Hey Artists!
Did you know that January 28th is Multicultural Children’s Book Day? It’s a day to bring attention to all of the amazing children’s books available that celebrate diversity. This book review + craft was inspired by the book, “Such a Library!”, by Jill Ross Nadler.
About Jill Ross Nadler
Such a Library!
What a colorful and fabulous re-telling of a classic folktale. I sat down with my daughters to read this book and got much more than expected. This book allowed us re-think what quiet is, appreciate our environment, and considerably more.
Placing this folktale in a library background is an enjoyable place to start. The fact that the librarian’s name was Miss Understood, and the smirk on her face, did not get past my 10-year-old, who realized something awful might happen.
The fanciful illustrations have many details: animals peaking around corners wearing party hats, kids blowing horns, and babies crawling on bookshelves. The illustrator did an excellent job weaving in the characters from the folktale at the beginning of the book. With each noise complaint from little Stevie, Miss Understood took the situation to a new level. At the same time, none of the other patrons seemed bothered. My 5-year-old definitely had problems with the concept of this loud library. Still, it also helped her later understand the point of this folktale.
This book is an excellent illumination of what it means to be happy with what you have because things could always be worse.
Click the video below to see Jill Ross Nadler, dressed up as Miss Understood, read her book, Such a Library!
*I received a copy of Such a Library! book free in exchange for offering an honest review.
Pop Up Craft: Happiness is...
Now it’s craft time! After reading Such a Library, I wanted to create a craft that demonstrated “be careful what you wish for.” The result was this fun pop-up craft that exaggerates how things could be worse. Click the button below to download this FREE “Happiness is…” pop-up craft.
Gather your materials. Click on the green button above to print out the "Happiness is" craft sheets in the image below. Copy paper is fine for this craft.
Take your colored pencils and color away! Try adding lines or swirls to the "loud" page to make this space intense.
Cut out the large rectangles around your colored pages.
Grab the sheet with two dotted lines and flip it over. Fold the left and right sides towards the middle. Follow the slideshow below for a step by step guide.
Grab the sheet with multiple dotted lines. Fold the left and right side of the forward and down along the dotted lines. Follow the slideshow below for a step by step guide.
Now take the sheet and fold the right and left sides backward along the dotted lines. Follow the slideshow below for a step by step guide.
Following the creases, fold the right and left sides inward to form a square. The slideshow below provides a step by step guide.
Grab your glue stick and the two folded sheets of paper. Flip over the smaller square and add glue to the back. Then, making sure the image is right side up, place it on the inside of the other sheet. Glue the left flap to the left triangle shape. Glue the right flap to the right triangle shape. Follow the slideshow below for a step by step guide.
Great job! Show off your craft and your thoughts about what it means to you!
Share your creations with Ao and Tauri on social media!
About MCBD
Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2022 (1/28/22) is in its 9th year! This non-profit children’s literacy initiative was founded by Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen; two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural books and authors on the market while also working to get those books into the hands of young readers and educators.
MCBD’s mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves. Read about our Mission & History HERE.
MCBD 2022 is honored to be Supported by these Medallion Sponsors!
SUPER PLATINUM: Make A Way Media
PLATINUM: Language Lizard
GOLD: Barefoot Books, KidLitTV, Candlewick, Capstone, Abrams Books
SILVER: Pack-n-Go Girls, Charlotte Riggle, Kimberly Gordon Biddle
BRONZE: Carole P. Roman, Patrice McLaurin, Dyesha and Triesha McCants/McCants Squared, Redfin.com, Redfin Canada, Redfin Mortgage, Redfin/Title Forward, Create & Educate, Star Bright Books, Vivian Kirkfield, Dr. Eleanor Wint, Kind World Publishing, Snowflake Stories, Lisa Wee, SONGJU MA, Melissa Stoller, J.C. Kato and J.C.², Crystel Patterson, Audrey Press, Pragmaticmom, TimTimTom, Wisdom Tales
MCBD 2022 is honored to be Supported by these Author Sponsors!
Charlene Mosley (official MCBD2022 Poster Creator)
Illustrator Isabelle Roxas (Class Kit Poster Creator)
Alva Sachs, Brianna Carter, Ebony Zay Zay, Rita Bhandari, Gwen Jackson, Lois Petren/The 5 Enchanted Mermaids, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, Josh Funk, Afsaneh Moradian, Eugenia Chu, Maritza Martínez Mejía, Diana Huang, Kathleen Burkinshaw, CultureGroove, Sandra Elaine Scott, Dorena Williamson, Veronica Appleton, Alejandra Domenzain, Lauren Muskovitz and Sandfish Publishing, Tonya Duncan Ellis, Kimberly Lee, Susan Schaefer Bernardo & Illustrator Courtenay Fletcher, Nancy Tupper Ling, Winsome Hudson-Bingham, Amanda Hsiung-Blodgett, Sivan Hong, Michael Genhart, Debbie Dadey, Elizabeth Cureton, Stephanie Wildman, Maryann Jacob, Sherri Maret, Rochelle Melander, Dia Mixon, Kiyanda and Benjamin Young, Shereen Rahming, Linda Thornburg and Katherine Archer, Rebecca Flansburg and BA Norrgard , Maxine Schur Natalie McDonald-Perkins
MCBD 2022 is Honored to be Supported by our CoHosts and Global CoHosts!
MCBD 2022 is Honored to be Supported by these Media Partners!
Check out MCBD’s Multicultural Books for Kids Pinterest Board!
FREE RESOURCES from Multicultural Children’s Book Day
Diversity Book Lists & Activities for Teachers and Parents
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
FREE Homeschool Diverse Kidlit Booklist & Activity Kit
FREE Teacher Classroom Raising Awareness on Systemic Racism in America Classroom Kit
FREE Diversity Book for Classrooms Program
Join us on Friday, Jan 29, 2021, at 9 pm EST for the 8th annual Multicultural Children’s Book Day Twitter Party! Be sure and follow MCBD and Make A Way Media on Twitter!
This epically fun and fast-paced hour includes multicultural book discussions, addressing timely issues, diverse book recommendations, & reading ideas.
We will be giving away an 8-Book Bundle every 5 minutes plus Bonus Prizes as well! *** US and Global participants welcome. **
Follow the hashtag #ReadYourWorld to join the conversation, connect with like-minded parts, authors, publishers, educators, organizations, and librarians. See you all very soon on Twitter!
Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.
