Books Sharing the History of Mexican Americans and Life in Border Towns

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Schools are starting back which means September is almost here. Hispanic Heritage Month begins September 15th and today I am sharing two books that are perfect for it. One is for middle grades (10-14-year-olds) about the history of Mexican Americans (released last week), and the other is an autobiography for young adults. Obviously, both are nonfiction. We will start with the book for the middle grades. It is a book from the Race to the Truth Series. It is Borderlands and the Mexican American Story by David Dorado Romo. 

Women's History Month Middle Grades & Young Adult Book Round-Up

 March is Women's History Month. Over the years I have shared many books about women throughout each year. This year I decided to do round-ups of the books that are still in print so you can find resources to share with kids and new women to check out. Last week I shared a round-up of picture books. Today I am sharing our middle grades and a few young adult books that feature women's history. I hope these round-ups help you find resources to help teach kids about women that have changed the world! The books shared are ones I received for the reviews and the links will take you to my review which has a link to purchase the book. These books range from 8 and up.

The Sunbearer Trials -- Latinx Novel Review

 

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

Today I am sharing the second new book for Hispanic Heritage Month. It is a Latinx mythology book that will have Percy Jackson and other Rick Riordan fans seeing a new culture. The book is the first in a duology. It is The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas. Not only does it take place in Latin America but it also has quite a bit of talk and characters who are transgender. The book is recommended for ages 13-18. 

Until Someone Listens -- New Picture Book Review

 

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

It is hard to believe that Hispanic Heritage Month ends this week. I am so behind the ball these days. Getting used to working full time, having older parents and getting sick, are not giving me the time to write as much as I would like. I have two books I want to share for Hispanic Heritage Month and today I will share the picture book. It is Until Someone Listens by Estela Juarez with Lissette Norman and illustrated by Teresa Martinez. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8 and is also available in Spanish. 

We Can Talk About Encanto--Encanto-Inspired Craft & Fun Movie Facts

 

It seems like everyone is talking about Encanto and of course the hit song, "We Don't Talk About Bruno." Have you seen the movie yet? How many times? We have watched it a couple of times and love it. I thought it would be fun to make an Encanto-inspired candle since the candle plays such an important part of the movie. I also thought it would be fun to share some fun facts about the movie. So we will start with the fun facts.

Dinner on Domingos -- a Multicultural Children's Book Day Review

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchanged for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Does your family or did your family have a tradition of Sunday dinner? I remember when I was young, we would gather at my grandparents' house for Sunday dinner. Often it would be a steak dinner or some type of beef I believe, but that is not really a memory, but more information told to me. The memory I have is when my cousin was a baby. I remember his holding my finger with his little hands for hours. I was finally not the baby of the family anymore. The funny thing is I don't remember his younger sister as a baby, but I remember him. Today I get to share with you a story about a Sunday dinner tradition in an Ecuadorian-American family and it has a family recipe to try at the end!! (We tried it and I loved it!!) The book is Dinner on Domingos by Alexandra Katona and illustrated by Claudia Navarro. This book is recommended for ages 5 to 8 and this review is for Multicultural Children's Book Day! Join us here, we are co-hosting, on January 28th for the BIG LINKY of all the Multicultural Children's Books and the celebration. There is more information about it all below!

The Proudest Color -- a New Picture Book About Race, Racism and Racial Pride

 

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

Today I am very excited to share with you a new picture book about race, racism and racial pride. When I read this book for the first time I knew I had to share it with you. It is that amazing!! The book is The Proudest Color by Sheila Modir and Jeff Kashou and illustrated by Monica Mikai. It is recommended for ages 5 to 8.

Powerful Latinx Novels for Hispanic Heritage Month

 Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for honest reviews. All opinions are my own.

Hispanic Heritage Month ends Friday and I wanted to share two new Latinx books with you to help celebrate. One is a graphic memoir. The author was in middle school living in New York City when 9/11 occurred. The other is a young adult novel that deals with ethnicity as well as rape and more. We will start with Big Apple Diaries by Alyssa Bermudez. It is recommended for ages 8 to 12. 

Latinx Books to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with a Focus on Immigration

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for honest reviews. All opinions are my own.

Hispanic Heritage Month started September 15th and ends on Friday. I have four Latinx books to share with you this week in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. Each book has its own focus and don't necessarily relate to one another besides having Latinx main characters, so I am going to share two of them today and two later in the week. The two today focus a bit on immigration. One is a more modern picture book and the other is a middle grades novel about a middle schooler immigrating from Cuba in the 1960s. We will start with the picture book. It is I Wish You Knew by Jackie Azúa Kramer and illustrated by Magdalena Mora. It is recommended for ages 4 to 7.

