May brings us into Asian Pacific-American Heritage Month. To celebrate I always like to read some Asian stories. Luckily I have a contact at Tuttle Publishing. Tuttle Publishing focuses on Asia in their books. They are also a supporter of the Multicultural Kid Blogs' Giveaway for this month. As such they sent me a copy of Malaysian Children's Favourite Stories by Kay Lyons and illustrated by Martin Loh which is the only prize from them I have not previously reviewed as well a copy of Singapore Children's Favourite Stories by Di Taylor and illustrations by LK Tay-Audouard. They have quite the selection of Asian countries for this series of books and I have to admit we have quite a few of them as well. Hazel always LOVES these books and never lets me donate them. Actually it looks like I am missing a few. I am guessing they may be hiding in Hazel's room.
Malaysian and Singapore Children's Favourite Stories -- Asian Pacific-American Heritage Month Review & Giveaway
May brings us into Asian Pacific-American Heritage Month. To celebrate I always like to read some Asian stories. Luckily I have a contact at Tuttle Publishing. Tuttle Publishing focuses on Asia in their books. They are also a supporter of the Multicultural Kid Blogs' Giveaway for this month. As such they sent me a copy of Malaysian Children's Favourite Stories by Kay Lyons and illustrated by Martin Loh which is the only prize from them I have not previously reviewed as well a copy of Singapore Children's Favourite Stories by Di Taylor and illustrations by LK Tay-Audouard. They have quite the selection of Asian countries for this series of books and I have to admit we have quite a few of them as well. Hazel always LOVES these books and never lets me donate them. Actually it looks like I am missing a few. I am guessing they may be hiding in Hazel's room.
Asian Book Reviews -- Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month Blog Series and Giveaway
Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing gave me a copy of these books free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. They also sent me a copy to giveaway! As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.
This post is part of the Multicultural Kid Blogs Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month Blog Series and Giveaway. More details about all of this below including the giveaway!!
Since May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, I contacted my friends at Tuttle Publishing. It was a logical choice since this is their specialty. They publish books on Asian cultures, languages, and history. They have books for children and adults. It is a wonderful publishing company that puts out high quality and beautiful books. They also have provided five of the books for the giveaway below! The first book we will review is one of the prizes.
Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month -- Book Round-Up
Source: World Atlas |
- A is for Asia by Cynthia Chin-Lee
- Asian Children's Favorite Stories by David Conger, Marian Davies Toth & Kay Lyons
- Asian Holidays by Faith Winchester
- Come Look With Me: Asian Art by Kimberly Lane
- I Dreamed I was a Panda by Debra A. Johnson
- Floating Clouds, Floating Dreams Favorite Asian Folk Tales edited by I. K. Junne
- Moon Magic: Stories from Asia by Katherine Davison
- The Tiger's Whisker and Other Tales from Asia and the Pacific by Harold Courlander
- Folk Tales from Asia by Asian Cultural Centre for Unesco
- Tikki Tikki Tembo and More Stories to Celebrate Asian Heritage DVD produced by Weston Wood Studios, Inc.
- Asian Kites by Wayne Hosking
- Haiku: Asian Arts and Crafts for Creative Kids by Patricia Donegan
- Asian-American Crafts Kids Can Do! by Sarah Hartman
- A Kid's Guide to Asian American History by Valerie Petrillo
- Asian Crafts by Judith Hoffman Corwin
- Monkeys of Asia and Africa by Patricia A. Fink Martin
- Really Wild Animals: Adventures in Asia DVD produced by National Geographic Society
The Year of the Horse is part of a series of books about the Chinese Zodiac |
The Phillipines
Sora and the Cloud Review |
Vietnam
In Real Life -- Young Adult Book Review -- Multicultural Monday & Math
Today I am sharing a young adult book. It is about a high school boy, Seth, who is very good at math as well as video games. He wants to compete against the top Starfare players in the world and those are the professionals in Korea. What interested me was the idea of a multicultural math story. The book is In Real Life by Lawrence Tabak.
Lia Park and the Heavenly Heirlooms -- 2nd Book in the Middle Grades Series
Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Today I get to share with you the second book in the Lia Park series! I reviewed the first book last year and couldn't wait to get my hands on the second one. It was released last week!! The second book is Lia Park and the Heavenly Heirlooms by Jenna Yoon. It is a middle grades novel series recommended for ages 8 to 12.
