50 Multicultural Books Every Child Should Read

We have started collecting books for Addy and Tyler that are multi-ethnic multi-racial and that show characters of different backgrounds. And then a friend posted this link! And so we will begin looking into getting some of these as well! Looks like we only have one on the list so far.

50 Multicultural Books Every Child Should Read (http://www.nea.org/grants/29510.htm)

This list of must-have multicultural books was originally compiled by the Cooperative Children's Book Center, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Preschool
What a Wonderful World by George David Weiss and Bob Thiele, illustrated by Ashley Bryan. Atheneum, 1995. (Multi-ethnic)
One Afternoon by Yumi Heo. Scholastic, 1998. (Asian Pacific American)
Grandmother's Nursery Rhymes/Las Nanas de Abuelita by Nelly Palacio Jaramillo, illustrated by Elivia. Henry Holt, 1996. (Latino)
Margaret and Margarita/Margarita y Margaret by Lynn Reiser. Rayo, 1996. (Latino)
Baby Says by John Steptoe. Mulberry Books, 1992 (African American)
I Love My Hair! by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley, illustrated by E. B. Lewis. Little Brown Young Readers, 2001. (African American)
Baby Rattlesnake by Te Ata, illustrated by Mira Reisberg. Children's Book Press, 2006. (American Indian)
You Are My Perfect Baby by Johce Carol Thomas, illustrated by Nneka Bennett. HarperFestival, 1999. (African American)
Round Is a Mooncake: A Book of Shapes by Roseanne Thong, illustrated by Grace Lin. Chronicle Books, 2000. (Asian Pacific American)
Where Did You Get Your Moccasins? by Bernelda Wheeler, illustrated by Herman Bekkering. Peguis Publishers, 1992. (American Indian)
More, More, More, Said the Baby: Three Love Stories by Vera B. Williams. HarperCollins, 1996. (Multi-ethnic)
Do You Know What I'll Do? by Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by Javaka Steptoe. HarperCollins, 2000. (African American)

Ages 5-7
Drumbeat... Heartbeat: A Celebration of the Powwow by Susan Braine. Lerner Publishing Group, 1995. (American Indian)
Grandfather Counts by Andrea Cheng, illustrated by Ange Zhang. Lee & Low Books , 2003. (Asian Pacific American)
Halmoni and the Picnic by Sook Nyul Choi, illustrated by Karen Dugan. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 1993. (Asian Pacific American)
Hairs/Pelitos by Sandra Cisneros, illustrated by Terry Ybáñez. Dragonfly Books, 1997. (Latino)
Abuela by Arthur Dorros, illustrated by Elisa Kleven. Puffin, 1997.(Latino)
Honey, I Love and Other Poems by Eloise Greenfield, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. HarperCollins, 1986. (African American)
The Good Luck Cat by Joy Harjo, illustrated by Paul Lee. Harcourt Children's Books, 2000. (American Indian)
Celebrating Families by Rosemarie Hausherr. Scholastic, 1997. (Multi-ethnic)
Mirandy and Brother Wind by Patricia McKissack, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Dragonfly Books, 1997. (African American)
Shades of Black: A Celebration of Our Children by Sandra L. Pinkney, photographs by Myles C. Pinkney. Scholastic, 2000. (African American)
Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message by Jake Swamp, illustrated by Erwin Printup, Jr. Lee & Low Books, 1997. (American Indian)
Morning on the Lake by Jean Bourdeau Waboose, illustrated by Karen Reczuch. Kids Can Press, 1999. (American Indian)

