multicultural families: 10 Articles

Celebrate the Holidays with Family

Winter holidays often mean time spent with family. Breaks from school and work allow people to travel to see or to host family or friends. Celebration and tradition mark the season. Magination Press has published more than 50 books that honor and explore families of all kinds and the situations they experience.  Here are some of our stories about families. When Nana Dances by Jane Yolen and Maddison Stemple-Piatt Nana can make any object a dancing partner. An umbrella, a broom, even a rake! Both onstage and off, she can shimmy, she can mambo, and do the bunny hop. She’s won prizes and can dance to grandpa’s music or to her own beat. But nothing is more special than when grandma dances with her grandchildren. This fun story is filled with the movement, energy, and laughter that comes when kids dance with their grandparents. "A cadenced celebration of grandparent-grandchild relationships.”  —Publishers Weekly Read an interview with the authors. That Missing Feeling by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater Mia’s life feels split in two after her parents get divorced—even her cat and dog now live in two separate places. When she’s at her dad’s house, Mia misses her mom’s jokes and singing. And when she’s at her mom’s house, she misses her dad’s laugh and cooking. Mia just can’t quite shake that missing feeling. Sometimes that missing feeling makes her angry. And sometimes it makes her sad. One day when Mia visits her Grandpa, he gives her a notebook to write her feelings. Mia keeps her notebook wherever she goes, writing about happy and sad memories. And soon her notebook becomes a way to balance that missing feeling. And also a home for her heart.  “A sweet beginner’s guide to keeping calm.” —Kirkus Reviews Read an interview with the author. The Heart of Mi Familia by Carrie Lara, PsyD Follow a young girl as she works with her abuela and her grandma to create a wonderful birthday present for her brother that celebrates her multicultural family and honors both sides and generations of her family. This follow up to the award winning Marvelous Maravilliso: Me and My Beautiful Family is a must-read for all families.  “Bicultural kids will feel seen in this sweet family story.”  —Kirkus Reviews Hear The Heart of Mi Familia read aloud. Oh Brother! By Alberto Pellai, MD, PhD, and Barbara Tamborini This charming story about a new addition to the family will help older siblings appreciate their expanded family. The little brother has arrived, and all he does is sleep and cry! He doesn’t play ball or swim or do anything a little brother is supposed to do. And he takes up all the parents’ time. But the little brother smiles when his big brother makes faces and claps when he plays the drums. Maybe being a big brother will be great?  Read an excerpt from the Reader’s Note. Papa, Daddy, & Riley by Seamus Kirst Riley is Papa’s princess and Daddy’s dragon. She loves her two fathers!

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Celebrate the Holidays with Family 2021-12-13T17:46:18-05:00

