If you are seeking children's picture books that will give your students a more accurate and thorough understanding of United States history, then the works of Paul Goble are for you. I had the pleasure of being introduced to his work a couple of years ago by Wisdom Tales Press when I received a copy of his Custer's Last Battle for review.  (You can read the review on my blog here.) I was amazed (and dismayed) that I hadn't been aware of him prior, since he is the author and illustrator of over 30 titles!  

Mr. Goble's books are generally retellings of Native American myths, legends, folk tales, and historical accounts. Since childhood Mr. Goble has had a fascination with the Plains Indians, and loves to share their stories with today's youth.  Some appeal more to a younger audience such as those in Kindergarten and lower elementary school, while others have definite appeal to children in upper elementary and middle school. Regardless of how publishers categorize his books, I loved reading that he strives to write them for "all ages."  

Since Mr. Goble is a White man, I had hesitations at first regarding the authenticity of his work.  Were his books going to be written from a White man's perspective, like so many of our country's historical accounts are?  "In 1959, he traveled to the American west...During the trip, Goble was adopted into the Yakima and Sioux tribes (with the name Wakinyan Chikala, “Little Thunder”) by Chief Edgar Red Cloud." (Quote is from WisdomTalesPress.com.) After learning this, my fears were relieved.  He writes and illustrates with intentionality, deliberately seeking out the oldest accounts he can find of a story as well as asking his Native American friends for their versions and perspectives.   

With that, I want to share Goble's newest book, Red Cloud's War: Brave Eagle's Account of the Fetterman Fight, with you. I again had the privilege of being given a copy by the publisher for review. (All opinions are my own and I receive no compensation of any kind from the publisher.) Before reading the book, I had never heard of this battle. In fact, I don't recall reading or learning very much about U.S. Westward expansion in relation to Native Americans in my school days besides the Cherokee Trail of Tears and about the creation of Indian boarding schools. I love learning new things and expanding my understanding of history!

Red Cloud's War is a work of historical fiction that chronicles the events that led up to and then became what's known as Fetterman's Fight, a battle between Lakota warriors and U.S. soldiers on December 21, 1866.  The government had approached the Lakota about access to the Bozeman Trail which cut through Lakota land in order to reach the west of Montana to dig for gold.  Chief Red Cloud did not accept the gifts that the government offered to his people in exchange for access and the building of forts along the trail when the "peaceful" talks were backed by hundreds of U.S. soldiers. "Colonel Carrington said he wanted peace, but what do white people mean by peace? How can there be peace when your neighbor demands a way through your land whether you say yes or no? It is not peace when he comes with an arrow fitted to his bow, nor is it peace when you know he will shoot if you do not do as he tells you"  Recent history also told him that the White man was always greedy for more, and access to the trail would lead to further White expansion, taking their best hunting grounds.  War was imminent.

What I love about Mr. Goble's work is that with the aide of his books, I am able to provide my children with a more comprehensive education than what I received. I love that I can share multiple perspectives with them, and that they are coming to understand that all voices matter, that a myriad of injustices have occurred over the past hundreds of years in our country that have formed our nation into what it is today, and that they have a choice as to how they would like to contribute to our nation's future.  I am grateful for the work of Paul Goble in chronicling our nation's history from a Native American perspective that is accessible to children, and I hope his books will be shared with children across our country for years to come.

For more information on Paul Goble and to read a great interview with him: An interview with Paul Goble
For more information on the Lakota Sioux Indians: The Lakota People

A peacock perching on a branch.  Leaves floating on the wind.  Dogs stretching.  Cows meandering.  Dark clouds looming.  A young boy looking up into the sky. 

This is the scene that greets us, that pulls us into the story that is about to be told.  We are thus carried seamlessly into a young boy’s world, transported to a place of warmth and love.  This warmth and love is most beautifully and simply portrayed in the relationship between the boy and his dadaji, his grandfather.  On this afternoon of monsoon, the boy longs to play in the welcome rain, and seeks a playmate in each of his family members.  Only Dadaji is able to fill the role this day, and so together they embrace what monsoon brings: a now-filled washtub, perfect for sailing just-made paper boats; raindrops that fall, rest like pearls upon their skin, then continue on their journey; a ground that thirsts no more, its cracks sealed, tucking the ants safely in their homes; peacocks, dancing, grateful for relief from the heat; leaves of the banyan tree, left shiny by their afternoon shower, now a twinkling canopy under which to swing. 

