Fairy Tales in Different Cultures: Cinder-Elly

This week we are going to focus on an American Cinderella story since it is the week of July Fourth. I chose Cinder-Elly by Frances Minters. This is a modern version of the story with Cinder-elly living in New York City. I thought this would be the perfect time to explore the Statue of Liberty, after all we are celebrating America's birthday this week. First a bit about New York City.

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New York City is the most populous city in the United States. It is also the home to the United Nations Headquarters and is described as the cultural capital of the world. As many as 800 languages are spoken in New York City making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world. It consists of five boroughs which were consolidated into one city in 1898. It traces its roots to a Dutch trading post founded in 1624 and named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings were under British control in 1664 and was renamed New York after King Charles II granted the land to his brother the Duke of York. New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 to 1790. 

Times Square Source

New York has many different world renowned landmarks including the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, Broadway and many more. Times Square is the site of the annual New Year's Eve ball drop. Since the New York City Subway runs 24/7 it is one of the most extensive rapid transit systems worldwide. (Source)

Fireworks over New York City (Source)

July Fourth is Independence Day for the United States of America. It commemorates the day in which the Second Continental Congress voted for the Declaration of Independence which happened July 4, 1776. It is often celebrated with parades, barbeques, picnics, concerts and fireworks. Some interesting New York City traditions for Independence Day are:

• Since 1916, Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City supposedly started as a way to settle a dispute among four immigrants as to who was the most patriotic.
• The famous Macy's fireworks display usually held over the East River in New York City has been televised nationwide on NBC since 1976. In 2009, the fireworks display was returned to the Hudson River for the first time since 2000 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's exploration of that river. (Source)

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It is the day that Americans show their patriotic colors with red, white and blue everywhere. So for a change I am going to share our crafts. We honored the Statue of Liberty as well as a few other New York City and State staples. The first thing I have to share that we found is from My Shae Noel. She has an amazing Statue of Liberty packet available for free including one of our crafts. (She also has a great lesson packet on fireworks.)

 

Since Lady Liberty represents democracy and freedom and of the United States, I thought it was the appropriate thing to honor from New York City this week. The first craft we did was a paper plate craft. The pattern and instructions are from My Shae Noel's packet.  Then we also made a torch and a paper crown for Hazel to dress up. Since we only had small green paper, I taped two together, and then added a third one to hide the middle seam.  The torch is just a piece of green paper rolled into a cone and a piece of yellow tissue paper stuck inside. I also had Hazel do some coloring pages.

We had a discussion of the color of a taxi. Hazel rode in her first taxi on the way home from the airport when we came back from Florida, but of course it was not a typical taxi. Oh, well. I guess we should have talked about color of the other things she colored, but all the buildings are apparently blue.

Now onto our story. The story is written in rhyme and has a cartoonish quality to it.

Cinder-Elly lives with her family in New York City. She is the youngest of three girls. Unlike her two sisters, she is kind and neat. She does all the cleaning and even gets her sisters drinks at their request. They however just sit and watch television and play video games and never let Cinder-Elly play. One day all three of them are given tickets to the basketball game. All three want to go, but the two sisters tell Cinder-Elly she cannot go since she is too young and doesn't have clothes to wear, and their mother agrees that she cannot go since there is not enough money to buy three new outfits and since she is the youngest, her sisters should go. 

The night of the game, the sisters go off to the game and Cinder-Elly stays home. While sweeping the steps, a woman comes and talks to Cinder-Elly. Cindy-Elly says she cannot talk to her since she is a stranger, but the woman says she is her godmother and asks if she remembers her from the last time she saw her when she was two or three. The godmother waves her cane and Cinder-Elly's clothes change. Then she gives her a pair of glass sneakers. Then she changes a garbage can into a bicycle for Cinder-Elly to ride to the game. She warns her that she must be home by ten since the magic will be gone then. 

Cinder-Elly goes to the game and has a great time watching Prince Charming play. At one point he misses the ball and Cinder-Elly catches it and gives it back to him. After winning the game, he asks if she will go out for pizza after the game. He says he will go shower and do his hair and meet her. She waits until 9:58, but then leaves walking home since the bike is a garbage game. She however loses one of her glass sneakers which Prince finds. He makes up flyers and hangs them all over the place with his number. The sisters see a flyer and call him. He comes over and they of course cannot fit into the sneaker, then Cinder-Elly comes out and tries it on and pulls out the other one. Then the godmother shows up and waves her cane so Cinder-Elly is dressed in her basketball game clothes. The sisters apologize and Cinder-Elly forgives and everyone lives happily ever after.

