Friday, January 29, 2016

6:41 to Paris







It's the simplest of plots: a man and a woman sit down next to each other on the train to Paris. Insert a small twist: the man and woman knew each other well, more than twenty years ago. Now enter the thoughts of each, in turn.


I took this little train ride of a book the last few days. How well the author got into the heads of these two complex and real people. How well the author maintained the tension between them. What a wonderful experience it is to choose a book to read and review without knowing anything about the author or the publisher and discovering you have read a marvel of a book you want to share with everyone.


This is the perfect book for your next short train trip. I caution you, however, to look carefully at who you sit beside on the ride.

My rating:


My niece and I on a train to Paris. June 2010.

Author Jean-Philippe Blondel

Would you like to read other reviews of this book? Click here.

Would you like to win a copy of The 6:41 to Paris? Use this Entry-Form.

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Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Multicultural Children's Book Day: Read Around the World






In honor of Multicultural Children's Book Day on January 27th of this year, I have reached way, way back in my files and pulled out these photos of a book fair from 2009 with the theme "Read Around the World." I hope to always share stories from around the world with my students.


Take a look at my other Multicultural Children's Book Day posts this week:
Multicultural Children's Book Day
Ten Books That Celebrate African-American Diversity


For more wordless photos, go to Wordless Wednesday.

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. To participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken and then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky at West Metro Mommy Reads. 

 The Multicultural Children's Book Day team’s mission is to spread the word and raise awareness about the importance of diversity in children’s literature. Our young readers need to see themselves within the pages of a book and experience other cultures, languages, traditions and religions within the pages of a book. We encourage readers, parents, teachers, caregivers and librarians to follow along the fun book reviews, author visits, event details, a multicultural children’s book linky and via our hashtag (#ReadYourWorld) on Twitter and other social media.
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Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Ten Children's Books That Celebrate African-American Diversity



If you grow up as an insider, it's hard to see the world from the point of view of an outsider. Books do that for us.

 I read a book about a person from a culture outside my own and---whammy!---I am thrust into the shoes of that world, I am in the body of that world, I am in the head of that world. I can't climb into those shoes, that body, that head without feeling the pain of that world, the cruelties of exclusion, the longing to join the larger culture, along with the joys of being part of a rich culture....it's a mixed ride. It's a ride that changes me.

 Here are ten children's books that allow me into the African-American experience for a little while.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry



Bud, Not Buddy



The Watsons Go to Birmingham

Amazing Grace

Uncle Jed's Barber Shop

Tar Beach

The Other Side

Goin' Someplace Special

White Water

More Than Anything Else

Those Shoes

Something Beautiful
The Coretta Scott King Book Award celebrates African-American authors and illustrators of books for children and young people. This is a great place to start if you are looking for good children's books by African-Americans.

Update: Here's a link to an 11-year-old girl who is attempting to collect 1000 books featuring a main character who is an African-American girl.



Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

The Multicultural Children's Book Day team’s mission is to spread the word and raise awareness about the importance of diversity in children’s literature. Our young readers need to see themselves within the pages of a book and experience other cultures, languages, traditions and religions within the pages of a book. We encourage readers, parents, teachers, caregivers and librarians to follow along the fun book reviews, author visits, event details, a multicultural children’s book linky and via our hashtag (#ReadYourWorld) on Twitter and other social media.
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Sunday, January 24, 2016

Children's Multicultural Book Day





January 27th, 2016 is the third annual Children's Multicultural Book Day. I'm a school librarian, and finding diverse books has always been a challenge for me. 

When I became a librarian twelve years ago, I was in Houston ISD. The school had a huge Spanish-speaking population. The principal showed me the library when I was first hired. "This will be one of your challenges," he told me, as he showed me a tiny shelf of books in Spanish. I searched and searched for books for our children at the school, but there just wasn't much available in Spanish. Disappointing.

Ten years ago, I was at an elementary school just south of the Texas Medical Center in Houston. A language survey was done at the school while I was librarian there, and we learned that over fifty different languages were spoken in the homes of students. I decided to try to find stories for our school from as many of the different home languages and cultures as I could. I searched and searched and managed to find books in only ten of the fifty languages. Disappointing. 

Now I'm a librarian at a school in my hometown and I still struggle to find good books for children that reflect the many cultures of our world. Disappointing. 

Happily, this year I served as a judge for the Cybils Fiction Picture Book Award. I am proud to say that three of our finalists reflect diverse cultures:


I was delighted to receive two new multicultural books to read for this event: Dev and Ollie: Kite Crazy and La Familia Cool: El tesoro mas valioso/The Most Valuable Treasure. I urge you to seek out diverse books like these and share them with your children, your students, and your friends.




Do you have a hard time finding diverse children's books? I'd love to hear your thoughts!



The Multicultural Children's Book Day team’s mission is to spread the word and raise awareness about the importance of diversity in children’s literature. Our young readers need to see themselves within the pages of a book and experience other cultures, languages, traditions and religions within the pages of a book. We encourage readers, parents, teachers, caregivers and librarians to follow along the fun book reviews, author visits, event details, a multicultural children’s book linky and via our hashtag (#ReadYourWorld) on Twitter and other social media.
The co-creators of this event are Mia Wenjen from Pragmatic Mom and Valarie Budayr from Jump Into a Book/Audrey Press. You can find a bio for Mia and Valarie here.

Multicultural Children’s Book day 2016 Medallion Level Sponsors! #ReadYourWorld

Teachers! Earn a FREE #Multicultural Kids Book for Your Classroom! #teachers, #books #teacherlife  http://ow.ly/UUy96




Link Up Your Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2016 Posts Here!




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