Seated atop his dadaji’s shoulders, arms resting beside Dadaji’s smiling face, the boy asks him if he ever swung from the banyan tree, if monsoon came when he was a boy, if peacocks danced in the rain, and if monsoon would come when he himself was a dadaji.  The connection of time, the cycle of life, the love of family - all are confirmed with Dadaji’s “yes” and with the heart that is depicted within the pages of this family’s day.

It is my pleasure to share this story with you, this glimpse into the life of a fictitious young boy in India during monsoon season.  Although the characters are invented, the atmosphere is not, as we learn from the author’s note at the end of the book.  Author Kashmira Sheth grew up on the West coast of India, and recounts to us her early days during these seasons of rain.  I usually find author’s notes add to my enjoyment of the story, and this one does so by filling out a fuller picture of daily Indian life.

Bringing a story to life, extending learning, creating opportunities of connection with a story – as a mom and teacher, these are things I love to do.  There are many ways to do this with Monsoon Afternoon:

1.       Make paper boats with your children like the boy and his dadaji did.  My kids and I only made one kind, but there are many different styles you could try.  You could then test out your boats on water, and do a little experiment to see which type floats the longest. 

2.       Bring in mangoes, bananas, and guavas for your children to see and taste.  These fruits were mentioned and shown in the book.  You could then ask your children to name the fruits that are grown in their region of the world, comparing them in size, shape, and color to the fruit you brought in.  You could also talk about climate (and how climate affects plant growth and which plants grow where) and compare the climate in your region to the climate in India.

3.       Have the children write a story (or draw a picture, depending on the age and ability of your children) about one of the following: how they spent a rainy day of the past, a time they spent with a grandparent or elderly relative, or how they would ideally like to spend a day in the rain.

4.       Have your children use watercolors to paint a picture of a tree or flower that grows in your community.  The illustrator, Yoshiko Jaeggi, used watercolors to bring this story to life, painting trees and flowers all throughout.

Monsoon Afternoon is a welcome addition on our bookshelf, and I am thankful to Peachtree Publishers for sending it to me to review as part of Multicultural Children’s Book Day!

Multicultural Children's Book Day (MCCBD) was created by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into a Book and Mia Wenjen from Pragmatic Mom and debuted January 27, 2014.  "Our mission is to not only raise awareness for the kid’s books that celebrate diversity, but to get more of these of books into classrooms and libraries."  The Multicultural Children’s Book Day team hopes to spread the word and raise awareness about the importance of diversity in children’s literature. Young readers need to see themselves within the pages of a book and experience other cultures, languages, traditions, and religions within the pages of a book. They encourage readers, parents, teachers, caregivers, and librarians to follow along via book reviews, author visits, multicultural booklists, and visit the huge multicultural book review link-up that will occur on the MCCBD website 1/27/15. 

Here are some ways you can join in celebrating Multicultural Children’s Book Day:

• Visit The Multicultural Children’s Book Day website and view booklists, reading resources, and other useful multicultural information.
• Visit Multicultural Books for Kids Pinterest Board for more reading ideas.
• Have children bring in their favorite multicultural book to school on this day and share it with the class.
• Watch for the #ReadYourWorld hashtag on social media and share.
• Visit the Diversity Book Lists and Resources for Educators and Parents on their website.
• Visit MCCBD sponsors (you can find them HERE)
• Create a Multicultural Children’s Book Day display around the classroom or library.
• Visit The Multicultural Children’s Book Day website on January 27th to view and participate in our huge blogger link-up, multicultural book reviews, giveaways, and more!

MCCBD’s 2015 Sponsors include Platinum Sponsors: Wisdom Tales Press, Daybreak Press Global Bookshop, Gold Sponsors:  Satya House,  MulticulturalKids.com,   Author Stephen Hodges and the Magic Poof, Silver Sponsors: Junior Library Guild,  Capstone Publishing, Lee and Low Books,  The Omnibus Publishing. Bronze Sponsors:Double Dutch Dolls, Bliss Group Books, Snuggle with Picture Books Publishing,  Rainbow Books,   Author FeliciaCapers,   Chronicle Books   Muslim Writers Publishing ,East West Discovery Press.

Growing up, one of my favorite Christmas traditions was to read through all of our Christmas books each December.  My parents kept these packed away with our Christmas decorations, so they only came out once a year.  Seeing the stack come out of the box each year sent a little tingle of excitement and anticipation through me.  (I've always been a book lover!)  