Weird But True Facts About New York City & Craft Round-Up

 

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

Have you been to New York City? I have several times and have taken Hazel a couple of times. I have a good childhood friend who lives outside of the city so she takes Hazel and me in when we want to go. My nephew just moved there. It has been his dream to live there. He is hoping to establish residency and attend City College at the resident rate. While he is exploring the city and finding his way, I jumped at the chance to review National Geographic Kids newest edition in their Weird But True! Series. This one is Weird But True! New York City. It is recommended for ages 8 to 10, however it will be in my 19-year-old nephew's stocking this year!

The Pop-Up Guide Cities Around the World -- Book Review with Crafts, Recipes and More!

 

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

Looking to teach little ones about the world? Today we are sharing a fun pop-up book that takes us around the world. I am also sharing links to crafts, activities, and recipes to go with each city and/or its country. The book is The Pop-Up Guide: Cities Around the World by Maud Poulain and illustrated by Sandra de la Prada. It is recommended for ages 3 to 5. 

Exploring New York and Its History with Books & More

Disclosure: Candlewick Press sent me these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Last week we explored the history of our home state, Massachusetts. This week we are sharing a bit about New York with some books and a couple of visits. We are lucky enough to have my best friend living in Westchester County. The past six months Hazel and I have visited her twice. Both times she was kind enough to take us into New York City for some sightseeing. To go with our visits we are sharing two books today. The first book is Lady Liberty A Biography by Doreen Rappaport and illustrated by Matt Tavares. 

Norma Merrick Sklarek - the First Black Female Architect in the US

 

Today we continue our celebration of Women's History Month with a look at Norma Merrick Sklarek. She was the first licensed Black female architect in the United States. She worked on buildings such as Terminal One of the Los Angeles International Airport, San Bernardino City Hall, Fox Plaza in San Francisco, the American Embassy in Tokyo, Pacific Design Center, Mall of America and much more.

Betty before X -- Women's History Month Review

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

I am sure you have heard of Malcolm X, but have you heard of Betty? Betty Shabazz is most known as Malcolm X's wife, however she has a great story of her own. I am going to share with you a fictionalized biography of her life before Malcolm X written by her daughter, Ilyasah, but before I do, let's talk a bit about Betty.

Black Musicians and Entertainers #blacklivesmatter Series

 

How has the world changed in the last six months? The fight is still going on for Black rights. There is so much hate and violence as well as peaceful protests. We are in a Movement and we can decide how we are going to respond. We can sit back quietly and watch or we can take part. There are two sides and depending one where you fall you can take action. Know that sitting back quietly and watching is an action. It is accepting what you are seeing. I know at times this summer I have wondered if my actions, my posts, my discussions are making any difference. I even considered giving them up. But I knew in my heart I had to try to make a difference and help there be change. Today we have come to the end of my list. My short list. A list of names to research and share with you because Black lives are part of everyone's history. Black people matter! Although this will be my last post in this series for now, I know I will continue it again. I know there will be future books that share about Black lives, as well as more people to feature. If you have Black people I should feature please leave their names in the comments or contact me.  But I also know I want to focus on Native Americans for Native American History Month. I know we need to also focus on them as they are suffering with Covid and not making it much into the news. 

Fun Facts about Times Square New Year's Eve Ball Drop

How was your Christmas? Ours was good, but it included 12 hours without power besides a generator. Thank God for the generator which gave us heat and a microwave. Our Christmas dinner which really wasn't included microwaved lasagna with my father's birthday cake for dessert that had hand whipped frosting. Luckily Hazel thought it was fun to hand whip the frosting. But as always it is so great to be with family. 

Digging for Trouble -- a Fun Middle Grades Mystery

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

Hazel LOVES mysteries!! She loves reading them. It is her favorite genre. However she a bit picky about them. We took the first Nancy Drew book out of the library and she didn't like it. She couldn't relate to Nancy because she could drive and do things Hazel cannot do. Ever since we have been looking for mysteries she will enjoy. She liked the Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew series for a bit but they are a bit young for her reading level. UGH!! She loves the American Girl Mysteries but there are not that many of them. I was very excited to find The Devlin Quick Mysteries. In the second book, Digging for Trouble by Linda Fairstein, Devlin and one of her best friends, Katie, are on an archaeological dig in Montana as part of their summer vacation to Katie's family's vacation home. It is a far cry from their New York City homes. But the mystery begins when some of the dinosaur bones Katie uncovers get switched. 

