Multicultural Children’s Book Day is in its 7th 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 book into the hands of young readers and educators.
Seven years in, MCBD’s mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves continues.
~ BOOK REVIEW for TimTimTom's
bilingual personalized book ~
****(4) out of 5 Stars
SUMMARY:
TimTimTom publishes bilingual, personalized books, which can be customized for the child in your life. You just go to their website, where you first choose from one of three stories; I picked the soccer story (because my grandson is a fùtbol fanatic):
La Victoria de Lucas / Lucas Saves the Match
Then you choose two of the ten languages available, in any combination. Next, you enter the name of the child. And then you create the avatar image that will be used for that character in the book. You can pick male or female; then from three different skin tones, four eye colors, and eight hairstyles. You can even write a personal message that will be printed on the first page. My finished product looked like this:
REVIEW:
The finished product was delightful!
It included cute little details like soccer motif designs on the inside cover pages.
The story itself was simple and straight forward, with about 30 pages of text, English on one side and Spanish on the other. The English was a more proper version than we are used to in the USA, utilizing primarily British spelling. For example: practise (as shown below) instead of practice. Likewise, my husband (a native Spanish speaker from South America) said that the Spanish was a more formal Spanish than he is familiar with, using verbiage mostly used in Spain rather than Latin America. I doubt, however, than any child would really notice these things.
Our grandson, for one, was absolutely delighted to read a story staring himself! I can't imagine many children who wouldn't enjoy such an adventure.
I also really appreciated the diversity of the peripheral NPC players in the story.
And the basic dual language presentation of the tale.
Definitely a book experience that I would recommend for the special young child(ren) in your life!
(I was gifted a free personalized copy of a TimTimTom book to review for MCBD2020,
and have willingly provided an honest review.)
~ BOOK REVIEW for Omar, el jaguar ~
***(3) out of 5 Stars
Omar, el jaguar
by Andrea Olatunji
SUMMARY:
Un libro que celebra la diversidad, esta es la historia de Omar, un jaguar solitario que quiere hacer amigos. Se encuentra con otros animales que le invitan a jugar, pero se niega porque estos no se parecen a él. Más tarde, sin embargo, cambia de opinión al darse cuenta de que tienen más en común de lo que pensaba. Esta es una historia bellamente ilustrada que nos enseña a celebrar la diversidad mientras permite que los niños aprendan y practiquen el español.
This is the story of Omar, a lonely jaguar that wants to make friends. He encounters other animals that invite him to play but he refuses because these don’t look like him. Later on, however, he changes his mind as realizes that they have more in common than he thought. This is a beautifully illustrated story that teaches us about celebrating diversity while enabling children to learn and practice Spanish.
This is the story of Omar, a lonely jaguar that wants to make friends. He encounters other animals that invite him to play but he refuses because these don’t look like him. Later on, however, he changes his mind as realizes that they have more in common than he thought. This is a beautifully illustrated story that teaches us about celebrating diversity while enabling children to learn and practice Spanish.
REVIEW:
Full disclosure: I do not speak or read Spanish, but it is my husband's native language.
I had him read the story to me in Spanish, and then translate it into English.
This is the first book published by this author, which was a little apparent. There just wasn't much actualy story to the tale, even given that it is a children's book. It starts off with Omar lamenting the fact that he doesn't have anyone to play with. But then he turns down the invitation to do so from three other jungle dwellers. Later, he suddenly has an epiphany and starts lecturing everyone about the need to work together and save their habitat. It just felt like a big portion of the story was left out; like there should have been more substance. Something such as Omar apologizing for being a jerk, him actually playing with the other animals, then an occurence that caused his sudden change of focus and call for activism.
The artwork was very simplistic, but bright and fun.
The Spanish used was typical conversational language. It would be easy reading for many children who speak the language, and good learning or practice for those who don't. Even I was able to pick out a few words that I know, and yo hablo muy poco español.
There was a note in the back with some interesting additional information about jaguars.
The overall themes of diversity, friendship, teamwork, and conservation were good ones.
Certainly a book that I would be happy to share with any Spanish-speaking or learning children that I know.
(I was gifted a free eBook copy of this title to review for MCBD2020,
and have willingly provided an honest review.)