Bella's Recipe of Success -- New Multicultural Picture Book About Practice and Finding One's Talents

 

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

Having been the youngest sister of three I know the struggle it is to watch older siblings be good at things and to wonder why I wasn't and what I was good at. Today I'm sharing a multicultural book about just this and needless to say I related to it!! The book is Bella's Recipe for Success by Ana Siqueira and illustrated by Geraldine Rodriguez. 

Hear My Voice/ Escucha Mi Voz

 

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

Today we are going to talk about a controversial subject that I usually avoid. I see both sides of the discussion and don't usually try to debate either. The issue is immigration. Now unless you are 100% Native American somewhere in your family history someone immigrated here. I know when I was growing up I had many friends whose families immigrated here from Asia to get away during the wars there. Several of them say the United States is the best country in the world. I am so glad their families made it out or at least part of their families did. Many lost family members while escaping. I understand the need for people to immigrate. To leave all they have known and come to America, the land of dreams. However then I look around and realize we cannot even take care of our own people. Look at all the homeless, poor, starving people we have including some veterans who were willing to lay down their lives for our country but now are not taken care of by the country. Do we really want more to add to the mix? It is hard and I am sure it is really hard for the politicians to figure out fair ways to control it. However I know one thing for sure, today's book shines a light on a major problem our country is experiencing and needs to change. The book is Hear My Voice/Escucha Mi Voz complied by Warren Binford for Project Amplify.

You Don't Have to Be Everything -- review of new poetry book for young adult girls about growing up

 

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

April is a month full of things I care about. We just had Easter weekend. April 2nd is World Autism Day. Earth Day is fast approaching, and it is National Poetry Month. I shared the first book last week that is a great one to share on Earth Day and will be sharing more this month. Today I want to focus on a new poetry book. It is You Don't Have to Be Everything edited by Diana Whitney. It was released March 30th. 

Women in the Civil War

 

When we think about the Civil War there are a few women's names that pop in our minds like Harriet Tubman and perhaps nurses like Clara Barton and Louisa May Alcott. Today I am going to delve into the lives and accomplishments of other women in the Civil War that you may not have heard of. There were many women who worked on the homefront, fundraising, making uniforms, etc., but the women I am sharing about today did even more. The Civil War was a war that made it easier for women to disguise themselves as men and fight. In fact it is estimated that there were more than 400 women who did so. Some were discovered when injured or died and others never were. They were of different races and worked for the North or the South. Each had her own courageous adventure in the war. As with the other Women in Wars posts I will share books for kids to learn more about the women when I can. To begin this post I am going to share books that have multiple women in them. I have personally found Women in the Civil War by Kari A. Cornell and Heroism Begins with Her by Winifred Conkling extremely useful and used both as sources for this post. All of the women featured in this post are featured in these books or in the Famous Women of the Civil War by Peter F. Copeland which is a coloring book.

New Multicultural Books Perfect for Women's History Month

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

March is such a funny month. In New England it can be a long month without much to do. The weather is sometimes amazing and often awful. It can be snow or rain and it really depends. Spring begins in March which is always my favorite but it is early spring so it isn't the beautiful part of spring yet. And of course there is Pi Day! One of my favorite holidays!! Mathematicians don't get too many holidays. The other thing that excites me about March is that it is Women's History Month. It is a month for us to discover and learn about the amazing women throughout history that we probably haven't heard of. Most of our history was recorded by men (and around here it was white men) so it is very biased and often doesn't cover the amazing things women have done to support society. I have big plans for this month but to begin I thought I would share two new books that are perfect for Women's History Month. The first is a picture book that shares a favorite story of Dovey Johnson Roundtree liked to tell. Last month I shared a middle grade level book about Dovey but today's book is a perfect way to introduce younger kids to this amazing woman. The book is We Wait for the Sun by Dovey Johnson Roundtree and Katie McCabe and illustrated by Raissa Figueroa.