To my delight many of these same books have now become part of my children's Christmas memories.  We bring out our stack each year after Thanksgiving, and spend all of December reading through them.  Our stack doesn't just include my old books though.  It has grown to be a large collection of diverse books, and I'd like to share a few of our most recent additions with you! 

Pablo's Christmas is a story of a young boy who lives with his parents and two younger sisters in a small village in Mexico.  His father needs to leave for America to find work in order to provide for them, but promises to be home for Christmas. Young Pablo is left to be the man of the house, taking care of all of the chores his father normally does and helping his mother with extra ones as she is nearing her time to give birth.  When Christmas is days away and Papa still isn't home, Pablo realizes that it's up to him to provide the Christmas gifts for his family members this year.  This sweet story about the love and care of family members for one another will warm your heart with the beautiful ending.

The Road to Santiago follows a family on their journey across Cuba to grandma's house in Santiago on Noche Buena, the night before Christmas.  It's set in the time period just before Castro came into power.  Alfredito and his parents travel to abuela's house each Christmas Eve, but this year when they arrive at the train station they find that the trains aren't running.  Through the kindness of many strangers they experience unforgettable travels that lead them to their family late in the night, where they are surprised to discover their family has been waiting for them before eating the Christmas meal.  This is a wonderful story that celebrates the love of family and the beautiful traditions they create.

Cobweb Christmas is a retelling of the traditional German folktale about how the tradition of tinsel on Christmas trees came to be.  Tante is a very kind old woman, always giving to the people and animals she meets.  Everyone is welcome in her home, except the spiders she continues to sweep out the door.  One Christmas Eve a special visitor invites the spiders into Tante's house in the night, and when she awakens the next morning, her tree is dazzling with beautiful strands of webbing.  This book is a new edition of the story Shirley Climo first wrote in 1986 entitled The Cobweb Christmas.

Babushka is an adaptation of a Russian folk tale about a very orderly old lady who is too busy to go and see the baby who's been born that three kings tell her about.  An angel appears to her in a dream however, and she decides to set off on the journey.  On her way she meets many people who are in need of the items she had brought with her to give as gifts to the baby.  She happily shares what she has, but then arrives at the stable with nothing to give as a present.  The child's mother lovingly assures Babushka that whatever she gave to those in need, she gave to her son as well.  This is a beautiful story of generosity transforming a heart into one filled with love.

The Miracle of the First Poinsettia tells the traditional Mexican tale of why this beautiful native plant has come to be associated with Christmas.  Juanita's family is struggling since her father lost his work this year, and she has nothing to bring as a gift offering to the baby Jesus during Christmas Eve mass. Searching throughout the day, she winds at the church doors at midnight empty-handed. As her family goes in, Juanita sadly holds back.  As she silently walks forward, a stone angel on the wall catches her eye.  She hears the angel speak to her, instructing her to bring a sprig of greens in as her gift.  Unsure but trusting, Juanita does so, and discovers a Christmas miracle!

The Dreidel That Wouldn't Spin: A Toyshop Tale of Hanukkah is the story about a greedy toy shop owner who was presented with the most beautiful dreidel, which he quickly purchased to resell for a high price.  Although this dreidel was exquisitely made, it would not spin for the ungrateful and demanding children whose parents bought it for them. Each time the dreidel was returned to the shop, the shop owner was confused, and worried since Hanukkah was now just days away. When a poor man and his son entered the shop, they were so happy just to enjoy the sights and sounds around them, filling their hearts with warm memories of time spent together.  When the little boy sees the beautiful dreidel, the shop owner allows him to try it.  When it spins for this boy, the message of the peddler who presented it to the toy shop owner finally rings true: "The miracle of Hanukkah cannot be bought!"

...and a Happy New Year is a delightful winter holiday album combining music of Christmas, Hanukkah, and winter, created by award winning children's recording artists Danny Adlerman, Kevin Kammeraad, and Yosi.  This is one of our family's favorite musical CDs of the season!   

Christmas Around the World contains twelve songs from around the globe: from Haiti, Cuba, Barbados, France, Martinique, and the USA.  This is a very fun album that our family really enjoys!  

I'd love to hear what multicultural children's books and music you and your children enjoy during the holidays, especially Hanukkah tales as I'm not as familiar with those!  Let's learn from and share with each other!  Happy reading and happy holidays!

Adoption is a beautiful way to form a family, and I get so excited when I hear of other families coming together and growing in this way!  It's not for the faint of heart; there are lots of extra challenges and things to think about when parenting a child who was born without your DNA, as all children who've been adopted have experienced significant loss, but it is beautiful none the less.

