Join me on Facebook as I share book recommendations, insights on reading with your kids, and more!
Mama-Lady Books
  • Home
  • Multicultural Books
    • Barefoot Books
    • Spanish Language Books
    • Other Multicultural Books
  • School Book Fairs
  • Other Events
    • Fundraisers
    • New Teacher Showers
  • Professional Development
  • Building an Anti-Bias Library
  • Blog: Parenting & Teaching Multiculturally
  • Schedule
  • Contact
  • About

A Monsoon Afternoon

1/24/2015

6 Comments

 
Picture
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.


Picture
6 Comments
Valarie Budayr link
1/27/2015 03:46:15 am

Hello Stephanie,
Thank you so much for this lovely review. I really want to read this book and your activities are splendid. It completely lets one experience this book. Thank you for celebrating Multicultural Children's Book Day with us !!!

Reply
Mama-Lady Books link
1/27/2015 05:58:26 am

Thank you, Valarie!

Reply
Roshni link
1/27/2015 08:20:59 am

Happy Multicultural Children’s Book Day! How lovely to read about this book! Makes me nostalgic and I'll definitely buy it for my sons!

Reply
Mama-Lady Books link
1/28/2015 11:29:41 am

Roshni, happy Multicultural Children's Book Day to you, too! I'm so glad that this book will help you share more of India with your sons!

Reply
Patricia Tilton link
1/27/2015 09:10:41 am

Am delighted to find such a beautiful story like this. We adopted a boy from India many years ago and he talked about the monsoons. I'm always looking for new books to add to my collection. Great review.

Reply
Mama-Lady Books link
1/28/2015 11:37:12 am

Thank you, Patricia! I'm so glad that you found this book to share with your son and add to your collection. As a fellow adoptive mom, I know what a treasure it is to find books about your child's birth culture! If you click on my homepage, then click on the link entitled "recommended books from around the globe", you can then click on "Asia" and then on "India" and find a list of all the books that I've found so far that I recommend that are set in or have characters from India. And if there are any books that you would recommend that are not on my list, please let me know so that I can review them! I love finding more great books to add!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Stephanie Kammeraad,
    a.k.a. 
    "Mama-Lady"

    I'm a homeschooling mama of two inquisitive kiddos, ages 13 and 10, and the wife of one creative husband, age 42.  I have a background in Special Education, I love to read, write, teach, cook, and travel with my family, exploring this beautiful world God gave us, and I love sharing great stories with children and the adults who care for them!

    Our family was formed through international adoption, so we are intentional about parenting (and teaching) multiculturally.  I'm excited to share what resources we've found so far that help us do this the best we can!

    Archives

    March 2017
    January 2017
    July 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    July 2013

    Categories

    All
    Artist Spotlight
    Arts And Entertainment
    Books
    Toys

    RSS Feed


    I'd sure love it if you LIKED my page!
    (To stay up to date with multicultural book reviews, tips about reading, information about diversity in children's books, sales on select books, resources for your classroom, etc.)

    Mama-Lady Books

    To order any books you read about on this blog, you can click on the link below to go to my affiliate site.  You can feel good knowing that you'll not only be supporting me (a work-at-home mom!) as I receive a small percentage of the sales, but also a really great independent Michigan bookstore, Schuler Books.
    Schulerbooks.com
    Picture
    Picture
    When I first started Mama-Lady Books, I only sold Barefoot Books.  Once I 
     decided to focus on my passion for multicultural children's books, I expanded to include
    books from other publishing companies as well.  But Barefoot Books remains
    close to my heart as it's an outstanding company that creates beautiful and
    meaningful books for children ages birth to age twelve!  Although my focus
    is on the multicultural books that Barefoot publishes, I greatly enjoy the
    others as well.  So do our kids!  If you would like to be a part of this book-loving, book-promoting,
    book-selling community, please contact me for details!  I love what I do,
    and I'd be honored to have you on my team!
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.