Ages 7-9
My Name Is Maria Isabel by Alma Flor Ada. Aladdin, 1995. (Latino)
From the Bellybutton of the Moon, and Other Summer Poems/Del Ombligo de la Luna, y Otros Poemas de Verano by Francisco X. Alarcon, illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez. Children's Book Press, 2005. (Latino)
Golden Tales: Myths, Legends and Folktales from Latin America by Lulu Delacre. Scholastic en Español, 2001. (Latino)
The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2009. (African American)
Maples in the Mist: Poems for Children from the Tang Dynasty by Minfong Ho, illustrated by Jean and Mou-sien Tseng. Lothrop, 1996. (Asian Pacific)
John Henry by Julius Lester, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Puffin, 1999. (African American)
Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki, illustrated by Dom Lee. Lee & Low Books, 1995. (Asian Pacific American)
Wings by Christopher Myers. Scholastic, 2000. (African American)
The People Shall Continue by Simon Ortiz, illustrated by Sharol Graves. Children's Book Press, 1994. (American Indian)
Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold. Dragonfly Books, 1996. (African American)
What's the Most Beautiful Thing You Know about Horses? by Richard Van Camp, illustrated by George Littlechild. Children's Book Press, 2003. (American Indian)
Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World by Mildred Pitts Walter. Yearling, 1990. (African American)

Ages 9-12
Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges. Scholastic, 1999. (African American)
Native American Animal Stories by Joseph Bruchac. Fulcrum Publishing, 1992. (American Indian)
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. Laurel Leaf, 2004. (African American)
The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich. Hyperion, 2002. (American Indian)
The Journey: Japanese Americans, Racism, and Renewal by Sheila Hamanaka. Scholastic, 1995. (Asian Pacific American)
Oh, Freedom! Kids Talk About the Civil Rights Movement With the People Who Made It Happen by Casey King and Linda Barrett Osborne. Knopf, 1999 (Multi-ethnic)
Family Pictures/Cuadros de Familia by Carmen Lomas Garza. Children's Book Press, 2005. (Latino)
Now Is Your Time! The African-American Struggle for Freedom by Walter Dean Myers. Amistad, 1992. (African American)
The Tree Is Older Than You Are: A Bilingual Gathering of Poems and Stories from Mexico by Naomi Shihab Nye, with paintings by Mexican artists. Simon & Schuster, 1998. (Latino)
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan. Scholastic, 2002. (Latino)
Quilted Landscape: Conversations with Young Immigrants by Yale Strom. Simon & Schuster Children' Publishing, 1996. (Multi-ethnic)
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor. Puffin, 1997. (African American)
The Rainbow People by Lawrence Yep, illustrated by David Wiesner. HarperCollins, 1992. (Asian Pacific American)
The Friends by Kazumi Yumoto. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005. (Asian Pacific)

The much promised pictures!

Meeting up with old friends. Addy going for her first Jeep ride!
Petting zoo, Addy loves the llamas!

and of course the pony rides! Which she kept talking about and was very excited about prior to getting there. We take every opportunity to ride a pony that we can!

Double stroller shopping.... well, Addy decided to ride with Ernie and Bert instead!

Soon to be big brother Alden came over for a visit... Flirting already! OH NO!

Quick Update

Just a quick update with pictures to come in a day or two when I have time!

Tyler had his 6-8 week appointment today except that the scheduler goofed it up and scheduled us too early (he's only 5 weeks old) so we had our appointment but have to go back next week to get his shots. So here's his stats...

9 pounds 11 ounces (he was 8 a week and a half ago!) 40th percentile
20 inches 5th percentile

Developmentally on track, no issues! He's on the tinier side but left the hospital after birth at just under 6 pounds so is doing well and catching up quickly!

He slept pretty well last night so we are hopeful that we are starting a new chapter of sleeping at night and being awake during the day!

Busy weekend of a lot of fun! Caught up with old friends who we haven't seen in over 15 years, pony rides, petting zoo, birthday party, shopping, you name it we did it! Pictures to come...

Puppy Fun, adventures in cooking, and hair!

Our friend Amanda got a new little puppy so we have been having puppy playdates! This time we decided to go to the park where addy was able to take the puppy on a walk... "puppy walk puppy walk?"... although sometimes the puppy was walking her! And other times she was dragging the puppy by the leash!

A flower for mama!

Adventures in baking! Our first mother daughter baking experience....Brownies for the block party! She was very proud of herself and they were a hit. Came home with an empty pan!

Park fun!

3rd times a charm! Here is my 3rd attempt at corn rows and it actually looks like I might know what I am doing!

Fun times...

