January 27, 2015
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.
Children’s reading and play advocates Valarie Budayr from Jump Into a Book and Mia Wenjen from Pragmatic Mom teamed up in late 2013 to create an ambitious (and much needed) national event. This dynamic duo is hosting yet another Multicultural Children’s Book Day as a way of celebrating diversity in children’s books.
Once again, we have joined the campaign to advocate multiculturalism and diversity in children's literature. We had the wonderful opportunity to review, The Dragon New Year, a Chinese New Year story. Please be sure to visit the host, cohosts, and sponsor websites to find even more exceptional and diverse books for all ages.
Author: David Bouchard
Illustrator: Zhong-Yang Huang
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers, September 1, 1999
Age: 6 and up
Topic: Character, Values, Holidays: Chinese New Years, Dragons, Legends
Opening: "Please do not leave me alone, grandmother! I cannon sleep!" the small girl cried softly from her bed. "The fireworks are so brights. And grandmother, why are people making all that noise?"
Book Summary:
When a mother loses her son to the dragon New Year, she and the great Buddha decide to make sure that the dragon never returns to the village again.
Resources:
There is an author's note at the back of the book that talks a bit about Buddha, dragons and the Chinese New Year traditions.
This link has ten craft activities including a dragon dance video, dragon mask, Chinese coloring pages and more.
Why I Like This Book:
This is the story of how the festive celebration of the Chinese New Year began. Well, it is one version of how the loud, colorful celebration began. The author says it is a legend but it is really a made up story using elements of Chinese folklore and holiday traditions.
This story is told in the voice of a grandmother, lovingly comforting her young granddaughter who is frightened by all the noise and bright lights of festivities on her street. So how did the celebration begin? Long ago......New Year is a sea dragon that comes out at the beginning of the new year and feeds on the villages nearby the sea. One day, a mother witnesses the dragon devour her only son while out on the stormy sea. In her grief, she stays behind in the village as the other villagers prepare to leave their homes until the dragon returns to sea. All alone, a monk stops by and asks her for help. She helps the man then questions why he is there. The monk, who turns out to be Buddha, has a plan to get rid of the sea dragon for good. It's a crazy idea but the grieving mother goes along with the plan as she wants her village to live in peace again.
The paintings are absolutely gorgeous. They lend an elegant portrait to the story told. The paintings are bright, detailed and large. The story is a bit lengthy but the illustrations are what hold your attention.
This is definitely for an older child, the paintings portray a very scary dragon in a few of the illustration. Young children may be frightened by it.
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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.
Don't forget our hashtag for this event is #ReadYourWorld
We are hosting a Twitter party! Join us for Multicultural Children's Book Day Twitter Party onJan 27th 9:00pm EST. Use hashtag: #ReadYourWorld to win 10 book packages. Use this info to share with your readers and to tweet it out!
If you have not done so, check out the MCCBD blog! Thanks to support from the Children's Book Council we are posting author interviews like crazy and are thrilled with the response. You can find the MCCBD blog here: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/blog/
Platinum Sponsor Wisdom Tales Press is hosting a book giveaway on their website that anyone can enter. Winner will receive 6 Wisdom Tales Books of their choice. Here's a tweet: Book #giveaway at Wisdom Tales Press! Winner will receive 6 Wisdom Tales Books of their choice. #ReadYourWorld http://ow.ly/Hr0MC
3 comments:
Thanks so much for your great review and for joining us for Multicultural Children's Book Day. Your guidace for age appropriateness is most appreciated!
Thanks for a wonderful review and for celebrating Multicultural Children's Book Day with us.
I love this book too! Thanks for yuor great review - i've linked to it on my Chinese New Year post!
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