Teaching Cultural Compassion
We're excited you want to learn about Cultural Compassion! Read below for the latest recommendations, but be sure to check out our book search (which now includes over 2,500 titles) and our archived by topic blog entries. Happy reading!
A Vote is a Powerful Thing
It's that time - time for adults to make our voices heard. It's never too early to start talking to your kids about how the leadership of our country and communities are chosen - and take them with you to the polls! Here are a few books about just that. Also, please check to make sure you are registered to vote in your community. You can click this link to make sure you are and to confirm where you will go to vote!
A new classic, Your Voice, Your Vote by Leah Henderson and Keisha Morris is a great tale of a kid getting to go to the polls with her adults! Quetta is excited to go - until it starts raining. Grandma remembers a time when voting wasn't so easy, though, and reminds Quetta about the history of why it's important that they stay in line. There's a twist near the end I won't ruin, but don't worry, Quetta will save the day!
New eariler this year is a board book alphabet primer called V is for Voting by Kate Farrell and Caitlin Kuhwald. With diverse people represented, a bit of history, and a general message of active civic engagement, even the smallest future voters will understand.
Leo's First Vote! by Christina Soontornvat and Isael Roxas is the newest of these selections. Leo's father has just become a citizen! He's very excited to go vote with his dad - but he nor his dad realize how many steps there are to doing so. Readers work through the process with Leo and his dad - learning how to register, listening to candidates and others discuss the election, waiting in line and... will they make it in time?
Not so new - but newly in paperback - is A Vote is a Powerful Thing by Catherine Stier and Courtney Dawson about how voting works as shown through a classroom vote about where to go for a field trip! Callie has heard about the upcoming presidential election and learns through the class vote how very important each vote is - no matter the topic.
Check out these and more books by and about Civic Engagement at TCC's list on Bookshop.org.
Just a reminder that any books purchased through the links above will give a small commission back to the work of Teaching Cultural Compassion.
Olympian Reading!
Have you been watching the Olympics? Will you watch the Paralympics? Be sure to check out these books by Olympians and Paralympians!
Naomi Osaka is known for winning her first US Open at 20 years old, but she's still playing and just represented Japan in the Paris Olympics! The Way Champs Play is her first picture book. With female-empowering illustrations by the talented Kamala Nair, Naomi reminds kids (and their adults) that being fair and being a good teammate is what being a champion is all about!
Lebron James has now written two picture books and a middle grade novel! Besides helping the US Men's basketball team to another gold medal game, Lebron is also a dedicated father. That clearly comes through his picture books I Am More Than and I Promise. Both illustrated by Niña Mata, they remind kids of their own worth and that they are in charge of how they act and react to others. Great for affirmations with preschool and early elementary age kids!
From My Head To My Toes is Olympic Gold Medal Gymnast Aly Raisman's first picture book! After her bad experiences with the adults in charge of USA Gymnastics, she wants to make sure that all kids know that they can set boundaries around their bodies--and feel good about their bodies. In illustrations featuring Aly and her adorable dog, Bea Jackson's art helps show kids of all kinds that this lesson is for them.
There are two new autobiographies to tell you about as well:
The Mermaid with No Tail is the semi-autobiographical--the storyline is true, even if the characters are fantastical--story of Paralympic Gold Medal Swimmer Jessica Long. From her birth with clear disability to her adoption by loving parents and her drive to never give up, you'll get her story through the colorful, imaginative illustrations by Airin O'Callaghan and Jessica's own words.
Wings of an Eagle is the story of how Billy Mills went from the Oglala Lakota land, South Dakota winters to a Gold Medal in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Working and running through being orphaned, living with Jim Crow discriminations at home, and a mysterious health issue, Billy tells his own story. Readers learn how he was able to dig deep and find ways to heal through the illustrations by S. D. Nelson (for whom Billy was a childhood hero).
Just a reminder that any books purchased through the links above will give a small commission back to the work of Teaching Cultural Compassion.
Teacher Appreciation!
It's Teacher Appreciation Week! As much as I believe ALL weeks should include appreciating teachers, I'm glad someone decided to draw attention to our awesome educators. Four books are featured here, but check out the link at the bottom for a few more!
A Teacher Like You by Frank Murphy, Barbara Dan, & Kayla Harren is a love letter to teachers of all kinds. Fun to read with kids who will see themselves and their teacher somewhere in the wonderful illustrations. Also makes a great "thank you" gift at the end of a great year!
