Indigenous Peoples’ Day is about celebrating! The second Monday in October is a day to honor Native American people, their histories, and cultures. People mark the day with food, dancing, and songs. Readers will discover how a shared holiday can have multiple traditions and be celebrated in all sorts of ways.
Holidays and festivals
My Mother Was A Nanny
A girl longs for her mother’s attention. But Mummy is always busy helping everyone else and their children! Day by day, the narrator recalls what it was like growing up with her mother, who was a nanny, as well as a friend, baker, maker, teacher, cleaner and more. As the youngest in her family, the girl stayed home and helped amuse the children her mother looked after. She went along on trips to the Caribbean greengrocer in their Brooklyn neighborhood, where her mother would almost always forget to buy her favorite fruit. She eavesdropped on her mother’s conversations, waiting for her turn to talk, only to be shooed away. She even accompanied her mother on office cleaning expeditions on Saturdays. Mummy seldom had a moment to spare. But looking back on a special surprise one Easter Sunday, the narrator realizes that her mother was always thinking about her own children, in spite of the demands of her domestic work and the central role she played in her community. Based on Laura James’ childhood in Brooklyn, and accompanied by her gorgeous, vibrant illustrations, this simple story is a moving reflection of race, class and labor in North America, including the Caribbean.
Circle Of Wonder
A mute Indian child has an extraordinary experience one Christmas when, following a figure who seems to be his beloved grandfather who has died, he becomes part of a circle in which he, animals, nature, and all the world join in a moment of peace and good will.
A Sweet New Year For Ren
Ren has always been too little to help make her favorite pineapple cakes for the Lunar New Year, but when her one-of-a-kind brother Charlie arrives for the festivities, with his help, she finally gets her chance. Includes recipe for pineapple cakes.
It’s Diwali!
In this take-off of the counting rhyme One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, the wonders of Diwali are described.
Tray Of Togetherness
The Tray of Togetherness is a celebration of a culturally specific experience that also speaks to the universality of having family traditions and the specialness of that connection.
Tomorrow Is New Year’s Day: Seollal, A Korean Celebration Of The Lunar New Year
rom Korean American author-illustrator Aram Kim, Tomorrow is New Year’s Day follows a little girl sharing the fun customs of Seollal, the Korean Lunar New Year with her classmates.
The Monster In The Bathhouse
The bathhouse is always busy the day before Nowruz. Everyone wants to be clean for the new year! As three boys enjoy their day at the bathhouse with their fathers, they hear a strange sound and decide to investigate. There’s a big mess, and they hear the sound of someone—or something—large splashing in the baths. What could it be? An unruly guest? A four-legged intruder? Or perhaps…a monster?
Friends Are Friends, Forever
Just before Chinese New Year, Dandan discovers that her family is moving to America, far away from her best friend Yueyue; before they leave Yueyue gives her a stack of red paper and a spool of string so she can share the art of paper cutting with Americans–and when Chinese New Year comes around again Dandan remembers Yueyue’s gift and introduces her new friend Christina to this ancient art.
Bisa’s Carnaval
It’s time for Carnaval and Clara cannot wait to celebrate her favorite holiday with family, but especially with her great-grandmother. Even if Bisa can’t attend, Clara knows the Carnaval parade will still be special.Costumed lovingly by their bisa, everyone takes to the street for the annual parade. But even among all the colors, costumes, music, and dancing, something is missing . . . or is it someone?With lush, lyrical text and bright, colorful illustrations, this book takes readers to one of the most exciting holidays of the year and reminds us that no matter who or where you are, love is always worth celebrating.