About the Holiday

Today, I’m posting a review for Multicultural Children’s Book Day, a literary event that takes place every January and, this year, culminates on January 25 with a huge online celebration. Throughout the month bloggers, reviewers, and individuals post reviews of children’s books that offer multicultural themes, characters, and stories to inspire young readers and introduce them to their peers around the world as well as to global celebrations, ideas, and conditions. The mission of Multicultural Children’s Book Day is twofold: to raise awareness of children’s books that celebrate diversity, and to get more of those books into classrooms and libraries. To learn more about Multicultural Children’s Book Day and discover downloadable resources for teachers and individuals as well as a list of all the books reviewed during the month, visit the Multicultural Children’s Book Day Website.

Just Like You

Written by Keosha Sath | Illustrated by Yashushi Matsuoka

 

A little wide-eyed girl has lots of questions and big plans, but first she wants to know why she has to go to school. Her mom tells her “so that you can be whatever you want to be when you grow up.” It’s sage advice because this young girl sees possibilities all around her. When she reads a book all by herself, her mom encourages her, and the girl thinks that maybe she’d like to be an English teacher when she grows up.

Thinking about jobs makes her wonder where her mom works. Mom explains that she works in a medical office as the chief executive and makes sure that everything runs smoothly. Her daughter decides that sounds pretty cool and says, “I want to be a chief executive officer of a medical office. I think so.” But not so fast! Her dad is the chief of police, and she thinks that maybe she’d like to do that. The little girl tells her mom that her throat hurts. After a trip to the doctor, the girl says, “I think I want to be a pediatrician. I think so.”

A trip to the veterinarian convinces this bright child that she wants to help animals stay healthy, after going to the bank, being an accountant looks like a good option, and a discussion on voting inspires her to aim at being the President. But she also loves honey and wants to know where it comes from. Her mom tells her, “It comes from bees. Bees store honey inside their hives, and beekeepers sometimes protect the bees.” Fascinated, the girl determines, “I think I want to be a lead beekeeper. I think so.”  

Cooking, using math, going on adventures, and running also spark a desire to try being a head chef, mathematics professor, cartographer, and engineer. After all the encouragement her mom has given her, the little girl has made up her mind about just what she wants to be. She gives her mom a hug and says, “Mommy, I know what I want to be when I grow up! It isn’t an astronaut, a mathematician, or an engineer. I want to be a great mommy, just like you!”

Keosha Sath opens up a world of possible professions in her sweet conversation between mother and daughter. The little girl is brimming with enthusiasm and curiosity about the jobs and workers she encounters. Her strong self-confidence and interest in all types of professions will inspire readers to see themselves in positions of leadership and to use their talents to reach for the stars. The girl’s decision to be a mom like her own reinforces the importance of the job parents do while demonstrating that children do notice and appreciate all the support parents give.

Yasushi Matsuoka’s vivid illustrations portray a happy, inquisitive, curly haired young girl imagining herself as a CEO, walking the moon as an astronaut, examining a puppy as a veterinarian, removing a full honeycomb as a beekeeper, and performing other jobs that attract her. Her supportive mom and dad are nearby to nurture her natural curiosity, and the final image of a family hug is endearing.

Just Like You is a charming way to foster discussions about talents, activities, and favorite subjects as well as a fun story for family bonding at story time.

Ages 4 – 7

Mascot Books, 2018 | ISNB 978-1643070537

You can connect with Keosha Sath on  Instagram 

To learn more about Yasushi Matsuoka and his art, visit his website.

Multicultural Children’s Book Day Activity

Fun at Work Maze

 

There are so many fun careers to explore! Can you find the names of all the different jobs in one of these printable word search puzzles?

Easy

What Will I Be? Word Search Puzzle | What Will I Be? Word Search Puzzle Solution

Hard

Fun at Work! Word Search Puzzle | Fun at Work! Word Search Puzzle Solution

About Multicultural Children’s Book Day

Learn More about Multicultural Children’s Book Day

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2019 (1/25/19) is in its 6^th 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 homes and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators. 

