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. 

Biographies & Non-Fiction Stories

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

Today Hazel and I are writing a joint post. She is going to review half the books. All of the books we have put together are biographies and non-fiction stories. Two are novels of stories about war. Let's start with the two picture books. The first book is Doctor Esperanto and the Language of Hope by Mara Rockliff and illustrated by Zosia Dzierzawska. 

Black History Month Books for Grades 3+

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

February has a lot packed in it this year. We have Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year, and I haven't even started on Black History Month. Today I am going to share two amazing resources for Black History Month. These books are for grades 3 or higher. Be sure to come back on Monday for my post for the Multicultural Kid Blogs Black History Month Blog Hop. The first book I want to share has been around for a couple of years and has received a few honor rewards. It is Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Ekua Holmes. And the first thing I am going to say about this book is "WOW!!"

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!!

Hidden Women -- a Multicultural Children's Book Day Review

Disclosure: Capstone Publishing sent me this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Have you seen Hidden Figures? It is in Hazel's top three favorite movies of all times. Our family went to see it on Martin Luther King Day last year. Last year I wrote about the real women in the story for Black History Month. And before the movie I had done a post about Katherine Johnson for a previous Black History Month. Needless to say this is a topic near and dear to us. I jumped at the chance to review a new book called Hidden Women: The African-American Mathematicians of NASA Who Helped Win the Space Race by Rebecca Rissman. 

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. 

I Am Gandhi and I Am Sacagawea Blog Tour

Disclosure: Penguin Kids sent me these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Today I get to share with you the latest two books in the Ordinary People Change the World series by Brad Meltzer and illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos. I am sharing these books as part of the blog tour!

Books to Add STEM to Your Summer

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books free of charge to 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.


It seems everywhere you look people are talking about STEM. The products at Lakeshore Learning seem to be labeled STEM or STEAM. This is the latest educational craze and it is about time. As a former math teacher I know the importance of math and science for our kids. I also know that it is important for them to be taught at a young age so they can really enjoy learning them. And for the most part kids love learning science!! It is one of the few places that hands-on learning is not made up it just is. The experiments and discoveries are natural and normal. They lead to real life math problems as well. However this is often where the elementary teachers have a shortfall. Since our elementary teachers teach all the subjects: reading, math, science, social studies, phonics, handwriting and grammar; they often focus on their favorites or what they feel are easiest for them to teach. It makes sense. Unfortunately it is often not math or science and sometimes the teacher's own insecurities of these subjects can be passed on (as well as the parents') by how it is taught and approached. It seems that the publishers and educational toy makers have finally realized they needed to bring products to parents and teachers to make teaching these subjects easier. After all in this high tech world science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) are the careers of the future. So today I am going to share with you some great resources to bring a little STEM into your house this summer as well as a few of the lessons we did for our science units as I homeschooled Hazel the last six weeks of second grade.

Stand Up and Sing! Pete Seeger, Folk Music, and the Path to Justice

Disclosure: I was sent this book to review free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.

Today I am sharing a fun book that teaches kids about Pete Seeger. Now Pete Seeger is a name I know but I will admit besides the fact that he was a folk musician I did not know much about him. Do you? The book is Stand Up and Sing!: Pete Seeger, Folk Music and the Path to Justice by Susanna Reich and illustrated by Adam Gustavson. I learned so much about Pete Seeger from this picture book.

First Ladies and Eleanor Roosevelt -- Women's History Month Series

Disclosure: Penguin Random House Books gave me a 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.

This is my official post for Multicultural Kid Blogs' Women's History Month Series although I have already done two posts on women in history already this month (Bethany Ehlmann and Sophie Blanchard) and will be doing more the rest of the month. Today I am sharing a book about many wonderful women in history it is What's the Big Deal about First Ladies by Ruby Shamir and illustrated by Matt Faulkner and I am going to share a bit about one of my favorite first ladies in history, Eleanor Roosevelt. 

The Real Women Mathematicians of Hidden Figures - Black History Month Blog Hop & Giveaway

Disclosure:  Some of the links are affiliate links where I will receive a small percentage of any purchases made through them at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

Have you seen Hidden Figures yet? Now as a family we hardly ever go to the movies. We really do not like supporting the Hollywood scene or spending the huge amounts that it costs to go out and get a popcorn. However on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day our family went to the movie theater to see Hidden Figures. Between my love of multicultural stories and math, my engineering husband's love of space, and Hazel's love of history and learning, we all loved this movie. We felt it was worth the money spent and found it to be a great activity for the day. Now I was especially excited for the movie since my post last year for the Black History Month Blog Hop was about Katherine Johnson. The movie made me want to learn even more and teach Hazel more about these amazing women. 

Black History Month Blog Tour for Young Kids -- a First Look Tour

Disclosure: I was sent these books to review free of charge from Ideals Books./Worthy Kids. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. I am including links to each item for your convenience but do not receive anything if you purchase them.

Can you believe it is already February? Today starts Black History Month in America and I get to share with you two board books to introduce perhaps the two most famous civil rights activists in America to the youngest kids. It seems like the perfect way to kick off Black History Month. The first book is The Story of Martin Luther King Jr. written by Johnny Ray Moore and illustrated by Amy Wummer. 