Fun Facts about the Tooth Fairy & Lost Tooth Traditions from Around the World
Ramadan in Singapore -- Ramadan for Kids, Global Learning for Kids & Asian Pacific American Heritage Blogs Series & Giveaway
For my final 2016 post for Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month I thought I would combine it with our Global Learning for Kids exploration of Singapore and kick off our Ramadan for Kids Blog Hop. Did you know about 15% of the Singapore population is Muslim (according to 2010 statistics)? There are 69 mosques in Singapore. (Source) The Sultan Mosque or Masjid Sultan is considered one of the most important mosques in Singapore.
Nightfall at Sultan Mosque By Erwin Soo from Singapore, Singapore [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons |
Fairy Tales in Different Cultures: The Golden Slipper: A Cinderella Tale from Ukraine
So this month Around the World in 12 Dishes is visiting Ukraine. I am behind in writing the intro and cooking something, but imagine my surprise when choosing a story at random from The Magic Egg and Other Tales from Ukraine by Barbara J. Suwyn I found a Cinderella tale. Hazel and I have been enjoying stories from this book each night. I pick one at random to read to her as part of our bedtime stories.Since today is the day I usually would share our food from the Ukraine, I thought we would share the Cinderella tale called "The Golden Slipper".
Fairy Tales in Different Cultures-Vasilissa and Baba Yaga
Fairy Tales in Different Cultures: Angkat: The Cambodian Cinderella
Blue Fish with Rainbow Fish Qualities |
I found this version so interesting since the father was not just an invisible bystander or dead. He actually helped devise a plan to kill his own daughter. I also see so many ties to other Asian versions of the story. There is the fish which is in the Middle Eastern version, Chinese versions, Vietnamese version, and Thai version. Many of these also include the scattering of the rice with the aid of some birds. The Egyptian version has a bird that drops the slipper in the pharaoh's hands. You can see how the story has changed in different countries, but how it probably started as the same story at some point.
- Abadeha: The Philippine Cinderella
- Golden Sandals: A Middle Eastern Cinderella Tale
- The Golden Slipper: A Vietnamese Cinderella Tale
- Chinese Cinderella Tales
- The Korean Cinderella
- Kongi and Potgi: A Cinderella Tale from Korea
- Kao and the Golden Fish A Cinderella tale from Thailand
- The Gift of the Crocodile: A Cinderella Tale from Indonesia
- My Cinderella Pinterest Board
Fairy Tales in Different Cultures: Abadeha: the Philippine Cinderella
Continuing with our Asian-Pacific theme for May, I thought I would share another Cinderella tale this time from the Philippines. The book is Abadeha: The Philippine Cinderella adapted by Myrna J. de la Paz. Before I share the story and craft, a bit about the Philippines.
Source: Lonely Planet |
In 1521 Ferdinand Magellan arrived and claimed the islands for Spain. The Spanish established Manilla as the capital city in 1571. The Spanish fought many wars with indigenous people as well as other countries for control of the Philippines. The Spanish introduced the idea of free public schooling as well as Christianity. They also brought many different types of food from the Americas like pineapple, corn, chili peppers and tomatoes. In 1898, Spain sold their rights to the United States for 20 million dollars as part of the 1898 Treaty of Paris. In 1935 the Philippines were granted Commonwealth status. During World War II the Japanese Empire invaded and took control until the Allied Forces defeated them in 1945. The Philippines became a founding member of the United Nations and the United States recognized its independence in 1946.
Now onto our story. The story begins as many Cinderella tales do. A fisherman named Abek, his wife, Abadesa, and their beautiful daughter, Abadeha, live happily in the islands called the Philippines. When Abadeha is thirteen her mother suddenly gets sick and dies. Abek and Abadeha are filled with sorrow. Eventually Abek marries a widow from another island who has two daughters of her own. He hopes to make a loving family for himself and Abadeha. However the stepmother immediately notice how plain and mean-spirited her daughters are in comparison to Abadeha. Abek is away from the home more since he has a larger family to support and while he is away the stepmother mistreats Abadeha making her work from morning to night cleaning the house, cooking all the meals, fetching the water from the river and tending the stove. She is often covered with soot and each night she is so tired she falls asleep on the kitchen floor. Her stepsisters began to tease her for her dirtiness. The stepmother begins to throw impossible tasks for Abadeha to do like change a black handkerchief to white and a white one to black or she will be whipped. Abadeha goes to the river crying and missing her mother. She cries out a prayer of sorts to her mother and the creator of earth. Suddenly the Spirit of the Forest appears and promises Abadeha that all of her hard work and patience will be rewarded. Then she changes the handkerchiefs for her. When Abadeha returns home, her stepmother is angry that she was able to do it. The next morning she has Abadeha spread newly harvested rice on a mat to dry and then pound the winnow and cook the rice for the evening meal. While Abadeha works in the kitchen a wild pig wanders into the yard and eats the rice while the stepmother watches. The stepmother does nothing until the pig has left and then tortures Abadeha and tells her she must mend the mat that the pig shredded. Abadeha takes the shreds of mat to the river and says her prayer again. The Spirit of the Forest comes even quicker this time. She has female spirits quickly repair the mat and gives Abadeha a sarimanok. A sarimanok is a chicken with a long flowing tail and feathers the color of the rainbow. The stepmother is annoyed again when she sees Abadeha has completed the task. She takes the sarimanok from her and tells her she will take care of her pet for her. Early the next morning she chops off its head and feet and begins cooking it for dinner. Abadeha sees it and weeps. She grabs its feet and runs to the river. The Spirit tells her to bury the feet by her mother's grave and to pray to her ancestors. She does this and plants a garden around her mother's grave as well. It is awhile before she returns to her mother's grave and when she does she discovers a tree filled with treasures like jewelry and gowns. She grabs a few pieces of jewelry and keeps the enchanted tree to herself.
