this weekend off somewhat so I can get Hazel ready for the new school year. It begins tomorrow and she is going back in person. After being home for six months it is a hard transition. But I wanted to continue our Black Lives Matter Series. Today's post will be different. I have had this book to review that is a poem meant to heal the heart from all the riots, hatred and wrongs going on in the world these days. As a white person I find it powerful to read and get a glimpse into what my Black friends are experiencing. I have been trying to figure out how I wanted to share this book with you. It is powerful yet simple. I knew I didn't want to group it in without picture books, because its message is too important. So here it is, A Place Inside of Me by Zetta Elliott and illustrated by Noa Denmon. 

A Look into Space with Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson and Dr. Mae Jemison -- #blacklivesmatter

 

Last week we had a relaxing and fun stay-cation. Stay tuned for some posts on things we did. Today I return somewhat refreshed to get writing my posts for you. This week for Black Lives Matter Series I thought we would look into space with two famous black scientists: Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson and Dr. Mae Jemison. Both are on the list from my black teacher friends as people we should all know so here is your chance to learn about these amazing people.

Let's Read About Black Characters & People -- Round-Up of Children's Books

The other day as I talked to Hazel about current events on our walk and was telling her my plans for Crafty Moms Share, she said, "Did you ever notice that when there is a black person in a book there is just one in a group of white friends?" Oh, yes, we still have the token black person in our society of books and television shows. She even commented how sometimes the group is made up of one person of different races like in The Start-Up Squad Series. I recently read an article about how white people need to do more than talk to our kids about racism. Where we live, who our neighbors are, books we read/provide our kids, who our friends are, the diversity of the school we send our kids to all play a part in how our kids grow up and understand race relations. Now I cannot change your neighborhood or their school but I hope I can change the books in your house and your library. I asked some fellow bloggers as well as authors that are part of the Multicultural Children's Book Day group for any books, activities, and reviews they had with black people as the main characters. Today I am going to share a round-up of books shared and some others I found (on Amazon). I will link reviews and activities whenever possible. It is important that all of our kids read books that have people like them but it is also important that our kids read books with people who do not look like them. This will build their understanding and help them to grow and learn about race and culture and hopefully not be racist when they grow up. I have the books separated into picture books, fairy tales, chapter books/novels, and non-fiction/biographies. There are some separation within some of these genres as well. 

Exploring Japan Part 4 -- Fun Facts & Resource Round-Up

For the last three Mondays we have been exploring Japan. We started with some picture books, then looked at crafts and artists and then origami. Today we are looking at fun facts about Japan and doing a resource and activity round-up. But first some facts about Japan itself. Japan is called Nihon or Nippon in Japanese. It means "land of the rising sun". It was once believed that Japan was the first country to see the sun each morning. The country is made up of 6,582 islands, but has four main islands: Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Three tectonic plates meet near Japan and cause many earthquakes. Japan experiences 1,000 earthquakes in a year. Some of these cause tsunamis. There are also 200 volcanoes in Japan. Sixty of them are still active. Almost three quarters of the land is covered by mountains and forest which make the land hard to farm or use for industry or residential. The Japanese Alps run down the center of the island of Honshu. Mount Fuji is the highest mountain/volcano in Japan and is considered sacred by many Japanese people. 

Happy Earth Day -- Let's Get Gardening

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

Happy Earth Day! We've all seen the news. As people are staying at home the Earth has begun to heal. The pollution is down in the big cities. The animals are becoming more relaxed and trying to take back their space. One of the things I find most interesting is so many people are planning gardens. Seeds and plant companies are having trouble keeping up with the orders. I checked out my normal seed catalog site and discovered many vegetables are sold out. And one of the times I was on they were not even taking orders that day so they could catch up with their orders. This never happens. So today I thought I would share two resources for gardening. One is about herb gardens (more for adults) and the other is about gardening with kids and how to help them connect with the natural world. 

Earth Day Resources for 2020

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

It is a strange time and hard to believe Earth Day is next week. With all the stay at home orders around the world we are hearing about amazing things happening to our Earth like the Venice canals being clear (although not necessarily because the water is cleaner see here) and the skies above cities being clearer including in New Delhi, India, people are seeing the rare blue skies. The air in Los Angeles, California is even said to be clear. (Source) As scary as Covid-19 is it seems the Earth is enjoying a break from the craziness our society has been causing. But we know this break will end and we can choose to go back to the craziness or do something to help our Earth and keep our planet going for generations to come. Today I am going to share three books about people, places and ways to do just that. The first two are picture books. We will start with Solar Story: How One Community Lives Alongside the World's Biggest Solar Plant by Allan Drummond.

