Back for their 10th year, the diversity in children’s literature initiative Multicultural Children’s Book Day is BACK and offering even more FREE Resources for Educators and free diverse books for book reviewers.
Celebrated annually, this amazing online event typically happens on the last Friday of every January. Their next event will happen on January 26, 2023 and we suspect it will be even bigger and better than ever.
Multicultural Children’s Book Day’s (MCBD) mission is to not only raise awareness for the kid’s books that celebrate diversity but to get more of these books into classrooms and libraries. To date, they have donated over 11K diverse books for kids with the help of generous and talented diverse authors and publishers. This grassroots initiative has also expanded to include worldwide readers, book reviewers, authors, organizations, and publishers exploded into a well-known national (and even global) event.
Diversity in Children’s Literature | MCBD2023
Children’s books are like a portal to a new world of adventure that invites young readers into the world of imagination and exploration. Books are also a way to allow for world travel without ever leaving your zip code.
Books are a way for kids to “see themselves” in the pages of the stories they read. The term “windows and mirrors” in regards to diverse kids\’ literature has been used quite a bit these days by everyone from children\’s book curator Scholastic to groups like IBBY.
Make A Way CEO, Deedee Cummings stumbled upon Multicultural Children’s Book Day (MCBD) a few years ago and it was like a breath of fresh air to her frustrated soul.
“Being a part of Multicultural Children’s Book Day (MCBD) is a constant reminder that books and people are still good at heart,” she shared. “There are people on the planet who are different from me but love some of the same things and care about some of the same messages. Like the importance of diverse books. And they care about this because diverse books send messages to all of us about the beauty of being a human being and getting to know someone else’s story. It teaches us and reminds us that we can work together and be more compassionate, kinder, and more engaged with one another if only by hearing their story. Diverse books do for kids what Multicultural Children’s Book Day has done for me: shows us all that the world is not so scary and we are not alone in our beliefs. There are more people like me out there. I just have not met them all yet.”
As of October 1, 2022, Author and Medallion Level Sponsorship opportunities are open and filling up fast. If you are the author or publisher of a diverse book for kids or teens, this is an exceptionally valuable way to get your work in front of millions of eyeballs and connect with educators and parents.
Go to https://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/medallion-and-author-level-sponsorships-for-mcbd2023-are-open/ to learn more about Sponsorship options and you can support this much-needed reading and literacy initiative.
Why Diverse Picture Books are so Needed
It was the discovery that, despite census data that shows 37% of the US population consists of people of color, only 10% of children’s books published contained diverse content that inspired two book-loving moms to step up and create a global celebration in 2012. It’s no secret that books play a huge part in all children’s lives but just as important as having books available to kids is the ability for them to “see themselves” in the pages of the books they read.
“Our young readers need to see themselves within the pages of a book,” MCBD’s co-founder Mia Wenjen shared. “They need to experience other cultures, languages, traditions, and religions and they can do that within the pages of diverse picture books and chapter books. As our 10th Multicultural Children’s Book Day holiday approaches on January 26, 2023, we are thrilled to have a very well-established community of supporters. The support and excitement surrounding this event is so special and continues to grow every year.”
During the months and weeks leading up to the online celebration, diverse YA and children\’s books pour into MCBD headquarters; donations from publishers and authors whose books and companies embrace the celebration of these multicultural books and support the mission of getting those books into the hands of young readers.
The team at Audrey Press is proud to support this initiative and we believe that their message of hope, compassion, empathy, and understanding is needed more than ever. Readers of all ages need to be able to “read their world” to both see themselves, and those are who different, whether by culture, religion, sexual orientation, special needs or ethnicity.
Go to https://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/medallion-and-author-level-sponsorships-for-mcbd2023-are-open/ to learn more about Sponsorship options and you can support this much-needed reading and literacy initiative.
SUMMARY OF MULTICULTURAL CHILDREN’S BOOK DAY EVENT
FIRST, a unique opportunity to shine the spotlight on diverse/multicultural books, authors, and publishers.
SECOND, a giant online book reviewing event —
Book appreciators, readers, parents, teachers, librarians, and caregivers have the opportunity to explore lots of children’s and YA books with diverse content via online marketing that provides robust visibility for authors and publishers, book reviews, classroom kits, classroom book bundles, contests, giveaways, book lists, activity suggestions, and links.
THIRD, a giant networking event —
An ongoing mission to connect organizers, sponsors, co-hosts, bloggers, and others interested in expanding awareness of, and promotion of multicultural children’s books via our Twitter Party and very active MCBD Facebook Group.
FOURTH, an offline classroom, library, or gathering place celebration —
A chance for students, educators, and parents to celebrate diversity and multicultural books in the months leading up to, and during, the Multicultural Children’s Book Day celebration that occurs on the last Friday in January.
FIFTH, a year-long literacy-based initiative-That works tirelessly to provide books to classrooms, organizations, and under-served kids all year long via book donations.
Go to https://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/medallion-and-author-level-sponsorships-for-mcbd2023-are-open/ to learn more about Sponsorship options and you can support this much-needed reading and literacy initiative.
Use hashtag # ReadYourWorld for social media.
Direct all questions and inquiries to admin@multiculturalchildrensbookday.com
