ISBN: 9780986313387

Classification: Fiction
Themes: belonging, family, memories

What's it about?

Yumi is a member of a family who love to collect things. Each person in the family (going back several generations) has always collected something but Yumi has tried, but not succeeded, in her attempts to have her very own collection but the only thing she really loves...is to draw. So Yumi listens to and draws her Grandmother's stories.

Embrace
Great to see a book incorporating the Japanese culture and a sort of anime illustration style. I also appreciate that the book makes a point to their readers...well, actually it makes several and this makes it a thought provoking book

Beware
Nothing really (unless I was to be super picky about the term grandmother being used versus the Japanese).

My Thoughts...Use It

My first thoughts as I was reading this book was..."My Nanna collected..." and "My Great-Grandfather collected..."; let's face it, previous generations were really into collecting things and while some people still do...many are moving away from collecting to a more minimal lifestyle which comes through (though I don't think it was intentional!) in the story. This story is as much about collections as it is about the past and present and how families evolve over time.

Getting past the first thoughts let's get to it! If you're a Japanese language teacher - this one is an ideal starter book for your Receptions-Year 2 age bracket. I like it because it contains references to cultural icons - such as kokeshi dolls, origami, kabocha, as well as using traditional Japanese names such as Yumi and Sayuri (but still keeping the book integrated with English names such as Hannah, Yumi's sister). Basically there is probably something that most kids can relate to in the book which makes it ideal to introducing new students to the culture and language.

Past and present, as mentioned previously, is an important element in this book. It is demonstrated very well through the illustrations. After reading the book I would recommend getting the students to look closely at a page each and read the visual story that is being told. By this I mean:

• the change in clothing the people wear as the story progresses
• the subtle differences in the photos on the wall
• what was being collected and when

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2017 (1/27/18) is in its 5^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 home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators.

Current Sponsors: MCBD 2018 is honored to have some amazing Sponsors on board.

2018 MCBD Medallion Sponsors
HONORARY: Children’s Book Council, Junior Library Guild
PLATINUM:Scholastic Book Clubs
GOLD: Audrey Press, Candlewick Press, Loving Lion Books, Second Story Press, Star Bright Books, Worldwide Buddies
SILVER: Capstone Publishing, Author Charlotte Riggle, Child’s Play USA, KidLit TV, Pack-n-Go Girls, Plum Street Press
BRONZE: Barefoot Books, Carole P. Roman, Charlesbridge Publishing, Dr. Crystal Bowe, Gokul! World, Green Kids Club, Gwen Jackson, Jacqueline Woodson, Juan J. Guerra, Language Lizard, Lee & Low Books, RhymeTime Storybooks,, Sanya Whittaker Gragg, TimTimTom Books, WaterBrook & Multnomah, Wisdom Tales Press   

 2018 Author Sponsors Honorary Author Sponsors: Author/Illustrator Aram Kim and Author/Illustrator Juana Medina Author Janet Balletta, Author Susan Bernardo, Author Carmen Bernier-Grand, Author Tasheba Berry-McLaren and Space2Launch, Bollywood Groove Books, Author Anne Broyles, Author Kathleen Burkinshaw, Author Eugenia Chu, Author Lesa Cline-Ransome, Author Medeia Cohan and Shade 7 Publishing, Desi Babies, Author Dani Dixon and Tumble Creek Press, Author Judy Dodge Cummings, Author D.G. Driver, Author Nicole Fenner and Sister Girl Publishing, Debbi Michiko Florence, Author Josh Funk, Author Maria Gianferrari, Author Daphnie Glenn, Globe Smart Kids, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Author Quentin Holmes, Author Esther Iverem, Jennifer Joseph: Alphabet Oddities, Author Kizzie Jones, Author Faith L Justice , Author P.J. LaRue and MysticPrincesses.com, Author Karen Leggett Abouraya, Author Sylvia Liu, Author Sherri Maret, Author Melissa Martin Ph.D., Author Lesli Mitchell, Pinky Mukhi and We Are One, Author Miranda Paul, Author Carlotta Penn, Real Dads Read, Greg Ransom, Author Sandra L. Richards, RealMVPKids Author Andrea Scott, Alva Sachs and Three Wishes Publishing, Shelly Bean the Sports Queen, Author Sarah Stevenson, Author Gayle H. Swift Author Elsa Takaoka, Author Christine Taylor-Butler, Nicholette Thomas and MFL Publishing Author Andrea Y. Wang, Author Jane Whittingham Author Natasha Yim 

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. 

TWITTER PARTY Sponsored by Scholastic Book Clubs: MCBD’s super-popular (and crazy-fun) annual Twitter Party will be held 1/27/18 at 9:00pm. Join the conversation and win one of 12-5 book bundles and one Grand Prize Book Bundle (12 books) that will be given away at the party! http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/twitter-party-great-conversations-fun-prizes-chance-readyourworld-1-27-18/ 

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/ 

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