Surviving through our new normal--Toilet Paper Roll Craft Round Up & More!

The world is a scary place and has gotten a whole lot scarier the last few weeks. I believe we are truly afraid of the unknown. We do not know who will get the Coronavirus, who will die from it and what will happen during this time. There are predictions but it is scary. Now we are dealing with this stress and fear and our kids are home with us because it isn't safe to have them at school. And then there is the whole stores wiped out of toilet paper (and other things) going on. Craziness! 

Intrepids -- Middle School Book Review -- Multicultural Childrens Book Day

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Do you like science fiction and fantasy? I never really consider myself a lover of either genre but I think I am fooling myself because the fantasy books I have reviewed here I love and here is another great one! It is Intrepids by Diana Huang. 

Multicultural Books for Multicultural Monday

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for honest reviews. All opinions are my own.

January is upon us. Wow, time has been flying. Now that the holidays are over we turn back and look at our lives. Did you make resolutions? I always find January to be bitter sweet. I enjoy the holidays and seeing everyone and they are over. We take our Christmas decorations down and the house seems empty. However as someone who loves diversity there are always more things to look forward to. Multicultural Children's Book Day is January 31st and I am co-hosting again this year. Stay tune for my official posts starting this week. The lunar new year is also approaching. I will be participating in Multicultural Kid Blogs annual blog series on January 20th to share books about China and Korea and their lunar new year celebrations. And of course Martin Luther King Day is this month. So much great stuff. Then February hits with Black History Month. Lots to look forward to. Today I thought I would share four multicultural books with you to start off our January. 

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. 

Kids' Activity Books Review

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

We have a spring break coming up and then it is almost time for summer break. I don't know about you but I know I will need some ideas to keep Hazel busy. Today I am going to share some fun books for kids that will keep them busy and help them learn! Our first book is from National Geographic Kids and it is Make This! by Ella Schwartz and photographs by Matthew Rakola. 

The Year of the Pig -- Fun Facts, Craft Round-Up and Book Review

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

It is officially the Year of the Earth Pig according to the Chinese Zodiac. I thought it would be fun to celebrate the Chinese New Year with a look at fun facts about pigs as well as the Year of the Pig and of course some pig crafts and a fun Chinese pig story. We will start with fun facts about pigs!!

Fun Facts about Chinese New Year!

The lunar new year (better known as the Chinese New Year) begins next week, February 5, 2019. This year will be the Year of the Earth Pig. (Stay tuned for some facts about pigs, the year of the pig and a pig craft round-up coming soon.) I thought it would be fun to look at some fun facts about this holiday. In China and many cultures this holiday is the big holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas is in America. It amazes me how I learn something new about this holiday every year as I prepare post. So read below to learn a bit about the holiday and some fun facts about it.

Chapter Book Extravaganza! Beginning Reader Through Young Adult Part 2

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

Yesterday we started our chapter book extravaganza. We shared the first group of books for ages 5 to 12. Today we are going to get through the rest of them. As I mentioned yesterday, most of these books I have not finished (some Hazel did) so we will be providing limited reviews. Hope you enjoy them and find some new books to read!!

Keeping the Meaning of Christmas in Your Family's Life during the Crazy Holiday Season

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

Every holiday season I look for resources to help my family keep Jesus in the front of our minds. This year I found two books--one for me and one for Hazel (and possibly the whole family) to read together. Both are from Sarah Young's Jesus Calling series. I am sharing them nice and early so you can get a copy for yourself and your family and experience Jesus during the crazy season. The one for children is Jesus Calling The Story of Christmas. 

Fun Facts about Honey Bees and Honey -- National Honey Bee Day!

Today (August 18) is National Honey Bee Day. It is the third Saturday in August each year since 2010. (It was the fourth Saturday in the first year, 2009.)Why do these buzzing little stingers deserve a special day? Well the numbers of honey bees is way down and life without these little flying miracles would be awful for us all. There has been so much out there about helping the bees. I thought today I would share some fun facts about these amazing pollinators and the delicious food they make themselves (besides all the food they help grow for us).