Since November is National Adoption Awareness Month, I wanted to take a moment and share with you some of the adoption-themed books that I recommend:

Gugi Gugi by Chih-Yuen Chen
When a crocodile egg rolls into mother duck's nest one day, she's too busy reading to notice. Although Gugi Gugi looks remarkably different than his siblings, they all grow up and learn to do the things that ducks do.  One day Gugi Gugi is teased by some mean-spirited crocodiles who then try to trick him into betraying his family to feed their duck-hungry bellies.  The trick turns out to be on them in this engaging story about family, loyalty, identity, and belonging.

A Mother for Choco by Keiko Kaska
Choco doesn't have a mother, and so he goes off to search for her.  When his search attempts fail, he begins to cry.  A sweet mother bear hears him and rushes over to see what is the matter.  After Choco recounts his tale, the mother bear lovingly tries to cheer him up.  She then asks him if she could be his mother, which at first Choco thinks is quite absurd because she looks nothing like him.  Upon deciding that this doesn't matter, he goes home with mother bear, only to discover her other children, Ally (an alligator), Hippy (a hippo), and Piggy (a pig), don't look like her either!  He's glad his new mother looks just the way she does!

Horace by Holly Keller
Horace does not look like his parents, and although he is well-loved, he decides one day to go and search for those who look like him.  He finds a family at a park who have leopard-spots like he does, and the children invite him to play.  After a fun day of playing together, the leopard family goes home, and Horace is left missing his parents very much.  Thankfully they find him just then, and together they go home.  At bedtime they talk again about his adoption and how they chose him, and he decides right then to choose them, too. :)

Bringing Asha Home by Uma Krishnaswami
Arun's family is adopting a baby girl from India, where Arun's dad was born.  The wait feels unbearable at times as the year goes by, but Arun and his family find ways to stay connected to Asha while they wait for her to come home.  

Yafi's Family by Linda Pettitt
Now I have not actually read this book yet, so it's a risk for me to recommend it to you; however, it received great reviews from School Library Journal and Booklist, two of the most respected children's book review organizations.  Here is a book that finally acknowledges the loss and sadness that an adopted child experiences.  For that reason in particular, I am including it. 

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
This is the true story of two male penguins who made a life commitment to one another in a New York Zoo. They watched as all the other penguin couples made nests together and had an egg, so they too built a nest together, and found a rock that looked like an egg, but the two penguins looked longingly and confusedly when their "egg" ceased to hatch.  The attentive zoo keepers noticed all of this, and so when a baby penguin was rescued and needed a new set of parents, they brought them to this childless couple, and Tango made their family into three!

Let's Talk about It: Adoption by Fred Rogers
An oldy, but a goody!  In this book, Mr. Rogers gives children the loving assurance that they belong in a family, and helps them to explore their feelings about having been adopted, both the positive and negative feelings.  This is a straight-forward, simple, and very well done book. 

Motherbridge of Love by Xinran
A beautiful poem about the love of a child's birth mother and her forever mother for her.  

There are lots of other adoption-themed books out there, but what other ones would you recommend?  Leave your suggestions in the comments below.

I believe that children need to see real-life examples of every-day people making a positive difference in the world around them.  The following books are filled with stories of people around the world doing just that, through sharing their love of books and reading with others! 

My Librarian is a Camel by Margriet Ruurs
A non-fiction photographic essay of mobile libraries from thirteen countries around the world: Australia, Azerbaijan, Canada, England, Finland, Indonesia, Kenya, Mongolia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Thailand, and Zimbabwe.

Miss Dorothy and Her Book Mobile by Gloria Houston
The true story of a young lady, newly a librarian, who decides to share her love of books with those around her in North Carolina by creating a mobile library since their town did not have a brick-and-mortar one.

That Book Woman by Heather Henson
This fictional tale is based upon the true stories of The Pack Horse Librarians who shared books with the people in the rural towns of the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky in the 1930s.

Biblioburro by Jeannette Winter
A love of books and a tiny house that can't contain them all is the inspiration for one young man to pack his donkeys full of them and travel to rural villages near his home in Colombia, sharing his books with the children as he passes through their village each month. This is the true story of the mobile library of Luis Soriano and his Biblioburro.

Waiting for the Biblioburro by Monica Brown
This is a story of a little girl who loves to read, but with only a few books in her village in the mountains of Colombia, she has long read them again and again.  Imagine her delight when a young man on a donkey comes riding through her village one day, with sacks of books available to borrow!  This is the true story of the mobile library of Luis Soriano.