While hunting in the forest, the son of the island chieftain saw a sarimanok. He followed it to Abadeha's secret garden. He took a ring from the tree and put it on his finger. When he returned home his finger began to swell and he could not get the ring off. He told his father about his finger and how he was in great pain. His father sent for the Babaylan, the priest healer. The Babylan told him he had to listen to his heart. That night the pain in the prince's finger was so great and he had a dream where a sarimanok brings him an orchid and when the prince kisses the flower it turns into a beautiful maiden who shows him the ring in her hand. He tells his father of the dream and his father announces that the girl who can remove the ring from his son's finger will marry his son. When Abadeha heard this announcement she asked her stepmother to go and her stepmother locked her in the kitchen and then went to take a nap. The Spirit of the Forest came and unlocked the door for her. When she arrived her stepsisters were there. They began to yell at her for being there. The prince heard the commotion and asked Abadeha to come to him. She lovingly was able to take the ring off his finger even if she was dressed in rags. The prince was overjoyed and married her. Abadeha wore the golden gown and the jewelry from the enchanted tree. Her father came home just in time for the wedding. The prince banished the stepmother and her daughters to the chicken yard. Abadeha and the prince shared their happiness and wealth with the people on the islands and lived in peace and love and harmony.
In the author's note it is mentioned that this story is a traditional Philippine folktale that has disappeared from mainstream Philippine folk literature. With more than 300 years of Spanish colonization and a century of Americanization this is a common casualty there. She wanted to record the story before it was lost forever.
As a craft I made a paper plate sarimanok. I did it similar to the sea gulls Hazel and I made at the library a few weeks ago. I added the red comb and the tail of rainbow feathers. It is very easy.
For other Asian-Pacific Island Cinderella tales check out:
- Golden Sandals: A Middle Eastern Cinderella Tale
- The Golden Slipper: A Vietnamese Cinderella Tale
- Chinese Cinderella Tales
- The Korean Cinderella
- Kongi and Potgi: A Cinderella Tale from Korea
- Kao and the Golden Fish A Cinderella tale from Thailand
- The Gift of the Crocodile: A Cinderella Tale from Indonesia
Women in World War II
Today we are going to look at some of the American women who made a difference during World War II. Women's rights had progressed between the two world wars as well as progress in technology. By World War II women were pilots. Computers were introduced to the mix. And of course there were the nurses and spies. Once again my go to book is Heroism Begins with Her by Winifred Conkling. I will be sharing additional sources as well as books (mostly children's) about each of the amazing women I will share.
The Year of the Monkey -- Exploring Chinese New Year with books & Chinese New Year Link Party
We have explored the lunar new year and more specifically the Chinese New Year for several years now and have tried many different crafts, recipes and books (see below for a sampling and links). We have looked at the Chinese Zodiac and as of yesterday we have begun the year of the monkey. Last year was the year of the sheep.
A Monkey Valentine Craft from a Kit |
Multicultural Books for Multicultural Monday
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.
New Year Traditions from Around the World
Exploring Cherries and Japan
Interesting Facts about Samurai and Himeji Castle Jigsaw Puzzle Review
Disclosure: I was sent this puzzle in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Today I am going to share another 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. It is a beautiful photograph from Japan. It is the Samurai Castle and Cherry Blossoms 1,000-Piece Jigsaw Puzzle.