Multicultural Rhyming Picture Books That Inspire Us -- A Multicultural Children's Book Day Review

 

Disclosure: I was sent digital copies of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Multicultural Children's Book Day was on Friday. You can check out the amazing link party sharing all the reviews of the sponsored books as well as other multicultural children's books from throughout the year. Today I get to share with you three more books from Crystel Patterson, a Bronze Sponsor of Multicultural Children's Book Day. Each of these books are rhyming picture books and are a series called Inspired to Be and are all written by Crystel Patterson and illustrated by Briana Young. The first book we will share is One Flip, Two Flip, Three Flip, Four and was inspired by Gabby Douglas. 

From the Publisher:

Ruby is stuck in the house on a rainy day with nothing to do. Making the best of her situation, she discovers something that brings her a lot of joy. So much so, it becomes a constant in her life. As she grows up, she learns that the sky's the limit when you dream big and work hard to pursue something you love.

From Me:

This book is very cute. It is definitely for a younger child more so than the other two. It tells the tale of a girl who is stuck inside and bored. She begins to do flips. Everyone who sees her realizes she is good and eventually she takes gymnastic lessons. 

I love how the book follows Ruby through different ages and you can see she ages through the book. The illustrations are perfect, and the story is simple enough for younger children. I also love how the book and really the series is based on Black people that inspire others. This one is based Gabby Douglas and at the end of each book is a page telling a bit about the person that inspired the book.

Our second book is Superheroes Here and There. This book is perfect for kids who can read themselves but are just starting out or to be read by and discussed with an adult.

From the Publisher:

James loves superheroes! He dreams of helping them fight bad guys. Unfortunately, he keeps hearing that they are just make-believe. Desperate to get to the bottom of all this crazy talk, he bombards his parents with a long list of questions about superheroes. Will their responses prove to James that Superheroes are real?

From Me:

In this book James loves superheroes like many kids. He wants to be one someday and certainly wants to meet one, but he just was told they are not real. He has questions, lots of questions and needs answers. He begins to ask his parents and they explain that superheroes do exist but not in the sense of the ones James is thinking about. They are talking about all the superheroes out there that don't wear capes. They teach him about how the world is full of people who put others first and work to help others. 

One thing I love about this book besides the overall message is that when a more difficult (longer) word is used there is an explanation on the bottom of what the word means along with a question relating it to the child's life. This opens up so many opportunities for discussion and sharing when it is read with an adult. At the end of the book there is a glossary with all the words that are defined throughout the book as well as the person who inspired the book. This book it is Chadwick Boseman. 

The third book is I Am Different. Again this book has the definition of longer words in it and is great for readers to read themselves or to have read by and discussed with an adult. 

From the Publisher:

Ekon, Nia, and Malachi are constantly being reminded of their differences. They constantly get mixed reactions from people. Some people tease them about their differences, but their family and friends love their qualities, especially the ones that make them different. They wonder who they should believe and come to an inspiring resolution.

From Me:

Now this book reminds me of what many think of as a multicultural book. It deals with the way three characters feel different based on their race, religion, hair and more. Each gets teased and each gets praised. Each struggle to know what to believe. Once again there are longer words and terms defined as well as brought to everyday life for the reader at the bottom of the page. This book truly deals with race and being seen as different because of it. 

I love that this book ends with positive affirmations. The ultimate decision is to believe the people who love the person and to believe themselves. There is even a place for the child to write in his or her own affirmations. It is such a wonderful book about how each person is special and beautiful in his or her own way and not to listen to the ones who tease or are mean. I LOVE this book. It reminds me of The Colors of Us, The Tale of the Black Unicorn, and The Proudest Color. This book has a glossary at the end and was inspired by Kheris Rogers.

These three books have wonderful messages and are presented in fun ways with the rhyming words. I love that they all are inspired by Black people giving the readers role models as well. I hope you will check them out!