Jump Into A Book is a wonderful blog that celebrates children's books and how to incorporate them into children's every day lives.  It was created by author Valerie Budayr who is passionate about the importance of multicultural books.  The creator of the first annual Multicultural Children's Book Day, Valerie has decided to extend the excitement and buzz that that created by coming up with an exciting summer reading adventure to take kids and families around the world!  "This summer, not only do we want to keep kids reading, we want to also work to keep the focus on helping them be Global Citizens. We would like to focus on books that will help our kiddos explore their world and keep our initiative of multicultural books for kids in the forefront of people’s minds too. To achieve this, I created the Discover Your World Summer Reading Extravaganza."

I am honored to be a part of this fantastic series, where you can view my guest post, "A Peek Into Thailand."  Please peruse the postings and enjoy discovering great new books with your children that will take you and your family on some last minute adventures around the world before the summer ends!

Last week my daughter was playing with her best friend over here at our house.  My daughter often chooses to wear fun costumes or unusual accessories, and this day she had chosen to wear an old pair of my gardening gloves.  She and her friend were talking and I overheard them talking about finding another pair of gloves so that they could each wear a pair.  (And just to be clear, there was no intention of gardening, or even weed-pulling, on the part of these girls - can you believe it??)  They searched for a minute on their own before I heard the all-too frequent "Mom!" which this time was followed by "Do we have any more gloves?"  Peeling myself away from whatever it was I was doing at the time, I went to our pile of gloves in the garage.  Not finding any gloves that would fit them, I told them that they could share the pair they had.  Both girls gave me a puzzled look, and that's when I remembered one of the books we borrowed from the library a couple of weeks prior. 

I invited the girls to sit down for an informal story time.  The girls sat mesmerized as a new world opened before their eyes, the world of refugee families who had fled Afghanistan to Pakistan.  In this world they met two young girls, like themselves only a couple of years older, who became friends when they noticed each other holding the matching sandal to the one they had each found in the scramble of donated clothes dropped off in their camp that day.  The girls in the story decided that instead of just one of them having the pair, that they would share them by taking turns, each wearing the sandals on alternate days.  "Four feet, two sandals."  Their friendship developed and deepened over the rest of the season as they passed the time (and the sandals) together while doing their daily chores.  In the end of the story, memories of a sweet time of sharing more than just footwear must sustain the girls as they are separated, one bound for America with her grandmother, the other left to wait in hope that her name will one day be on the list, and that the sandals can once again be joined in a pair.

Earlier this week the girls decided to play dolls, and they asked me if I would put Shola's head scarf on (see earlier post to find out more about this beautiful doll who is a young girl from Afghanistan.)  They hadn't played with Shola in months, but after I put the scarf on her head, I reminded them that she is from the same country that the girls in "Four Feet, Two Sandals" are from.  They ran over to the library basket, grabbed the book, and ran upstairs clutching it to their chests.  They came down ten minutes later and this is what I saw:

I overheard them later playing house, still dressed in their head scarves, talking quietly about "the war" and who was left in their family.  A short time later they were off again, their "head scarves" laying wear they had once been sitting, running to fulfill the next whim of their imagination.  I know it's a small thing, but I hope that this type of role playing continues to happen, and that empathy and understanding continues to grow in the hearts of these two young girls as their world continually, although subtly, opens up to the world of others throughout their childhood.

Now that February is over, I'd like to share all of the incredible books that the kids and I read together to celebrate Black History Month!  There are people that question whether there should be a time designated each year to honor and celebrate select groups of minorities in this country, as there is not just one month to honor and celebrate the majority race in this country.  I understand both sides of the argument, but although we've read most of the following books in the past at different times over the years, it was enjoyable to have a month-long focus on reading about important African Americans in our country's history. 

We started our journey back in January, on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  We watched a video of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech on YouTube while simultaneously viewing this book.  I held it above our laptop screen so that we could see both at the same time.  It was powerful.  The illustrations in this book were created by various highly acclaimed Black artists known throughout the children's book industry, each illustrating a section of Dr. King's most famous speech.  This is a beautiful book.

After talking about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and learning more about the civil rights movement, I decided to take us back to the days of slavery in the 1800s, prior to the Civil War.  (Our kids are already familiar with the history of the beginnings of slavery in our country, so I didn't need to go that far back.)  The following six books I did not read in chronological order, but since I wish that I had, that is how I will share them with you.

