Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2022
Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2022 celebrates its eighth year on 1/28/22. Because MCBD is one of our favorite events, we are participating for the fourth year in a row! We are very proud of our past reviews which you can read >HERE< & >HERE<
This year we are thrilled to review Farah Rocks Florida written by Susan Muaddi Darraj and illustrated by Ruaida Mannaa. Read on to enjoy the review as well as a bunch of terrific, FREE MCBD resources.
About Farah Rocks Florida:
Farah must go stay with her grandmother in Florida because her little brother is facing a lengthy stay in the hospital. Sitti Fayrouz doesn’t speak much English, and she has lots of rules. She thinks rocks are dirty and that towels need to hang a certain way. She also says that hummus must be scooped from the side of the plate. Even worse, Farah managed to make an enemy out of one of her grandmother’s neighbors–before she even arrived in Florida! Will Farah find a way to have fun being the only kid in a retirement community, or will she spend the trip worrying about her brother and counting the days until she can go home? Readers will love the fourth book in this series about a strong Palestinian-American girl.
Farah Rocks Florida Review:
Farah Rocks Florida is a terrific addition to the “Farah Rocks” series. Tweens will love this tale which weaves together family ties, traditions, friendship and a love of learning. The story is engaging, fast paced and keeps the reader invested in what happens next.
Farah Hajjar’s name means rocks in Arabic. She’s named perfectly because this strong, smart, sassy Arab-American female rocks! The emphasis on independence, book smarts and compassion makes Farah a complete joy to get to know. Farah’s story centers around family and finding your own way while at a the same time embracing tradition. The book is a great conversation starter with your tween on the joy of learning from elders and appreciating tradition.
Farah Rocks Florida features a glossary of Arabic words as well as an example of Tatreez (embroidery) artwork. Farah Rocks opens up a window into Palestinian culture that many of us are unfamiliar with. I really wish “the most fabulous, creamy zero- lumps hummus” recipe Sitti teaches Farah how to make was also included. Perhaps Farah can teach her mom how to make it in the next book? After all, diversity rocks and so does Farah!
Multicultural Children’s Book Day:
This non-profit children’s literacy initiative was founded by Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen. These diverse book-loving moms saw a need to shine the spotlight on the fabulous multicultural books and authors while also working to get those books into the hands of young readers and educators.
MCBD’s mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves. Read more bout the mission–> HERE.
MCBD 2022 is honored to be Supported by these Medallion Sponsors!
SUPER PLATINUM: Make A Way Media
PLATINUM: Language Lizard
GOLD: Barefoot Books, KidLitTV, Candlewick, Capstone, Abrams Books
SILVER: Pack-n-Go Girls, Charlotte Riggle, Kimberly Gordon Biddle
BRONZE: Carole P. Roman, Patrice McLaurin, Dyesha and Triesha McCants/McCants Squared, Redfin.com, Redfin Canada, Redfin Mortgage, Redfin/Title Forward, Create & Educate, Star Bright Books, Vivian Kirkfield, Dr. Eleanor Wint, Kind World Publishing, Snowflake Stories, Lisa Wee, SONGJU MA, Melissa Stoller, J.C. Kato and J.C.², Crystel Patterson, Audrey Press, Pragmaticmom, TimTimTom, Wisdom Tales
MCBD 2022 is honored to be Supported by these Author Sponsors!
Charlene Mosley (official MCBD2022 Poster Creator)
Illustrator Isabelle Roxas (Class Kit Poster Creator)
Alva Sachs, Brianna Carter, Ebony Zay Zay, Rita Bhandari, Gwen Jackson, Lois Petren/The 5 Enchanted Mermaids, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, Josh Funk, Afsaneh Moradian, Eugenia Chu, Maritza Martínez Mejía, Diana Huang, Kathleen Burkinshaw, CultureGroove, Sandra Elaine Scott, Dorena Williamson, Veronica Appleton, Alejandra Domenzain, Lauren Muskovitz and Sandfish Publishing, Tonya Duncan Ellis, Kimberly Lee, Susan Schaefer Bernardo & Illustrator Courtenay Fletcher, Nancy Tupper Ling, Winsome Hudson-Bingham, Amanda Hsiung-Blodgett, Sivan Hong, Michael Genhart, Debbie Dadey, Elizabeth Cureton, Stephanie Wildman, Maryann Jacob, Sherri Maret, Rochelle Melander, Dia Mixon, Kiyanda and Benjamin Young, Shereen Rahming, Linda Thornburg and Katherine Archer, Rebecca Flansburg and BA Norrgard , Maxine Schur Natalie McDonald-Perkins
MCBD 2022 is Honored to be Supported by our CoHosts and Global CoHosts!
MCBD 2022 is Honored to be Supported by these Media Partners!
FREE RESOURCES:
Diversity Book Lists & Activities for Teachers and Parents
Homeschool Diverse Kidlit Booklist & Activity Kit
Teacher Classroom Activism and Activists Kit
Free Teacher Classroom Empathy Kit
Teacher Classroom Kindness Kit
Free Teacher Classroom Physical and Developmental Challenges Kit
Homeschool Diverse Kidlit Booklist & Activity Kit
Teacher Classroom Raising Awareness on Systemic Racism in America Classroom Kit
FREE Diversity Book for Classrooms Program
Join us on Friday, Jan 28, 2021, at 9 pm EST for the 8th annual Multicultural Children’s Book Day Twitter Party! Be sure and follow MCBD and Make A Way Media on Twitter!
This fun and fast-paced hour includes multicultural book discussions, addressing timely issues, diverse book recommendations, & reading ideas.
We will be giving away an 8-Book Bundle every 5 minutes plus Bonus Prizes as well! *** US and Global participants welcome. **
Follow #ReadYourWorld to join the conversation, connect with like-minded authors, publishers, educators, organizations, and librarians. You can also check out MCBD’s Pinterest Board!
**Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links for your convenience. You can purchase recommended items via my Amazon Affiliate Links at no extra cost to you and help me continue to run Kid Congeniality