“How Many Donkeys: An Arabic Counting Tale” retold by Margaret Read MacDonald

In this story poor Jouha cannot seem to keep track of his 10 donkeys on the way to and from the market.  As a result, his journey involves a lot of counting in English and Arabic.  The Arabic words are written both phonetically in our alphabet and in actual Arabic symbols.  The pictures are bright and interesting and the story is funny.  There is a lot of repetition which aids in the learning of 1-10 in Arabic and also allows a toddler to follow the storyline.  For more information about this story and its author Margaret Read MacDonald, please click here.

Elena’s Pick: “Something’s Happening on Calabash Street” by Judith Enderle

This recommendation comes to us courtesy of our friend Elena!  In “Something’s Happening on Calabash Street” by Judith Enderle, neighbors get together for a huge celebration of their cultural diversity, each bringing a special dish to share a part of his/her own culture with the community.  A great bonus- this wonderful story includes thirteen great kid friendly recipes.  Thanks for the tip Elena, Rowen can’t wait to check this book out of the library!

Elena and her parents are cherished members of our host family program.  If you are interested in learning more about how to host an International Student in your home, please visit www.dobbynhomestay.com for more information.

“Runaway Dreidel!” by Leslea Newman

I spent a lot of time looking through the  Chanukah section at the library yesterday.  I found many great books for older children that gave lovely in-depth descriptions of the meaning behind the holiday and its traditions.  Finding a story for a younger child was a bit challenging, however I did come across one that I like a lot called “Runaway Dreidel!” by Leslea Newman.

Rowen liked the fast pace of this story of a little boy chasing after his favorite dreidel.  It does not explore the meaning behind Chanukah but rather introduces the young reader to vocabulary related to the holiday and other aspects of Jewish culture, such as dreidel, latkes, menorah, challah, chocolate gelt, and the horah.

Here the author describes her inspiration for the story:

"One day I read the wonderful poem, "The Night Before Christmas" by Clement C. Moore and decided it would be fun to write a poem with the same rhythm and rhyme scheme for kids who celebrate Chanukah. So I did!”

 The illustrations by Kyrsten Brooker, full of the bustling movement of the holidays, and the expressive faces she’s given to her characters, are a big part of what makes this such an enjoyable read.

Funny!

I wanted to take a moment to share some of the books that make Rowen laugh belly-laughs.

1. The Piggy and Gerald series by Mo Williams, particularly “Elephants Can Not Dance” and "Listen to my Trumpet”.  These books contain lots of funny scenarios and hilarious exclamations and they have really played a key role in developing Rowen’s sense of humor.  (By the way, the Knuffle Bunny books are great too).

2. “The Hiccupotamus” by Aaron Zenz, is fantastic for kids who love language and have started to play with words.  Rowen giggles uncontrollably at lines like “One day he saw an elephant with cakes of green and yellowphant. He tried to tell her ‘hellophant’..but it didn’t go so wellephant.”

I hope you enjoy these as much as we do!  We will be reading Hiccupotamus when Rowen wakes up from his nap, it’s on the top of our stack of books from the library.

“Shante Keys and the New Year’s Peas” by Gail Piernas-Davenport

I love that "Shante Keys and the New Year’s Peas” by Gail Piernas-Davenport focuses in on African American New Year traditions that are often overlooked.  Even better, as Shante Keys searches for black eyed peas she takes a tour of other cultural New Year traditions.  The friends she meets along the way are invited back to her home for a big feast.  The book even includes the following recipe in the back:

Grandma Louise’s Hoppin’ John

3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 12-ounce package fresh black eyed peas, rinsed
2 2/3 cups chicken broth
1/2 pound cooked ham, cubed
1 bay leaf
cooked rice

Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot and saute the onions, celery and garlic until tender, about three minutes.  Add fresh peas, chicken broth, ham and bay leaf.  Boil for three minutes, then lower heat.  Cover the pot and summer until the peas are tender, about forty-five minutes.  Check the pot occasionally and add water if needed.  Remove the bay leaf and serve over cooked rice.  Season to suit your taste!

Rowen liked Shante Keys and the book made him hungry!  To see the book trailer, click here.

"Hoops with Swoopes", Susan Kuklin with Sheryl Swoopes

I think this is a great book for many ages.  It works particularly well for toddlers, as the pictures are full of action and the pages aren’t too wordy.  It is also a great book for a child learning the technique and skills of basketball.  Each page features a different skill demonstrated by the incredibly muscular and agile superstar, Sheryl Swoopes.  Any sports books starring female athletes are high on my list to read with Rowen.  As Rowen would say “She shoots she SCORES!” For more info, click here.

“Mama God, Papa God” by Richardo Keens-Douglas

I often think about how when Rowen is older I would like to take him to many different places of worship to expose him to as many different types of religion and communities as possible.  Not even so much to choose which religion, if any, will be his own, but to teach acceptance…..and curiosity!

My mom found this book and it is actually one of Rowen’s favorites.  “Mama God, Papa God” has bright and vibrant illustrations by Stefan Czernecki that have been inspired by Hatian folk art.  The story features a Mama God and Papa God who make as many different kinds of people as they can so that life doesn’t get boring and people can continue to learn from each other.