Night Running is based on a true story of a young boy from Virginia who planned to run away.  He was tired of being a slave, and longed to be free.  For fear of him making too much noise, his faithful companion Zeus would have to be left behind, but the dog would have none of that.  Throughout the escape, Zeus proved himself useful again and again.  In the end the two escaped together, making it across the Ohio River to live a free life.  The year was 1938.  Details about James Smith's life are included in the back of the book.

Growing up on a plantation, regularly observing (and eventually receiving) the cruelty doled out to those all around him, Frederick Douglass always wondered why things were as they were.  With a fierce determination and a spirit that would not break, he endured the hardship of slavery day in and day out.  While recovering from an intense beating at the age of 17, Frederick vowed never to have the slave mentality again.  He defended himself from then on, and eventually escaped to the North in 1938 at the age of 21.

This is a touching story of a grandmother sharing about her life growing up as a slave along with her brother, their role in the Underground Railroad, and how they eventually, yet separately, became free.  Although a piece of realistic fiction, this book is a wonderful way to introduce the Underground Railroad to elementary-aged children, especially with the informative author's note in the back explaining what it was and what the patterns meant on the Freedom Quilts. 

Harriet Tubman was a remarkably brave woman, and this is the fictionalized account of her spiritual journey to lead her people to freedom (just as Moses led the Israelites.)  As a woman of faith myself, I found it to be an incredibly moving and inspiring story to share with our children.  It is gorgeously illustrated by Kadir Nelson and includes information in the back about Harriet's life.

A triumphant story of bravery, this book is based on the real life account of Robert Small's escape to freedom by steering a Confederate ship into Union hands.  The length of this book would have me recommend it for upper elementary students, yet our six year old remained attentive.  The back of the book contains information about Robert's life from his escape through his death. 

Out of all of the books we read about slavery, this is the book that had the greatest impact on us.  Powerfully written in free-form verse, it tells the fictional story of a boy and his family and their never-ending hope despite their hardships.  It's also a quiet tribute to Abraham Lincoln and the life-altering changes he made in this country.

Our journey continued with the following books:

There are so many more great books we could have read and want to read, and I will be putting them up slowly on my database as the year goes on!  Happy Reading! 

How much of a difference does it make when you hear both sides of a story?  What impact does that have on your perception of the event?  It can be huge, right?  It can change your opinion of what is right and what is wrong.  It can modify your reaction.  It can alter your response.  

When I became an official blogger for Multicultural Children’s Book Day: Celebrating Diversity in Children's Literature, the thing I was most excited about (besides helping to promote great multicultural books of course!) was being matched with one of the sponsors to review a book.  I found out that I was being connected with Wisdom Tales Press, and I couldn’t wait to see which book I’d be receiving from them!  
 
Well, my package arrived last week.  I tore into it and this was the book inside:

I have to tell you, I was not a history buff during my school-aged years.  I did not find history very interesting nor important (other than the fact that I'd be tested on it, in which case my type A personality required me to pay attention so that I'd do well on the test!)  Now that I am formally educating our children at home though, I find history fascinating!  I am finally able to put all these fragments of historical accounts into a unified global story.  It's amazing! 

I am always looking for good books that will give us the "other" side of the story in our study of history.  As you know, too often in our American and World history books the accounts are written from a White man or person's point of view.  I want our children to hear the side of women, of religious minorities, and of racial minorities.  I want them to understand the side of the oppressor and the oppressed.  I want them to know that our world and what happens in it is not black and white, cut and dry, but is complex and interconnected.  I don't want them wondering where the people of color are, nor do I want them to see all people of color as either "barbarians" or "savages" as American Indians are too often portrayed in history, or as helpless victims as African Americans are too often portrayed in historical accounts.  I want them to hear the voices of all involved, as often as we can. 

So, Custer's Last Battle: Red Hawk's Account of the Battle of the Little Bighorn came to me as a gift.  The battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer’s Last Stand, was a battle between the Cheyenne and Lakota (or Sioux) tribes and General George Custer and his soldiers along the banks of the Little Bighorn River in Eastern Montana during the American Civil War.  It was a great victory for the Cheyenne and Sioux, but a victory that would unfortunately prove to be the last in their struggle to maintain their freedom and way of life.  In this book, Paul Goble retells the events through a fictionalized character named Red Hawk, a fifteen year old Oglala Sioux.  Goble has taken great care in writing this story so that it reflects the stories that he's read from the accounts told by numerous Native Americans.  The authenticity of this story is solidified by the forward in the book, written by Joe Medicine Crow, whose grandfather was one of Custer's Crow scouts.  At 98 years of age, he has met and talked with many of the survivors of this great battle.  The book also includes a map, a detailed forward, and a resource list in the back for further reading. 