Andrea Olatunji developed a passion for languages and cultures early on in her career. A native of Uruguay, she has taught ESL and Spanish for more than twenty years. She holds a master’s degree in teaching with a Spanish concentration. Additionally, she is certified as an online tutor from the OAS (Organization of American States) and holds a teaching license from the state of Virginia.
If you'd like to know more about the author and how her book came to be,
MCBD 2020 is honored to have the following Medallion Sponsors on board
Super Platinum
Platinum
Gold
Audrey Press, Lerner Publishing Group, KidLit TV, ABDO BOOKS: A Family of Educational Publishers, PragmaticMom & Sumo Jo, Candlewick Press,
Silver
Author Charlotte Riggle, Capstone Publishing, Guba Publishing, Melissa Munro Boyd & B is for Breathe,
Bronze
Author Carole P. Roman, Snowflake Stories/Jill Barletti, Vivian Kirkfield & Making Their Voices Heard. Barnes Brothers Books, TimTimTom, Wisdom Tales Press, Lee & Low Books, Charlesbridge Publishing, Barefoot Books Talegari Tales
Author Sponsor
Jerry Craft, A.R. Bey and Adventures in Boogieland, Eugina Chu & Brandon goes to Beijing, Kenneth Braswell & Fathers Incorporated, Maritza M. Mejia & Luz del mes_Mejia, Kathleen Burkinshaw & The Last Cherry Blossom, SISSY GOES TINY by Rebecca Flansburg and B.A. Norrgard, Josh Funk and HOW TO CODE A ROLLERCOASTER, Maya/Neel Adventures with Culture Groove, Lauren Ranalli, The Little Green Monster: Cancer Magic! By Dr. Sharon Chappell, Phe Lang and Me On The Page, Afsaneh Moradian and Jamie is Jamie, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, TUMBLE CREEK PRESS, Nancy Tupper Ling, Author Gwen Jackson, Angeliki Pedersen & The Secrets Hidden Beneath the Palm Tree, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, BEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN’S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 by Mia Wenjen, Susan Schaefer Bernardo & Illustrator Courtenay Fletcher (Founders of Inner Flower Child Books), Ann Morris & Do It Again!/¡Otra Vez!, Janet Balletta and Mermaids on a Mission to Save the Ocean, Evelyn Sanchez-Toledo & Bruna Bailando por el Mundo\ Dancing Around the World, Shoumi Sen & From The Toddler Diaries, Sarah Jamila Stevenson, Tonya Duncan and the Sophie Washington Book Series, Teresa Robeson & The Queen of Physics, Nadishka Aloysius and Roo The Little Red TukTuk, Girlfriends Book Club Baltimore & Stories by the Girlfriends Book Club, Finding My Way Books, Diana Huang & Intrepids, Five Enchanted Mermaids, Elizabeth Godley and Ribbon’s Traveling Castle, Anna Olswanger and Greenhorn, Danielle Wallace & My Big Brother Troy, Jocelyn Francisco and Little Yellow Jeepney, Mariana Llanos & Kutu, the Tiny Inca Princess/La Ñusta Diminuta, Sara Arnold & The Big Buna Bash, Roddie Simmons & Race 2 Rio, DuEwa Frazier & Alice’s Musical Debut, Veronica Appleton & the Journey to Appleville book series Green Kids Club, Inc.
We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.
Co-Hosts and Global Co-Hosts
A Crafty Arab, Afsaneh Moradian, Agatha Rodi Books, All Done Monkey, Barefoot Mommy, Bethany Edward & Biracial Bookworms, Michelle Goetzl & Books My Kids Read, Crafty Moms Share, Colours of Us, Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes, Educators Spin on it, Shauna Hibbitts-creator of eNannylink, Growing Book by Book, Here Wee Read, Joel Leonidas & Descendant of Poseidon Reads {Philippines}, Imagination Soup, Kid World Citizen, Kristi’s Book Nook, The Logonauts, Mama Smiles, Miss Panda Chinese, Multicultural Kid Blogs, Serge Smagarinsky {Australia}, Shoumi Sen, Jennifer Brunk & Spanish Playground, Katie Meadows and Youth Lit Reviews
FREE RESOURCES from Multicultural Children’s Book Day
- Free Multicultural Books for Teachers
- Our New FREE Teacher Classroom Physical and Developmental Challenges Kit http://ow.ly/kcbZ30p3QWz
- Free Empathy Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians, and Educators
- Free Understanding Developmental & Physical Challenges Classroom Kit
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