About Multicultural Children's Book Day:

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2022 (1/28/22) is in its 9^th 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 books into the hands of young readers and educators.

MCBD’s mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves. Read about our Mission & History HERE.

MCBD 2022 is honored to be Supported by these Medallion Sponsors!

SUPER PLATINUM: Make A Way Media

PLATINUM: Language Lizard

GOLD: Barefoot Books, KidLitTV, Candlewick, Capstone, Abrams Books

SILVER: Pack-n-Go Girls, Charlotte Riggle, Kimberly Gordon Biddle  

BRONZE: Carole P. Roman, Patrice McLaurin, Dyesha and Triesha McCants/McCants Squared, Redfin.com, Redfin Canada, Redfin Mortgage, Redfin/Title Forward, Create & Educate, Star Bright Books, Vivian Kirkfield, Dr. Eleanor Wint, Kind World Publishing, Snowflake Stories, Lisa Wee, SONGJU MA, Melissa Stoller, J.C. Kato and J.C.², Crystel Patterson, Audrey Press, Pragmaticmom, TimTimTom, Wisdom Tales 

MCBD 2022 is honored to be Supported by these Author Sponsors!

Charlene Mosley (official MCBD2022 Poster Creator)
Illustrator Isabelle Roxas (Class Kit Poster Creator)

Alva Sachs, Brianna Carter, Ebony Zay Zay, Rita Bhandari, Gwen Jackson, Lois Petren/The 5 Enchanted Mermaids, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, Josh Funk, Afsaneh Moradian, Eugenia Chu, Maritza Martínez Mejía, Diana Huang, Kathleen Burkinshaw, CultureGroove, Sandra Elaine Scott, Dorena Williamson, Veronica Appleton, Alejandra Domenzain, Lauren Muskovitz and Sandfish Publishing, Tonya Duncan Ellis, Kimberly Lee, Susan Schaefer Bernardo & Illustrator Courtenay Fletcher, Nancy Tupper Ling, Winsome Hudson-Bingham, Amanda Hsiung-Blodgett, Sivan Hong, Michael Genhart, Debbie Dadey, Elizabeth Cureton, Stephanie Wildman, Maryann Jacob, Sherri Maret, Rochelle Melander, Dia Mixon, Kiyanda and Benjamin Young, Shereen Rahming, Linda Thornburg and Katherine Archer,  Rebecca Flansburg and BA Norrgard , Maxine Schur  Natalie McDonald-Perkins

MCBD 2022 is Honored to be Supported by our CoHosts and Global CoHosts!

MCBD 2022 is Honored to be Supported by these Media Partners!

Check out MCBD's Multicultural Books for Kids Pinterest Board!

FREE RESOURCES from Multicultural Children’s Book Day

Diversity Book Lists & Activities for Teachers and Parents

Homeschool Diverse Kidlit Booklist & Activity Kit

FREE Teacher Classroom Activism and Activists Kit

FREE Teacher Classroom Empathy Kit

FREE Teacher Classroom Kindness Kit

FREE Teacher Classroom Physical and Developmental Challenges Kit

FREE Teacher Classroom Poverty Kit

FREE Homeschool Diverse Kidlit Booklist & Activity Kit

FREE Teacher Classroom Raising Awareness on Systemic Racism in America Classroom Kit

Gallery of Our Free Posters

FREE Diversity Book for Classrooms Program

Join us on Friday, Jan 29, 2021, at 9 pm EST for the 8th annual Multicultural Children's Book Day Twitter Party! Be sure and follow MCBD and Make A Way Media on Twitter!

This epically fun and fast-paced hour includes multicultural book discussions, addressing timely issues, diverse book recommendations, & reading ideas.

We will be giving away an 8-Book Bundle every 5 minutes plus Bonus Prizes as well! *** US and Global participants welcome. **

Follow the hashtag #ReadYourWorld to join the conversation, connect with like-minded parts, authors, publishers, educators, organizations, and librarians. See you all very soon on Twitter!

Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.