Sharing Saturday 17-2

It is time for Sharing Saturday!! This is a link party to share all of your child-oriented crafts, crafts made for kids, activities and lessons as well as your parenting and/or teaching posts.

On Sunday night we also host Crafty Weekends for all your crafts (done by any age), patterns, and craft product reviews! It is the perfect place to share your creative side!! And for all of your cultural posts come share them at the monthly Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop(a new one starts Sunday).

Thank you to everyone who shared with us at our last party! It was a fun party with many great ideas shared. Our features are just a sampling of them so if you haven't checked them all out, you should! This week we have three groups of features: Holiday, Parenting and Crafts & Lessons.

Reflections on the work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther KIng, Jr. and a simple craft

As I thought about what I wanted to do this year for Martin Luther King Day for Kids I reflected on what we have done in the past. We have shared numerous books on Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as well as other Civil Rights Activists. We have done various crafts about unity and diversity and peace. I'll be honest I wasn't sure what to do. Hazel understands the teachings of Dr. King and we have focused quite a bit on the Civil Rights Movement in the past. I want to first reflect on a few things.

I Am Albert Einstein -- Ordinary People Change the World Blog Tour & Giveaway -- Multicultural Mathematics

Disclosure: Penguin Random House Books gave me a 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.

Today we are sharing the final book in the Ordinary People Change the World Series. We saved I Am Albert Einstein for last. Hazel absolutely loves this series and we have had a lot of fun sharing all eight books. At the end of this post there is a chance to win the entire series from Penguin Kids! We have shared I Am Abraham Lincoln, I Am Lucille Ball, I Am Martin Luther King, Jr., I Am Helen Keller, I Am Rosa Parks, I Am Amelia Earhart, and I Am Jackie Robinson.Brad Meltzer and Christopher Eliopoulos do an amazing job of making these eight people interesting and fun to children and show that each of us can change the world. 

I am Jackie Robinson -- Ordinary People Change the World Series Blog Tour & Giveaway

Disclosure:  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.

Today we are sharing I Am Jackie Robinson by Brad Meltzer and illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos as part of the Ordinary People Change the World Blog Tour. It seems very appropriate to share this fun book about this great man during Black History Month (be sure to enter the MKB Black History Month Giveaway). Penguin Kids is giving away an entire set of the Ordinary People Change the World Series (to enter scroll down). So far there are eight books in the series. We have already shared I Am Abraham Lincoln, I Am Lucille Ball, I Am Martin Luther King, Jr., I Am Helen Keller, I Am Rosa Parks, and I Am Amelia Earhart. Tomorrow we will share the eighth book, and I am very excited to tell you it will be a Multicultural Math post! But today we are focusing on Jackie Robinson!

Katherine Johnson -- Multicultural Math Lesson and Black History Month Blog Hop & Giveaway

*Pictures of Katherine Johnson are from NASA.

This year for Black History Month I could not decide what to focus on for my post. Hazel and I read books about Coretta Scott King (Martin Luther King, Jr.'s wife) and inventor Garrett Morgan. I was trying to decide which to focus on and then I discovered Katherine Johnson and knew I found my post subject. First a bit about how I discovered her. Back from my former life as a high school math teacher I have a friend who was a black history teacher (now he is an assistant principal). Every February he posts on his Facebook page about various black people and events. He only posts so his friends can see them so I have not been able to share them. However this year I have been Googling the person or event and pinning them to my Black History Month Board.  Be sure to check it out to learn about even more Black History. Well one of his posts this year was about Katherine Johnson and I knew I had found my post topic and the bonus is she also is a black mathematician!

I Am Rosa Parks -- Ordinary People Change the World Blog Tour & Giveaway!

Disclosure:  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.

Today we continue the Ordinary People Change the World Blog Tour. The Ordinary People Change the World Series is by Brad Meltzer and illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulous. There is a giveaway from Penguin Kids below for the whole series as well!! Today's book is I Am Rosa Parks. 

Sharing Saturday 16-7

It is time for Sharing Saturday!! This is a link party to share all of your child-oriented crafts, activities and lessons as well as your parenting and/or teaching posts. On Sunday night we also host Crafty Weekends for all your crafts (done by any age), patterns, and craft product reviews! It is the perfect place to share your creative side!! 

Does anyone else feel like February has so much packed into even though it is the shortest month? I mean Black History Month, Chinese New Year, President's Day, Valentine's Day and in our region at least a week long school vacation. Today is Abraham Lincoln's birthday.  Plus add in Steve's birthday and my mother-in-law's birthday plus my parents' anniversary and our month is a bit crazy!! Thank you to everyone who shared at last week's party!! There were many amazing ideas shared. I always love seeing what everyone has been up to and your creative ideas!! Our features are just a sampling of them so if you haven't checked them all out, you should! The features this week are Valentine's Day, Arts & Crafts and Educational. 

I Am Helen Keller -- Ordinary People Change the World Blog Tour and Giveaway

Disclosure: Penguin Random House Books gave me a 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.

Today we are sharing I Am Helen Keller by Brad Meltzer and illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos. It is part of the Ordinary People Change the World Series. We have been having fun with the Blog Tour for this book series this month and have already shared the ones on Abraham Lincoln, Lucille Ball, and Martin Luther King, Jr.