Travel with Books at Home Product Reviews

Disclosure: Candlewick Press gave me a copy of this book free of charge to review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Do you love to travel? Or do you dream of traveling without hassles? We love to explore the world from home with dreams of someday getting to see more of it. For now we like to explore with books and posters and such to see and learn about the world without leaving home. Candlewick Press has some products that makes this really fun and easy. The first three books are from a series called Panorama Pops. We got to explore The Louvre, Australia and Venice in this form. It was so much fun. These books are like pocket guides with pop-up pictures. The book is double sided since it folds out and has the pop-ups on both sides.

Chef Edna -- New Biographical Picture Book

 

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

Today is day two of the new picture books released this week. I have four to share with you so make sure you check out yesterday's and the next couple of days' posts! Today we are going to look at Chef Edna by Melvina Noel and illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera. It is a book that shares the life of the Queen of Southern Cooking, Edna Lewis with 4- to 8-year-olds. 

First Ladies and Eleanor Roosevelt -- Women's History Month Series

Disclosure: Penguin Random House Books gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation.  As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

This is my official post for Multicultural Kid Blogs' Women's History Month Series although I have already done two posts on women in history already this month (Bethany Ehlmann and Sophie Blanchard) and will be doing more the rest of the month. Today I am sharing a book about many wonderful women in history it is What's the Big Deal about First Ladies by Ruby Shamir and illustrated by Matt Faulkner and I am going to share a bit about one of my favorite first ladies in history, Eleanor Roosevelt. 

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. 

Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All -- Book Review

 

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

Today I'm sharing a middle school novel that brings to light some of the Asian hate going around as well as some typical middle school things. It shares life in the big city and messages that everyone's life looks better from the outside. The book is Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller. It is recommended for ages 7 to 11.

Exploring the States with a Personalized Book & More!

Disclosure: I See Me! Inc.  gave me a copy of this book free of charge. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

This summer we are exploring the states of the United Sates. It was part of our homeschool curriculum this past school year, but I thought we should do more than what she had been doing in school. We have been enjoying some items we already reviewed, but want to extend our lessons all summer. In the past month we had a couple of birthday parties for younger girls. I asked Hazel what we should get and she immediately said a book from I See Me. Hazel loves the books we have gotten from there.  When we were shopping for the gift I saw the perfect book for our USA exploration. It is My U.S.A. Road Trip by Jennifer Dewing and illustrated by Barbara Bongini. This is a photo book so you can have the child's face put into the pictures!

Black Athletes -- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilma Rudolph #blacklivesmatter

 

Today for our Black Lives Matter Series I have decided to share two Black athletes. I struggled today with whom I should share. I thought about writing a post about Chadwick Boseman. As I read about him I will be honest I wondered if I am doing these amazing people justice with my posts. I was wondering if I am making a difference. I decided there is so much out there right now about Chadwick Boseman that I don't need to feature him here. I know I am a small blog and I don't really expect to grow big because I am not willing to monetize and I am not about pushing my own work plus I accept our work as it is and don't make it perfect. But sometimes I wonder if you are really reading this and caring about what I write. If you are I would love a comment (other than spam). Anyway, today we are going to look at two Black athletes: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilma Rudolph and the roles they have played in our society.

Fun Facts about Ice Cream Sandwiches -- National Ice Cream Sandwich Day!

Did you know today is Ice Cream Sandwich Day? To celebrate here are some fun facts about ice cream sandwiches and at the end there is a round-up of recipes to try!

Two of the Big Six: John Lewis and A. Philip Randolph #blacklivesmatter

As I thought about who to do next for our Black Lives Matter Series I realized I should do John Lewis since he passed away this weekend. He was last of the Big Six leaders of the Civil Rights Movement to die. As I did my research I realized that A. Philip Randolph was as well so today I am going to share about both of them. The Big Six were Martin Luther King, Jr., James Farmer, John Lewis, A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins and Whitney Young. They were instrumental in the planning of the March on Washington in 1963. 

Books for the Young

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

Today I am going to share books for your youngest kids. The ages of these books range from baby to kindergarten. They are a variety of board books and picture books. The topics range from travel, family, transportation and more!! I hope you will check them out for your little ones!!

Chien-Shiung Wu -- The Queen of Physics

 

Today is International Women's Day so it seems appropriate to continue with our learning about different women who made a difference in our world. Today I am featuring an international woman who was born in China and moved to America to further her education. Every year I like to focus on at least one woman in math or science, and today is the day. I was drawn to Chien-Shiung Wu. Perhaps it is that she was snubbed by the Noble Prize (due to a scandalous affair there is no Noble Prize for mathematics) or perhaps it is that she worked on the atomic bomb (I have a great uncle that I never met who also worked on it), but whatever the reason I decided to feature her today.