Category: culture

culture, family, lgbtq+, social-emotional

Spotlight: Vlad the Fabulous Vampire/Alma and How She Got Her Name

Seth Harris

Vlad the Fabulous Vampire (Candlewick Press)
Written & Illustrated by Flavia Z. Drago

For ages: 4-8
Vlad isn’t like the other vampires. He loves bold fashion and uses his meticulously planned everyday wear to hide something he’s ashamed of. Vlad has bright rosy pink cheeks. These marks on his face make him stand out from the other vampires, so Vlad develops an insecurity about them. He doesn’t realize until the end of the story that every vampire has something they think will make them ostracized from the group. But when everyone acknowledges their differences, they realize they are all the same in unique ways.

Continue reading “Spotlight: Vlad the Fabulous Vampire/Alma and How She Got Her Name” →
black lives, community, culture, family, fantasy, holiday, illustration

Book List: Christmas Tales

Seth Harris

Tacky’s Christmas (Scholastic)
Written by Helen Lester
Illustrated by Lynn Munsinger

For ages: 3-7
Christmas time in Icy Land can be daunting as this is when the hunters arrive. Tacky isn’t going to let them ruin the holiday season, and he gets his penguin friends to decorate and celebrate. Tacky dresses up like Santa while his buddies dawn elf ears and hats. But then, a trio of beasts shows up with an evil gleam in their eye. Oh no! No worries. They think they have met the real Santa and his elves and a Christmas miracle occurs. This is a fun tale of Christmas time and how it can soften even the hardest hearts. The illustrations from Lynn Munsinger are the perfect accompaniment to this festive tale.

Continue reading “Book List: Christmas Tales” →
animals, culture, family, social-emotional

Spotlight – A Perfect Wonderful Day With Friends/Brand New Bubbe

Seth Harris

A Perfect Wonderful Day With Friends (Gecko Press)
Written & Illustrated by Philip Waechter

For ages: 4-8
Raccoon decides he wants to bake an apple cake to cure his boredom. However, there are no eggs in the house. Fox owns chickens, so maybe she will help him out. When Raccoon arrives at Fox’s home, he finds she has a leaky roof that needs repairs. The two head to Badger’s house, hoping he has a ladder. Well, Badger is having difficulty with a crossword puzzle. Fox thinks Bear might solve it, and the trio heads to visit him. They stop for a delicious blackberry picnic and find Bear isn’t home when they reach their destination. Crow is circling overhead and guides them to Bear, who is fishing along the river. Unfortunately, he’s not having luck catching anything. So, the friends jump into the water for a refreshing swim. 

Continue reading “Spotlight – A Perfect Wonderful Day With Friends/Brand New Bubbe” →
culture, food, spotlight

Spotlight: Paletero Man/Meet the Latkes

Seth Harris

Paletero Man (HarperCollins)
Written by Lucky Diaz & Dr. Carmen Tafolla
Illustrated by Micah Player

For ages: 3-7
Very few things are as satisfying as an ice-cold treat during these scorching summer months. A Latinx boy has the same idea, but he can’t find the Paletero Man. So he races down the streets, hearing the sounds of the Paletero Man’s bell. Along the way, he runs into other street vendors and shopkeepers encouraging him. Eventually, everyone in the neighborhood comes together, and the boy is so inspired he makes sure everyone gets to enjoy paletas. As temperatures rise, that sounds absolutely divine to experience.

Continue reading “Spotlight: Paletero Man/Meet the Latkes” →
culture, folktales, mexican, social studies

Author Spotlight – Duncan Tonatiuh

Seth Harris

Duncan Tonatiuh was born in Mexico City in 1984 to an American father and a Mexican mother. Duncan’s family moved to the States when he was a teenager, and he finished high school in Massachusetts. Growing up, Duncan was drawn to the vibrant art of comic books and anime. This inspired him to make his own comics and prompted his exploration of art. In high school, he took up painting and claims his most significant influences to be Vincent Van Gogh and Austrian expressionist Egon Schiele. In college, Duncan began studying Mixtec art, the painting style found in indigenous Mexican art of the Oaxaca and Puebla peoples. This art style is the core influence in the children’s books Duncan writes & illustrates. It’s his way of reviving an old art form in a contemporary context that tells relevant stories to children.