Bunch O'Climbers...
Addy and Emme dancing around. Follow the leader...

Three itsy bitsy spiders... although they are all on different parts of the song (Addy sun, Nora rain, Emmerson spider).

She loves goats! BAAAA!

Run, leap, spin!

Addy & Emmerson at the minizoo!

Addy tends to say cheese and make silly faces at the camera now!

After my camera recharges, I have a bunch of cute pics to upload from a trip to the park with my friends puppy!

Super Saturday

Pretty quiet here today so thought I would post a few pictures!
Sleeping Prince, snug in his airplane blankets! (no gender neutral stuff here, Pink or Boy!)
Addy dressing up in my FAVORITE sweatshirt that I have had for over 13 years and who was previously my sisters and apparently soon will be Addy's.

First real bath, attempted a mohawk but not quite long enough yet!

Look at those curls!

The adventure continues....

The Adventures of Addybell will be continuing as Two Pitts in a Pod, now not only chronically the adventures of Miss Addy but the adventures of Miss Addy and her baby brodder Tyler!

Things have been a bit hectic here the past week with a virus. But thanks to AMAZING friends who were able to help out in a pinch, we were able to get through it! We think we are all healthy now and are home doing well.

Since it was a beautiful day out today, we decided to take a walk to the fair. Addy enjoyed petting the "big ponys" (draft horses) and was able to see some baby animals too! She was also very fond of the gravel on the ground. Tyler was with but took a nice nappy in the stroller while we walked around.

Addy is getting very imaginitive lately! A few days ago she came to me pointing to her arm with a story about a bumble bee.... "bumbobee ouwie, bumbobee ouwie (while pointing to a scar on her arm), bumbobee where go? bumbobee outside (while pointing out the door), bumbobee where go? bumbobee all done, bumbo bee ouwie." Where she comes up with this stuff I don't know but who knew a 19 month old could have such an imaginiation. She's also started blaming the cats for things and joking around some. What a cutie.

Tyler is getting big already! He just hit 8 pounds! And is getting chubby cheeks! He is just the cutest little guy.

I'll try to get some pics up in the next couple days!

Single stroller converted to double!

How cute is this! We decided to go for a walk this evening and not knowing if Addy would stay in the stroller I decided to stick them both in it and see how long it would last.
So here is before the walk....And after... Sleep little kids!

Busy weekend full of pictures!

We had a fun weekend! It sure is nice having time off in the summer!

We went to a pool party and Addy wore her new "FLOTIES" which were amazing! When we were in Alabama she loved swimming but didn't want to be held onto. So I got her some of these wings which are specifically for 1-3 year olds (not like the big plastic ones for 3-5 year olds) and they worked great. She could float around and they kept her upright perfectly! She is such a fish! Our little friend Nora (not pictured due to inability to get a picture of everyones faces) turned 1! So we went to her birthday party. Here is Tyler and Miles the only two guys of the group! Delany, Sophia, and Addy playing nicely with a toy (this was as close to anyone actually looking at the camera as I could get)!

A little town near us had their local fair so a friend and I took Addy to the fair where they had PONY RIDES (which Addy LOVED) and a petting zoo!

Feeding the deer was Addys favorite at the petting zoo. They were crazy and all 10 would come and try to eat out of your hand at once!

Baby Buffalo

Baby Camel

Addy loves "Hoding" her baby "broder tyyylr" and read him her Elmo book!

Things are going well as we continue to settle into life as a family of 4! A few things that we think we have figured out, if you are alone and getting out of the car, Addy always goes in first and comes out last (to prevent running away while dealing with Tyler); always bring extra snacks for Addy incase you need to feed the baby quick before you leave somewhere; have extra patience! Things are still a little hectic but going well overall. Addy is doing great! She is transitioning very well to being a big sister. She is still of course her wild independent curious self but takes time to be gentle with Tyler and love him up too!

Rows!

Well Shawna convinced me that I could do corn rows... boy was she wrong! I am going to need much more practice! Here is our first attempt....

6 rows across the top, finger coils in the back

Playing Peek-a-Boo with the camera!