This was a very good book - well written and illustrated in great detail.  It is also an important book, for it tells the "other" side of the story like I want my children, and all children, to know.  Thank you, Wisdom Tales Press! 

For more information on Multicultural Children's Book Day which is on January 27th, please click on the link.  There you will find dozens of book reviews on other great multicultural children's books!  MCCBD is being sponsored by Wisdom Tales Press as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, but also by Lee & Low Books, Chronicle Books, and Susan Daniel Fayad, author of My Grandfather's Masbaha. 

If you'd like to know more about why and how to teach the perspective of the native people of this country, a teaching resource that I highly recommend for ALL teachers and parents is Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years, edited by Bill Bigelow and Bob Peterson.

"Why rethink Christopher Columbus? Because the Columbus myth is a foundation of children's beliefs about society. Columbus is often a child's first lesson about encounters between different cultures and races. The murky legend of a brave adventurer tells children whose version of history to accept, and whose to ignore." - summary of the book off of the Rethinking Schools website.

Piggy-backing off of the Columbus theme for a moment, a great book to help children understand the difference between embracing newness or embracing fear of the unknown is Milo and Mysterious Island by Marcus Pfister.  This book starts out with Milo and some of his friends going off to explore a nearby island.  The book then splits into two horizontally, so that you can read what happens when Milo and his fellow explorers are open to learning about a new group of mice, and what happens when they follow their fears.  A very powerful book that leads to great discussions!

To extend the learning about Custer's Last Stand, check out this series of short podcasts by The Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument: http://www.nps.gov/libi/photosmultimedia/multimedia.htm.  To round out this topic even further, two books that I'd recommend, both written by Joseph Bruchac and published by Lee & Low are:

So starting on this first annual Multicultural Children's Book Day, let's commit to making the conscious effort to seek out and share books that help us and our students understand ourselves, our neighbors, and our history more completely! 

Disclosure: I received Custer's Last Stand from Wisdom Tales Press for the purposes of a review.  The opinions are entirely my own. 

Race is not an easy thing to talk about with children.  Or with anyone, really. 

What is race? 

Here is the definition according to Merriam-Webster:
Definition of RACE

1 :  a breeding stock of animals 

2 a :  a family, tribe, people, or nation belonging to the same stock 
b :  a class or kind of people unified by shared interests, habits, or characteristics 
 
3 a :  an actually or potentially interbreeding group within a species;
also  :  a taxonomic category (as a subspecies) representing such a group 
b :  breed 
c :  a category of humankind that shares certain distinctive physical traits 
 
4 obsolete :  inherited temperament or disposition 

5 :  distinctive flavor, taste, or strength

(Personally I think my favorite is #5!  I'm picturing it describing all the different ethnic groups of people and it's niiice! - You have to read it and say it with some flair in order to understand what I mean!)

Beverly Daniel Tatum, Ph.D, in her book, "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?," And Other Conversations About Race, states that "race is a social construction.  Despite myths to the contrary, biologists tell us that the only meaningful racial categorization is that of human. Van den Berghe defines race as, "a group that is socially defined but on the basis of physical criteria," including skin color and facial features." (For more information, see the notes and bibliography in Tatum's book.  Or ask me, and I'll share the references with you!)

We began talking about race in our family when our now nine year old son was three.  He was keenly aware at this young age that his skin color was different than ours, and he was uncomfortable with this.  We frequently told him his adoption story and explained how his birth parents had brown skin which is why he has brown skin.  Around this time is when I began reading Tatum's book, mentioned above (and pictured below.)

In it Tatum relates a story about a conversation she had with one of her sons.  Her son came home from preschool one day and said, "Eddie says my skin is brown because I drink too much chocolate milk.  Is that true?"  Tatum answered, "No, your skin is brown because you have something in your skin called melanin.  Melanin is very important because it helps protect your skin from the sun.  Eddie has melanin in his skin, too.  Remember when Eddie went to Florida on vacation and came back showing everybody his tan?  It was the melanin in his skin that made it get darker.  Everybody has melanin, you know.  But some people have more of it than others.  At your school, you are the kid with the most!" I loved that!  I explained to our son about melanin, and it seemed to help him understand more about skin color. 