Celebrate Diversity with Books

October is Global Diversity Awareness Month.  Magination Press celebrates diversity in all its forms. It’s important for all children to see themselves reflected in books. Here are some of our recent publications that will engage young readers and can spark conversations about the world around them. Race and Ethnicity The Heart of Mi Familia by Carrie Lara, which was named a National Council on Social Studies/Children’s Book Council Notable book, follows a young girl as she works with her abuela and her grandma to create a wonderful birthday present for her brother. The gift celebrates her multicultural family and honors both sides and generations of her family. This follow-up to the award winning Marvelous Maravilliso: Me and My Beautiful Family is a must-read for all families. Lulu the One and Only by Lynnette Mawhinney, PhD, which one named one of Bank Street Colleges Best Children’s Books of the Year and a National Council on Social Studies/Children’s Book Council Notable book,explores the experience of a mixed-race child as she is repeatedly asked inconsiderate questions and how her brother helps her craft a powerful response.  Accordionly: Abuelo and Opa Make Music by Michael Genhart, PhD describes how a child brings his bicultural family together through music.  LBGTQ+ and Identity Papa, Daddy, & Riley by Seamus Kirst, which one named one of Bank Street Colleges Best Children’s Books of the Year and a National Council on Social Studies/Children’s Book Council Notable book, follows a little girl as explores what makes a family. After encountering questions about her family structure, Riley and her dads identify what every family is made of:  love. Jacob’s School Play: Starring He, She, and They by Sarah and Ian Hoffman chronicles how Jacob’s class finds itself unexpectedly struggling with identity, and what it means to be “he”, “she”, or “they” as they prepare for a school play.  Jacob’s School Play is an engaging way to introduce young readers to non-binary people and the pronoun options available to us all. Jacob’s School Play is a follow-up to Jacob’s Room to Choose, a book about gender expression. My Maddy by Gayle Pitman presents a child’s description of her gender-nonconforming parent. Publishers Weekly says the book “highlights the joy of in-between things—hazel eyes, sporks, sunrises, motorcycles ('It's not a car or a bicycle. It’s kind of both, and it’s something all its own') —gently illuminating the idea that people, too, can exist beyond categorization.”   Differently Abled Kids Brilliant Bea by Shaina Rudolph and Mary Vukadinovich explores the experience of a girl with dyslexia and how her teacher helps her find a way to showcase her strengths. Yes I Can!: A Girl and Her Wheelchair by Kendra J. Barrett, DPT, Jacqueline B. Toner, PhD, and Claire A. B. Freeland, PhD reflects the experience of a child who uses a wheelchair and how she can do almost everything the other kids can, even if sometimes she has to do it a little differently. Home and Family Issues Home by Tonya Lippert depicts the

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Celebrate Diversity with Books 2021-10-28T20:12:13-04:00

Celebrate Grandparents

Grandparents’ Day is celebrated the first Sunday after Labor Day. Grandparents and children share a special connection. Magination Press has several books exploring this special relationship. When Nana Dances by Jane Yolen and Maddison Stemple-Piatt Nana can make any object a dancing partner. An umbrella, a broom, even a rake! Both onstage and off, she can shimmy, she can mambo, and do the bunny hop. She’s won prizes and can dance to grandpa’s music or to her own beat. But nothing is more special than when grandma dances with her grandchildren. That Missing Feeling by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater Mia’s life feels split in two after her parents get divorced. When she’s at her dad’s house, Mia misses her mom’s jokes and singing. And when she’s at her mom’s house, she misses her dad’s laugh and cooking. Mia just can’t quite shake that missing feeling. Sometimes that missing feeling makes her angry. And sometimes it makes her sad. One day when Mia visits her Grandpa, he gives her a little blue notebook saying, “When I write about Grandma, I am sad but I am happy too. She is gone, but you are here. Life changes, and writing helps me think about these changes. My notebook is a home for my heart.” Read an interview with the author My Singing Nana by Pat Mora My Singing Nana is a compassionate tribute to families dealing with Alzheimer's Disease. It explores a child’s experience as his grandmother begins to lose her memory. This story celebrates the ideals of family, heritage, and happy memories, showing kids that no matter how their loved one might change they always have ways to maintain their special connection. Read an excerpt with strategies to help kids understand and cope with a loved-one’s dementia Accordionly: Abuelo and Opa Make Music by Michael Genhart, PhD When both grandpas, Abuelo and Opa, visit at the same time, they can’t understand each other’s language and there is a lot of silence. The grandson’s clever thinking helps find a way for everyone to share the day together as two cultures become one family. Listen to Accordionly read aloud Read a piece by Dr. Genhart about creating the book The Heart of Mi Familia by Carrie Lara, PsyD Mommy’s family came from Europe, a long time ago. Daddy’s family came from Central America when he was a little boy. There are lots of differences between my mommy’s culture and my daddy’s cultura, but lots of things are the same too. Visiting both her grandma and her abeula, a little girl creates a birthday present for her brother that celebrates both sides of her family and all generations. Listen to The Heart of Mi Familia read aloud Read a piece by Dr. Lara about embracing cultural identity Explore other books about families

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Celebrate Grandparents 2021-09-07T22:54:00-04:00