Mommy Time Posts--Otomi Journal and Quilt Update

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this journal in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Do you make time for yourself? For self care? As mothers we tend to have the weight of the world or at least of our homes, families and work on our shoulders. It is hard to find time. A friend recently shared a post on Facebook of a conversation between two women. It involved finding time to meet God in mountains. In the Bible men are often climbing mountains and meeting God. Women however are back tending to the house and family. Does this mean women do not have God in their lives? No, the conversation shared that God knows the role women play and meets them at home. God is always with us to care for us because we don't have the time to just take off and climb a mountain. However it is important for us to take the time to take care of ourselves. I have decided to try to share products, activities and things about self care and mommy time on Fridays. First a quilt update. A few weeks ago I shared a review of Wintertime Shimmer. I decided to try the wall hanging option and instead of winter try to capture the beautiful autumn colors outside. I still have to do the applique on it and am planning on putting a female cardinal on instead of the male. (Yes I have an obsession with the female cardinals.) Anyway, here is the pieced portion of the quilt.

 I have to say it was very quick to piece and I love the pattern. I may make a winter one as well. I do find quilting, sewing, and crafts as part of my self care. I have a strong need to create and if I ignore the pull towards crafts I find myself lost. 

One of my favorite self care activities is journaling. There are times when the emotions are too much and I just need to let them out. I find my journal helps with this. Do you love journals? Hazel and I love them and tend to collect them. I was fortunate enough to get sent this beautiful Otomi Journal to review. 

This journal has embossed Mexican embroidery design all over the cover. It is based off the traditional embroidery of the Otomi People in Central Mexico. They are an indigenous group to Central Mexico.

Inside the journal there are lined pages. Then every fifth page of so a print from the traditional embroidery appears. They are animals or flowers. 

I love the little surprises of the print. The pages themselves are thick and a good quality. I haven't started to use it but plan to keep track of some health data so I know what to tell doctors when I have appointments. Nowadays they tend to be telehealth appointments so it is important to be able to tell my doctor everything I need to since she is not really examining me. 

Plus if I get my act together I will be able to use it to track my diet and exercise. How would you use a journal? This one is absolutely beautiful. I love the added touch of its culture. They also have Otomi Notecards if you would prefer to send the beauty to your friends and family. I would love to hear how you are doing some self care these days!

New Latinx Books for Hispanic Heritage Month

 

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for honest reviews. All opinions are my own.

September 15 through October 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month. September 15th is also Mexico's Independence Day. This year I am seeing the word Latinx being used a lot and wanted to see how it was different from Hispanic and Latino/a. Latinx is a nongender word to use instead of Latino or Latina. It is a word that is mostly used by young women according to this article I found. The article says one in four Latinos have heard the word but only 3% use it. Have you seen it around this year?

Fun Facts about Cinco de Mayo

It is hard to believe it is already Cinco de Mayo. This year of course is so different than other years since many of us are living with stay-at-home orders but I thought it would be fun to talk about Cinco de Mayo. But first do you know what Cinco de Mayo actually is? I think most people know or realize that the words Cinco de Mayo is Spanish for May 5th, but most do not know why it is a holiday. Cinco de Mayo is NOT Mexico's Independence Day. Mexico's Independence Day is September 16th.

Sleeping Beauty of Chile - Fairy Tales in Different Cultures

I have been MIA for a couple of weeks. I have decided to put an end to Crafty Weekends since there was not much participation in the link parties, but keep an eye out for all my fun crafts and craft reviews in the future. A few weeks ago I promised to bring back Fairy Tales in Different Cultures and since today is the last day of Hispanic Heritage Month I thought I would share a Hispanic version of a fairy tale. We decided to focus on Sleeping Beauty so today we are sharing a Sleeping Beauty tale from Chile. I have shared various stories, information and crafts related to Chile previously. Including two fairy tales from the same book which I found today's. It is Folktales of Chile edited by Yolando Pino-Saavedra. I took it out of the library, but it available used on Amazon.

Learning about Juan Felipe Herrera and His New Book Imagine

Disclosure: Candlewick Press sent me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Today I am participating in Multicultral Kid Blog's Hispanic Heritage Month Blog Hop. I am going to share a new picture book by Juan Felipe Herrera called Imagine. It is illustrated by Lauren Castillo. When I read the book, I wanted to know more about the man who wrote it and I soon learned he is an interesting man to learn about and I thought I would share about Juan Felipe Herrera with you.

God's Eye Geometry and a Crafty Weekends Link Party 2 Weeks Long!

Last week I shared about Easter in Bermuda and the Bermudian kites reminded me of fancy God's Eyes. It got me thinking about God's Eyes and making some. I looked on-line and there are plenty of tutorials out there like this one over at Crafts by Amanda.