Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2017 (1/27/18) is in its 5th year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators.
Current Sponsors: MCBD 2018 is honored to have some amazing Sponsors on board.
2018 MCBD Medallion Sponsors
HONORARY: Children’s Book Council, Junior Library Guild
PLATINUM:Scholastic Book Clubs
GOLD:Audrey Press, Candlewick Press, Loving Lion Books, Second Story Press, Star Bright Books, Worldwide Buddies
SILVER:Capstone Publishing, Author Charlotte Riggle, Child’s Play USA, KidLit TV, Pack-n-Go Girls, Plum Street Press
BRONZE: Barefoot Books, Carole P. Roman, Charlesbridge Publishing, Dr. Crystal Bowe, Gokul! World, Green Kids Club, Gwen Jackson, Jacqueline Woodson, Juan J. Guerra, Language Lizard, Lee & Low Books, RhymeTime Storybooks, Sanya Whittaker Gragg, TimTimTom Books, WaterBrook & Multnomah, Wisdom Tales Press
2018 Author Sponsors
Honorary Author Sponsors: Author/Illustrator Aram Kim and Author/Illustrator Juana Medina
Author Janet Balletta, Author Susan Bernardo, Author Carmen Bernier-Grand, Author Tasheba Berry-McLaren and Space2Launch, Bollywood Groove Books, Author Anne Broyles, Author Kathleen Burkinshaw, Author Eugenia Chu, Author Lesa Cline-Ransome, Author Medeia Cohan and Shade 7 Publishing, Desi Babies, Author Dani Dixon and Tumble Creek Press, Author Judy Dodge Cummings, Author D.G. Driver, Author Nicole Fenner and Sister Girl Publishing, Debbi Michiko Florence, Author Josh Funk, Author Maria Gianferrari, Author Daphnie Glenn, Globe Smart Kids, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Author Quentin Holmes, Author Esther Iverem, Jennifer Joseph: Alphabet Oddities, Author Kizzie Jones, Author Faith L Justice , Author P.J. LaRue and MysticPrincesses.com, Author Karen Leggett Abouraya, Author Sylvia Liu, Author Sherri Maret, Author Melissa Martin Ph.D., Author Lesli Mitchell, Pinky Mukhi and We Are One, Author Miranda Paul, Author Carlotta Penn, Real Dads Read, Greg Ransom, Author Sandra L. Richards, RealMVPKids Author Andrea Scott, Alva Sachs and Three Wishes Publishing, Shelly Bean the Sports Queen, Author Sarah Stevenson, Author Gayle H. Swift Author Elsa Takaoka, Author Christine Taylor-Butler, Nicholette Thomas and MFL Publishing Author Andrea Y. Wang, Author Jane Whittingham (THAT’S ME!), Author Natasha Yim
We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.
TWITTER PARTY Sponsored by Scholastic Book Clubs: MCBD’s super-popular (and crazy-fun) annual Twitter Party will be held 1/27/18 at 9:00pm.
Join the conversation and win one of 12-5 book bundles and one Grand Prize Book Bundle (12 books) that will be given away at the party! http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/twitter-party-great-conversations-fun-prizes-chance-readyourworld-1-27-18/
Free Multicultural Books for Teachers: http://bit.ly/1kGZrta
Free Empathy Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians and Educators: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/teacher-classroom-empathy-kit/
Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.
Today I’m thrilled to be sharing an utterly gorgeous picture book that’s full of thrills and spills, action and excitement, and that most popular of sports, SOCCER!
A soccer story—for boy and girls alike—just in time for the World Cup!
“Vini! Come! The field calls!” cries a girl as she and her younger brother rouse their community—family, friends, and the local fruit vendor—for a pickup soccer (futbol) game. Boys and girls, young and old, players and spectators come running—bearing balls, shoes, goals, and a love of the sport.
“Friends versus friends” teams are formed, the field is cleared of cows, and the game begins! But will a tropical rainstorm threaten their plans?
The world’s most popular and inclusive sport has found its spirited, poetic, and authentic voice in Baptiste Paul’s debut picture book—highlighting the joys of the game along with its universal themes: teamwork, leadership, diversity, and acceptance. Creole words (as spoken in St. Lucia, the author’s birthplace island in the Caribbean) add spice to the story and are a strong reminder of the sport’s world fame. Bright and brilliant illustrations by debut children’s book illustrator Jacqueline Alcántara—winner of the We Need Diverse Books Illustration Mentorship Award—capture the grit and glory of the game and the beauty of the island setting where this particular field was inspired.
Soccer fan or not, the call of The Field is irresistible.”
Years ago, when I was working as an activity leader for an international school’s summer camp program, I witnessed first-hand the irresistible pull of the field. The children in the program came from countries all around the world, and spoke a number of different languages. Many of them spoke very little English, and most were far from home, living with strangers in a foreign country. We saw more than a few tears from homesick little kids that summer.
But when we threw a soccer ball out into a field, everything changed. Kids of all ages, from different countries, cultures and religions, suddenly came to life when there was soccer to be played. Those kids would have played all day, every day, if we’d let them! It didn’t matter that they didn’t speak the same language – soccer is a global language that every child can speak.
Soccer truly is a universal sport. You need so little to play – just something to kick around, and a place where you can kick it around. You can play with two people or ten people, or even by yourself, if you want to. You don’t need fancy equipment, just enthusiasm and energy and a desire to have fun. Soccer is for everyone and everyone, and it brings people together like few other things can.
The Field follows an enthusiastic group of kids as they share an energetic game of soccer on an island in the Caribbean. Not even a rainstorm is going to stop these children from playing the game they love! In the end, only the call of their mothers can bring these soccer fanatics home from the field.
Jacqueline Alcántara’s illustrations are soaked in vibrant colour, and filled with fascinating details showcasing life in a tropical village. Baptiste Paul’s limited text is action-packed, and is wonderfully complemented by illustrations that seem to dance right off the page.
Paul infuses the text with Creole vocabulary, and a handy glossary and pronunciation guide are included at the back of the text. There’s also a great author’s note in which Paul shares a bit about his childhood in St. Lucia, where he grew up playing soccer like the joyful kids in his story.
The Field is a beautiful book that would work fantastically as a read aloud with its active, rhythmic text. It will surely appeal to young soccer lovers everywhere, who will no doubt identify with the enthusiastic protagonists who play soccer even in their dreams.
A massive thank you to NorthSouth Books and the team at Multicultural Children’s Book Day for providing a copy of this stunning book for review.
The Field
Hardcover, 32 pages
March 2018 : NorthSouth Books
Source: Multicultural Children’s Book Day
This book sounds great. A lovely initiative.
I just love this book. Thank you so much for sharing your review and celebrating Multicultural Children’s Book Day with us.
Ah! This looks wonderful!
Sounds like a wonderful book! Thank you for sharing it and for participating!