Multicultural Children's Book Day 2016: Reviewing Gayle Swift's Adoption ABC's -- by Christy Mihaly

It's that time again! Multicultural Children's Book Day is coming on Wednesday, January 27th, and GROG is happy to be participating for the second year. 

Readers, parents, teachers, caregivers and librarians can read book reviews, find author visits, and attend fun events to celebrate MCCBD. Follow along on Twitter and other social media at: #ReadYourWorld. 

MCCBD's mission is: 
to raise awareness for the kid’s books that celebrate diversity, 
AND 
to get more of these books into classrooms and libraries.

Today for MCCBD, I'm sharing an ABC book about adoption, including culturally diverse adoption. ABC, Adoption & ME is an award-winning picture book written by Gayle Swift. She is an Author Sponsor of MCCBD, and founder of GIFT Family Services, which supports families around adoption. Gayle Swift also has personal experience with adoption and fostering. Her daughter, Casey Swift, an adoptee, collaborated in the writing of the book. Paul Griffin illustrated. 

ABC, Adoption & Me presents a range of topics of interest and concern to adoptive families, in an ABC format. Narrated by an adopted child, it's intended to stimulate meaningful conversations among families about adoption issues from A to Z. 

Here are three of my favorites: 

The illustrations show that many adoptions are multiracial and/or multicultural, and that all families are different. 

The authors include helpful additional information to guide adults in using the book. For example, while reading the pages with your child, explore his or her reactions. How is your family different from the pictured family? How is it similar? How do your feelings compare with those of the child in the book? 

As the book's note to parents explains, adopted children may have questions and fears, and their feelings about adoption may sometimes be "stormy." The authors urge adoptive parents to help their children "braid [their] dual heritage into healthy unity." Kudos to Gayle Swift for creating this helpful resource for adoptive families and foster families who are doing the important work of building happy, healthy families. 

ABC, Adoption & Me is available at Barnes & Noble and elsewhere online. See more about Gayle and her book on her website and Facebook.

#ReadYourWorld
Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2016 

Medallion Level Sponsors are: 

Platinum: Wisdom Tales Press * StoryQuest Books * Lil Libros

Gold: Author Tori Nighthawk * Candlewick Press * Bharat Babies

Silver: Lee and Low Books * Chronicle Books * Capstone Young Readers 

Tuttle Publishing * NY Media Works LLC/KidLit TV

Bronze: Pomelo Books * Author Jacqueline Woodson * Papa Lemon Books  

Goose bottom Books *Author Gleeson Rebello * ShoutMouse Press  
Author Mahvash Shahegh * China Institute.org * Live Oak Media 

Multicultural Children’s Book Day's amazing Co-Hosts: 

All Done Monkey * Crafty Moms Share * Educators Spin on it * Growing Book by Book * Imagination Soup *  I’m Not the Nanny *  InCultural Parent * Kid World Citizen  

 Mama Smiles * Multicultural Kid Blogs * Spanish Playground

And Don't Forget the MCCBD Classroom Reading Challenge:  
The Classroom Reading Challenge offers teachers and classrooms the chance to (very easily) earn a free hardcover multicultural children's book for their classroom library. 
These books are not only donated by the Junior Library Guild, but they are pre-screened and approved by them as well.

Happy MCCBD! 
And Happy Reading, today and every day.