Multicultural Children's Book Day: Learning About Jamaica
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I am thrilled to announce that I was selected to be a Multicultural Children's Book Day reviewer. This fantastic event takes place January 27, 2016. I heard about this opportunity through my friends over at iHomeschool Network. I jumped at the chance to participate in such a worthy cause.
After I applied for this opportunity, I realized that I rarely include multicultural learning into our homeschool. Quite dismayed with this new found realization, I have already added Multicultural Studies and World Geography to our list of subject areas to study next year!
For a better understanding of Multicultural Children's Book Day, read their mission statement listed here:
The MCCBD team’s mission to spread the word and raise awareness about the importance of diversity in children’s literature. Our 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. We encourage readers, parents, teachers, caregivers and librarians to follow along the fun book reviews, author visits, event details, a multicultural children’s book linky and via our hashtag (#ReadYourWorld) on Twitter and other social media.
The co-creators of this unique event are Mia Wenjen from Pragmatic Mom and Valarie Budayr from Jump Into a Book/Audrey Press. You can find a bio for Mia and Valarie here.
Multicultural Children’s Book day 2016 Medallion Level Sponsors! #ReadYourWorld
Platinum: Wisdom Tales Press * StoryQuest Books*Lil Libros
Gold: Author Tori Nighthawk*Candlewick Press,* Bharat Babies
Silver: Lee and Low Books*Chronicle Books*Capstone Young Readers T
Tuttle Publishing ,NY Media Works, LLC/KidLit TV
Bronze: Pomelo Books* Author Jacqueline Woodson*Papa Lemon Books* Goosebottom Books*Author Gleeson Rebello*ShoutMouse Press*Author Mahvash Shahegh* China Institute.org*Live Oak Media
My boys and I had the privilege to read and review two books from a talented author and storyteller, Gerald Hausman. Please make sure to check out his site. His award-winning works cover topics on Native American, Mythology, and West Indian cultures.
Three Little Birds is adapted from the song by Bob Marley. ("Don't worry....") This adorable board book is filled with vibrant, eye-catching illustrations that compliment the text well. Hausman wrote this book with Bob Marley's daughter, Cedella Marley.
The Jacob Ladder is a true story about a boy growing up in Jamaica. Hausman wrote this book with Uton Hinds. I would place this book in the preteen to teen level of reading. My two older boys enjoyed this story very much, relating to the young boy and his plights.
Both books for our review are based in Jamaica. I used this chance to learn along with my boys more about this island nation. We pulled out our world atlas to explore and find out more.
Smiley completed a coloring page of the flag of Jamaica found on Crayola.
The boys also did web searches (Wikipedia) to discover more facts about Jamaica. I created a printable to use for recording these facts. (Scroll down for your instant download!)
To gain a better understanding of the various types of music that have emerged from Jamaica, we listened to songs by Jamaican artists. Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds" was voted everyone's favorite.
To top off our Jamaican Homeschool Day, we prepared a Jamaican dish. The boys chose Rice & Peas. I was leery of what it might taste like, but was pleasantly surprised by both the aroma and taste. Our entire family enjoyed the dish (a rarity in this home filled with picky eaters!). We were left with only a few grains of rice when dinner was done.
I highly encourage you to check out Gerald Hausman's books, especially Three Little Birds and The Jacob Ladder. Use this reading opportunity to learn more about Jamaican culture as well. I created this printable that I hope enhances your learning about this island nation. (click on image below to download)
[bctt tweet="Multicultural Children's Book Day: Learning About Jamaica Using Three Little Birds & The Jacob Ladder #ReadYourWorld"]
Have you studied Jamaica in your class or homeschool? Read these books? I'd love to hear about your learning fun with Jamaica!