Once you start talking about skin color, a conversation about race is sure to follow soon, as it did in our case.  A White person's skin is not actually white, it's a shade of peach or beige.  A Black person's skin is not actually black, it's a shade of brown.  Tatum does what I think is a superb job talking to her preschool aged son about this, which then unexpectedly led her to an (excellent, in my opinion) age-appropriate explanation of slavery.  In it she not only gives her son a brief history of slavery in our country, but also touches on Black and White resistance, so as not to portray all Blacks as victims nor all Whites as victimizers.  (So important!  This was the first time I had ever thought about that.) This idea can then be applied when talking to your children and/or students about any race relations. 

I could go on and on about the greatness and importance of this book!  Tatum talks about racial identity formation in the early childhood years, through adolescence, and into adulthood.  She addresses "Understanding Blackness in a White Context" as well as "Understanding Whiteness in a White Context."  She also discusses "Critical Issues in Latino, American Indian, and Asian Pacific American Identity Development" and "Identity Development in Multiracial Families," including in adoptive families.  This is a book that would benefit all parents and teachers to read - I highly recommend it!

Now, going back to the skin color conversations, there is a beautiful book entitled "Tan to Tamarind: poems about the color brown." In it Malathi Michelle Iyengar and Jamel Akib not only portray the beauty of the various tones of the color brown, but also the beauty of being a child, a person, of that color.  I just love the last poem and want to share an excerpt with you to give you a taste of what lies within the book:

Brown.
My face.
Milk-tea brown....

Brown.
Your face.
Sienna brown
or coca brown,
café con leche brown or
radiant ocher brown.

Our hands, our fingers.
Cinnamon brown
or rich coffee brown,
sandalwood brown or
rosy adobe brown....

We are brown.  We are beautiful.

Another book I recommend along these lines is "Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea" by Joyce Carol Thomas.




With either of these books, you could have your elementary aged children write a poem about themselves modeled after or inspired by one of the poems.  That's what I had our son and I do when we read them this past fall.  I was surprised (and so happy) with how much effort our son put into his, and how beautifully it turned out.  (I wanted our daughter to draw a picture of herself in response to listening to the poems, but she was being her strong willed self at the moment and I decided not to push it.  She played with Legos on the floor instead.)

"Skin Again" by Bell Hooks is another great book to open up or further a discussion on skin color and race!  It rhythmically illustrates how the skin we are in only tells a small piece about who we are.  It's what is underneath our skin that truly matters, who we are in our hearts and in our minds, celebrating the stories of who we each are.  "The skin I'm in is just a covering. It cannot tell my story. The skin I'm in is just a covering. If you want to know who I am, you have got to come inside and open your heart way wide." 

And now if you are still hanging with me, I've saved the best for last! This is a phenomenal must-read book!  It received a star review from School Library Journal, and instead of creating my own summary, I'm just going to use theirs as I couldn't have said it better!: 
    "This stunning picture book introduces race as just one of many chapters in a person's story.  Beginning with the line, "I am a story," Lester tells his own story with details that kids will enjoy, like his favorite food, hobbies, and time of day. Then he states, "Oh. There's something else that is part of my story…I'm black." Throughout the narrative, he asks questions that young readers can answer, creating a dialogue about who they are and encouraging them to tell their own tales. He also discusses "stories" that are not always true, pointing out that we create prejudice by perceiving ourselves as better than others. He asks children to press their fingers against their faces, pointing out, "Beneath everyone's skin are the same hard bones." Remove our skin and we would all look the same.  Lester's engaging tone is just right and his words are particularly effective, maintaining readers' interest and keeping them from becoming defensive. The pairing of text and dazzling artwork is flawless. The paintings blend with the words and extend them, transporting readers away from a mundane viewpoint and allowing them to appreciate a common spiritual identity. This wonderful book should be a first choice for all collections and is strongly recommended as a springboard for discussions about differences." - Mary Hazelton, Warren Community School and Miller Elementary School, ME

Race is not an easy subject to talk about, but one that is important to talk about none the less.  I believe we should talk about it early on with our children, so that it feels natural to them, unlike how it feels to most of us.  I can attest that it's getting easier the more we do it, and I'm so grateful that there are wonderful picture books out there to guide our family discussions, as well as great books out there like Beverley Tatum's to inform us and give more context and shape to the discussions we'll have with our kids.  Please share in the comment section what books you've used in your family and/or classroom, and let's get started (or continue) talking about race!