Category Archives: multicultural

Trendy Tuesdays: Lubna and Pebble

Posted on October 9, 2019 by neelysnews

For this week’s Trendy Tuesdays, I reviewed the book, Lubna and Pebble by Wendy Meddour and illustrated by Daniel Egneus. This book tackles a very important yet sensitive political topic. In this book, Meddour touches on our current refugee crisis and the way that it affects young children and their families. This book follows the […] Continue reading →

Posted in Ages 6-8, Grades 3-6, multicultural, trendy | Comments Off

I Just Want To Say Good Night

Posted on November 7, 2017 by neelysnews

This colorful and entertaining picture book is a perfect bedtime story for all ages. I Just Want To Say Goodnight incorporates the universal story of a child procrastinating their bedtime through a multicultural lens. The bright and vibrant colors of the illustrations capture the setting in the African village beautifully, while demonstrating sentiment and emotion through […] Continue reading →

Posted in Ages 3 and up, Funny, Grades K-2, multicultural, New Books/Reviewer's choice, New Releases, Pre-K | Comments Off

Chef Roy Choi and the Street Food Remix

Posted on November 7, 2017 by neelysnews

by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and June Jo Lee, illustrated by Man One Chef Roy Choi and the Street Food Remix is a kid-friendly biography of Roy Choi, a famous food truck chef who was born in Seoul, South Korea. The book recounts how Roy and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was two […] Continue reading →

Posted in biography, Fiction, food, multicultural | Comments Off

Pattan’s Pumpkin: A Traditional Flood Story from Southern India

Posted on October 31, 2017 by neelysnews

Pattan’s Pumpkin: A Traditional Flood Story from Southern India Chitra Soundar and Frané Lessac have adapted a traditional Irula story to make it more accessible: turning the traditional churraka into a pumpkin and highlighting the story’s universal themes. The story does, not, however, abandon its cultural roots. It is authentic in its language, retaining the Indian names […] Continue reading →

Posted in Ages 6-8, animals, chitra soundar, comparative religions, Fiction, flood, flood story, folklore, folktale, frane lessac, geography, Grades 3-6, Grades K-2, Humanity, India, Irula, kindness, Marvelous Picture Books, multicultural, plant, Pre-K, pumpkin, Religion, retelling, the environment, traditional | Comments Off

The People Shall Continue/ El Pueblo Seguirá

Posted on October 30, 2017 by neelysnews

The People Shall Continue is a story that tells the history and plights of the indigenous people of America. It was written by Simon J. Ortiz who is a part of the Acoma Pueblo Tribe, and illustrated by Sharol Graves. Originally published in 1977, for its 40th anniversary they republished this special edition in both […] Continue reading →

Posted in multicultural, New Releases, non-fiction | Comments Off

Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat by Javaka Steptoe

Posted on October 25, 2017 by neelysnews

Radiant Child won both the 2017 Caldecott Medal and the 2017 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for Javaka Steptoe’s ingenious illustrations. He painted the images on reclaimed wood, photographing his masterpieces to accompany the text of the book. The book recounts the life of Jean-Michel Basquiat, a young boy from Brooklyn who became a successful […] Continue reading →

Posted in multicultural, Winning Titles | Comments Off

Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library

Posted on October 24, 2017 by neelysnews

Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Eric Velasquez, tells the story of Arturo Schomburg, a black man living in the Harlem Renaissance. Schomburg collected books, music, art, and other works from Africa and people of African descent to bring to light these often forgotten historical documents and figures. […] Continue reading →

Posted in biography, Grades 3-6, multicultural, New Releases, non-fiction, poetry | Comments Off

Take a Picture of Me, James VanDerZee!

Posted on October 3, 2017 by neelysnews

Andrea J. Loney and Keith Mallett’s New Voices Award Winner Take a Picture of Me, James VanDerZee! is one that, according to author Loney herself, “celebrate[s] the humanity of all children.” In this case, the child celebrated is James VanDerZee, an African-American boy born in 1886 to the former butler and maid of President Ulysses S. Grant. […] Continue reading →

Posted in andrea loney, art, beauty, biography, Dreams, Grades 3-6, harlem renaissance, history, Humanity, james vanderzee, keith mallet, Marvelous Picture Books, multicultural, new voices award, photography, race, social studies, united states, Winning Titles | Comments Off

Rabbi Benjamin’s Buttons

Posted on September 12, 2017 by neelysnews

Rabbi Benjamin’s Buttons is a beautifully illustrated picture book with a unique topic that will bring diversity to any classroom’s library. Written by Alice B. McGinty, the book tells the story of a welcoming Jewish Rabbi who loves for his congregation to be happy. At the beginning of the story, the congregation gives Rabbi Benjamin […] Continue reading →

Posted in Ages 6-8, Fiction, multicultural, trendy | Comments Off

Last Stop on Market Street

Posted on September 8, 2017 by neelysnews

I cannot say enough good things about Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson’s 2015 Last Stop on Market Street. I stumbled upon it quite by accident, tugging on its bright orange spine in the hopes that the book would be less dusty and worn than the others I’d found in the library…and I was not […] Continue reading →

Posted in 2015, beauty, Caldecott, children, christian robinson, colors, compassion, culture, cute, diversity, elementary school, family, Grades K-2, grateful, help, human, Humanity, kindness, last stop on market street, Marvelous Picture Books, matt de la peña, multicultural, nana, New Releases, newbery medal, perspective, picture book, poverty, soup kitchen | Comments Off