Multicultural Children's Book Day Reviews ~by Christy Mihaly

On January 26, 2023, Multicultural Children's Book Day (MCBD) celebrates its tenth anniversary of bringing culturally diverse books to children, parents, teachers, and librarians. This children's literacy project was founded by Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen, two moms who decided to shine the spotlight on multicultural books. As part of the annual celebration, bloggers receive a variety of books to review.

This year, I received two historical fiction books to review for MCBD. They're quite different from one another, and I'm excited to share them both here. 

Finding Moon Rabbit (CBH Media, 2022) is a middle grade novel by J.C. Kato (winner of the 2015 SCBWI Karen Cushman award) and J.C.²  This touching story is narrated by Koko, a young California girl sent with her mother and sister to Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming as part of the forced relocation of Japanese Americans during World War II. Koko's father has been sent to another camp, and her letters to him reflect her sorrow at the separation. 

Middle grade readers will empathize with Koko's plight while learning important history. Koko must navigate her loss of freedom, learn to live in cramped quarters, confront racism and injustice, make new friends, and find meaning and love in an involuntary community of people exiled within their own country. Illustrations include excerpts of historical documents and sketches by Estelle Ishigo, who also appears as a character in the story. Ishigo was a white woman who entered Heart Mountain with her Japanese American husband and recorded scenes of camp life in her sketchbooks. A note from the authors reveals that thirteen family members were held in wartime internment camps, and that their book found its beginnings in family stories. Find out more here. 

In Vicki: An Urban Legend and other short stories, author Diana Huang offers a selection of intriguing stories. The book's first half centers on Vicki, a girl from Los Angeles's Chinatown. A band of Black teens inadvertently kidnap Vicki in the process of nabbing her mother's Toyota to flee from a robbery. Good-natured and charming, they drive her to their home in South Central where Grandma treats her to some delicious and unfamiliar foods and everyone makes her comfortable before they return her to her Chinatown the next day. In this "urban legend," Vicki befriends the robbers, meets various of their family members, helps them out, escapes a riot, and learns a bit about racial and economic inequality. It's April 1992, during the trial of a group of police officers for the beating of Rodney King. Huang weaves humor into this lively L.A. tall tale of race, culture, and adventure. She is a gifted artist, and you can read more about her work here. 

The organizers of MCBD invite you to join the celebration, online and in real life. Year-round, MCBD offers free resources, teaching tools, booklists, downloads, and an initiative to distribute diverse, multicultural books -- over 10,000 to date. Details on this year's virtual celebrations are below. And check out these supporters:

MCBD 2023 is honored to be Supported by these Medallion Sponsors!

FOUNDER’S CIRCLE: Mia Wenjen (Pragmaticmom) and Valarie Budayr’s (Audreypress.com)

🏅 Super Platinum Sponsor: Author Deedee Cummings and Make A Way Media

🏅 Platinum Sponsors: Language Lizard Bilingual Books in 50+ Languages 

🏅 Gold Sponsors: Interlink Books, Publisher Spotlight 

🏅 Silver Sponsors: Cardinal Rule Press,  Lee & Low, Barefoot Books, Kimberly Gordon Biddle

🏅 Bronze Sponsors: Vivian Kirkfield, Patrice McLaurin , Quarto Group, Carole P. Roman, Star Bright Books, Redfin.com, Redfin Canada, Bay Equity Home Loans, Rent.com, Title Forward

MCBD 2023 is honored to be Supported by these Author Sponsors!

Authors: Sivan Hong, Amanda Hsiung-Blodgett, Josh Funk , Stephanie M. Wildman, Gwen Jackson, Diana Huang, Afsaneh Moradian, Kathleen Burkinshaw, Eugenia Chu, Jacqueline Jules, Alejandra Domenzain, Gaia Cornwall, Ruth Spiro, Evelyn Sanchez-Toledo, Tonya Duncan Ellis, Kiyanda and Benjamin Young/Twin Powers Books, Kimberly Lee , Tameka Fryer Brown, Talia Aikens-Nuñez, Marcia Argueta Mickelson, Kerry O’Malley Cerra, Jennie Liu, Heather Murphy Capps, Diane Wilson, Sun Yung Shin, Shannon Gibney, John Coy, Irene Latham and Charles Waters, Maritza M Mejia, Lois Petren, J.C. Kato and J.C.², CultureGroove, Lindsey Rowe Parker, Red Comet Press, Shifa Saltagi Safadi, Nancy Tupper Ling, Deborah Acio, Asha Hagood, Priya Kumari, Chris Singleton, Padma Venkatraman, Teresa Robeson, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, Martha Seif Simpson, Rochelle Melander, Alva Sachs, Moni Ritchie Hadley, Gea Meijering, Frances Díaz Evans, Michael Genhart, Angela H. Dale, Courtney Kelly, Queenbe Monyei, Jamia Wilson, Charnaie Gordon, Debbie Ridpath Ohi, Debbie Zapata, Jacquetta Nammar Feldman, Natasha Yim, Tracy T. Agnelli, Kitty Feld, Anna Maria DiDio, Ko Kim, Shachi Kaushik 

MCBD 2023 is Honored to be Supported by our CoHosts and Global CoHosts!

MCBD 2023 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

• MCBD 2023 Poster

• Mental Health Support for Stressful Times Classroom Kit

• 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

• Gallery of Our Free Posters

• FREE Diversity Book for Classrooms Program

📌 Register HERE for the MCBD Read Your World Virtual Party.  Thursday, January 26, 2023, at 9 pm EST for the 10th annual Multicultural Children's Book Day Read Your World Virtual Party! This year it's on Zoom (not Twitter). An epically fun and fast-paced hour will feature multicultural book discussions, addressing timely issues, diverse book recommendations, & reading ideas. MCBD 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 online conversation, and connect with like-minded parts, authors, publishers, educators, organizations, and librarians.