MCBD 2019 is honored to have the following Medallion Sponsors on board!

*View our 2019 Medallion Sponsors here: https://wp.me/P5tVud-
*View our 2019 MCBD Author Sponsors here: https://wp.me/P5tVud-2eN

Medallion Level Sponsors

Honorary: Children’s Book Council, The Junior Library Guild, TheConsciousKid.org.

Super Platinum: Make A Way Media

GOLD: Bharat Babies, Candlewick Press, Chickasaw Press, Juan Guerra and The Little Doctor / El doctorcito, KidLitTV,  Lerner Publishing Group, Plum Street Press,

SILVER: Capstone Publishing, Carole P. Roman, Author Charlotte Riggle, Huda Essa, The Pack-n-Go Girls,

BRONZE: Charlesbridge Publishing, Judy Dodge Cummings, Author Gwen Jackson, Kitaab World, Language Lizard – Bilingual & Multicultural Resources in 50+ Languages, Lee & Low Books, Miranda PaulandBaptiste Paul, Redfin, Author Gayle H. Swift,  T.A. Debonis-Monkey King’s Daughter, TimTimTom Books, Lin Thomas, Sleeping Bear Press/Dow Phumiruk, Vivian Kirkfield,

MCBD 2019 is honored to have the following Author Sponsors on board!

Honorary: Julie Flett, Mehrdokht Amini,

Author Janet Balletta, Author Kathleen Burkinshaw, Author Josh Funk, Chitra Soundar, One Globe Kids – Friendship Stories, Sociosights Press and Almost a Minyan, Karen Leggett, Author Eugenia Chu, CultureGroove Books, Phelicia Lang and Me On The Page, L.L. Walters, Author Sarah Stevenson, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Hayley Barrett, Sonia Panigrah, Author Carolyn Wilhelm, Alva Sachs and Dancing Dreidels, Author Susan Bernardo, Milind Makwana and A Day in the Life of a Hindu Kid, Tara Williams, Veronica Appleton, Author Crystal Bowe, Dr. Claudia May, Author/Illustrator Aram Kim, Author Sandra L. Richards, Erin Dealey, Author Sanya Whittaker Gragg, Author Elsa Takaoka, Evelyn Sanchez-Toledo, Anita Badhwar, Author Sylvia Liu, Feyi Fay Adventures, Author Ann Morris, Author Jacqueline Jules, CeCe & Roxy Books, Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace, LEUYEN PHAM, Padma Venkatraman, Patricia Newman and Lightswitch Learning, Shoumi Sen, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, Traci Sorell, Shereen Rahming, Blythe Stanfel, Christina Matula, Julie Rubini, Paula Chase, Erin Twamley, Afsaneh Moradian, Lori DeMonia, Claudia Schwam, Terri Birnbaum/ RealGirls Revolution, Soulful Sydney, Queen Girls Publications, LLC

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.

Co-Hosts and Global Co-Hosts

A Crafty Arab, Agatha Rodi Books, All Done Monkey, Barefoot Mommy, Biracial Bookworms, Books My Kids Read, Crafty Moms Share, Colours of Us, Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes, Descendant of Poseidon Reads, Educators Spin on it,  Growing Book by Book, Here Wee Read, Joy Sun Bear/ Shearin Lee, Jump Into a Book, Imagination Soup,Jenny Ward’s Class, Kid World Citizen, Kristi’s Book Nook, The Logonauts, Mama Smiles, Miss Panda Chinese, Multicultural Kid Blogs, Raising Race Conscious Children, Shoumi Sen, Spanish Playground

TWITTER PARTY Sponsored by Make A Way Media: MCBD’s super-popular (and crazy-fun) annual @McChildsBookDay Twitter Party will be held 1/25/19 at 9:00pm.E.S.T. TONS of prizes and book bundles will be given away during the party ( a prize every 5 minutes!). GO HERE for more details.

FREE RESOURCES From MCBD

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.

You can find Just Like You at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | IndieBound

Picture Book Review