The effect a great teacher can have is investigated in The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. Sometimes you just have to make your mark and see what happens. This brave teacher shows Vashti how being brave enough to try something new can open a whole new world!
Lila Greer, Teacher of the Year is the latest installment of the Questioneer books by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts. In this edition, we get to learn more about the Questioneers' teacher and how she became so wonderful - a great teacher in her past! Also available en Español.
As an opposite, Mr. S: A First Day of School Book by Monica Arnaldo is about how things can go hilariously sideways when a teacher isn't present in the classroom.... or is he? Is the sandwich on the desk their new teacher, Mr. S? What lessons can they learn from the sandwich Mr. S?
Check out these and more books about great teachers at TCC's list on Bookshop.org.
Just a reminder that any books purchased through the links above will give a small commission back to the work of Teaching Cultural Compassion.
Reading about Reading
March is National Reading Month in the US. To celebrate, I thought I'd suggest some favorite books about books! Whether a biography of an important librarian or a launch pad into imagining a book about you, these books celebrate all of us who love books.
Hopefully you've heard of the Pura Belpré Awards, but maybe you don't know much about their namesake. Planting Stories is a short biography of Pura Belpré and her life as an advocate for diversity in libraries. A truly wonderful story told by Anika Aldamuy Denise with beautiful pictures by Paola Escobar.
Stacey Abrams isn't just a lawyer and politician. She's an author - and she doesn't just write adult books! Her second picture book, Stacey's Remarkable Books is based in her childhood love of reading and libraries. If you love books, too, you'll connect with the story and the art by Kitt Thomas right away.
In What Would You Do in a Book About You? Jean Reidy will start a conversation during story time about what a book about you and your kiddo(s) might look like. With vivid illustrations by Joey Chou, it's easy to dive into the world of possibility and imagination!
Reading Beauty by Deborah Underwood and Meg Hunt will take you to a future steeped in technology, but paper books are still prized -- at least by Princess Lex. Book lovers will certainly empathize with this interstellar take on an old fairy tale.
Check out these and more at TCC's list on Bookshop.org.
Just a reminder that any books purchased through the links above will give a small commission back to the work of Teaching Cultural Compassion.
March is Women's History Month. Click this link to read past posts about Women's History. Click the title above or click here to see TCC's favorite biographies of female change makers and books to inspire girls!
February is Black History Month. Click this link to read previous posts for Black History Month. Click the title above or click here to see TCC's favorite biographies of Black changemakers and celebrating history and the future!
I was honored to be a Fiction Picture Book & Board Book Panelist for the Cybils Awards for 2023! As a panelist, it was my job (with 7 others) to help narrow down the over 360 books that were nominated to 14 finalists - 7 fiction picture books and 7 board books. The winners were announced on February 14!
Congratulations Vashti Harrison for your book Big and Kari Allen and Kim Smith for best board book Whose Prints?
A Retrospective
2023 was another great year for diverse picture books! Statistics say the numbers are growing--still not great, but moving the right direction. That is partly why I had a hard time narrowing this list down... and it is still very long. The widget below and the Bookshop site have my top 50, but here, I'll focus on my favorite in each of three categories:
-Board Book: My favorite board book from this year is Every Body which is from the First Conversation Series, led by Megan Madison and Jessica Ralli. This one has great illustrations by Tequitia Anderws. Pointing out differences in bodies and celebrating them all, this book is another home run for this series. Made simple enough for board books, this series also includes questions for discussion, so you can read them with your babies, but they all also come in hardcover to read with your older ones!
-Silly Picture Book: Cindy and Panda are the best of friends-- which means they're great at making messes, getting mad, and forgiving one another. This wonderfully cute, totally silly book written and illustrated by Benson Shum is sure to make you giggle!
-Serious Picture Book: I already swooned over The Great Banned-Books Bake Sale during Banned Books Week (click to read what I wrote in October), but it stayed a top favorite! Thank you for another wonderful book, Aya Khalil and Anait Semirdzhyan!
There were also a number of great picture books about grieving this year, so check out the Talking About Grief list, as it has been updated. The end of the Favorites list also has several non-fiction/biographical books that were standouts. Please check those out, too!
Just a reminder that any books purchased through the links above will give a small commission back to the work of Teaching Cultural Compassion.