Continue reading “Author Spotlight – Duncan Tonatiuh” →
black history, culture, disabilities, hispanic, illustration, social-emotional

Book List: Our Beautiful Hair

Seth Harris

Happy to Be Nappy (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Written by bell hooks
Illustrated by Chris Raschka

For ages: 1-5
This board book is not your typical baby lit. Instead, it’s taken from the words of noted author bell hooks and celebrates the beauty of Black hair. Hooks provides beautifully descriptive language to talk about her hair, comparing it to the fluffiness of cotton, frizzy, fuzzy, and able to be styled in a seemingly endless number of ways. Hair is evoked as a method of bonding. Mothers & daughters spending time together. The illustrations by Chris Raschka evoke the crayon drawings of a young child for whom this book is intended, playful stick figures with colors going outside the lines. While appearing simple from the outside, Happy to Be Nappy is a beautiful celebration of Black hair and its many styles and presentations.

Continue reading “Book List: Our Beautiful Hair” →
asian-american, author spotlight, culture, humor

Author Spotlight – Minh Lê

Seth Harris

It’s always interesting to learn about the authors behind some of your favorite books, particularly if they have a day job outside their writing career. Minh Lê is a Vietnamese-American writer who works as a federal early childhood policy expert from the national to local levels. This means he spends a lot of time in and out of all kinds of schools across the country. Having a Bachelor’s in Psychology and Masters in Ed Policy means he’s incredibly well versed in understanding how people learn and productive ways to communicate through his writing. Like so many kids, Minh Lê found books to be a comforting place to go while growing up. One of his favorite things about books is the ability to revisit them over time and uncover new layers as you develop and grow. Through his own children, Minh Lê has seen the importance children place on storytelling as they develop their language skills. These meaningful observations have led to a growing bibliography that speaks powerfully to kids’ hearts. 

Continue reading “Author Spotlight – Minh Lê” →
asian-american, climate collapse, culture, family, food

Spotlight: The Planet in a Pickle Jar/Hundred Years of Happiness

Seth Harris

The Planet in a Pickle Jar (Flying Eye Books)
Written & Illustrated by Martin Stanev

For ages: 4-8
Two siblings visit Grandma’s house with not much expectation for fun. She’s a boring old lady to them. However, as they wander around her home, they discover a big secret. They learn that Grandma is worried that Earth is losing its life and stories. To remedy this, she’s amassed a collection of jars in her basement. Each jar is something of the planet she hopes to preserve, and each jar is also a story about a moment in her life and the planet’s. This inspires the children to want to preserve their stories, too, and they embark on a fun adventure with Grandma.

Continue reading “Spotlight: The Planet in a Pickle Jar/Hundred Years of Happiness” →
afro-caribbean, author spotlight, culture, social-emotional

Author Spotlight: Tami Charles

Seth Harris

Like many of you, Tami Charles was once a public school teacher. It was a natural fit, as he grew up with a mother who was a teacher, vice-principal, and even principal. So it’s also no surprise that Charles is an excellent writer with parents who encouraged learning and set the bar high. In her younger days, show business seemed possible as she was part of an all-girls singing group that even performed on BET. But ultimately, teaching kids won out, and she spent many years as a teacher, honing her craft and listening to the children she taught. As a woman of Afro-Caribbean descent, that cultural background has also profoundly affected her work. She debuted with a middle-grade book and still writes those texts, but here I will focus on her picture book work. Charles currently lives in New Jersey with her husband and son and loves Caribbean food, as seen in one of the books below.

Continue reading “Author Spotlight: Tami Charles” →
arabic, book list, culture, muslim

Book List: Muslim Lives

Seth Harris

Mommy’s Khimar (Salaam Reads / Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
Written by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
Illustrated by Ebony Glenn

For ages: 4-8
This lovely text is all about finding beauty in your culture. The young girl who narrates the tale loves her headscarf or khimar. For our young friend, the scarf can be many things: a bird’s wings, a queen’s cloak, and a superhero’s cape. The family is presented as Black, and there are rich details about the girl’s braided hair and the scent of coconut oil and cocoa butter that will connect with children who have these sensory experiences in their lives. The book even addresses people outside the Muslim community, like a Christian grandmother on her mom’s side. She loves her sweet granddaughter even though they practice different belief systems. There’s so much joy and warmth in this text I expect most readers will be unable to resist a smile.

Continue reading “Book List: Muslim Lives” →