Thank you to Annie Lynn and Walt Wilcezewski for donating their time and expertise to create our first official Read Your World Multicultural Children’s Book Day Music Video!!!
Special thanks to the kids for their vocals on this song: Havana Chapman-Edwards, Will, Hailey, and Amanda!
Thank you to everyone who contributed photos!
And finally, thank you to everyone who supports Multicultural Children’s Book Day! You are all helping children see themselves reflected in the pages of a book!
Featured Books in Multicultural Children’s Book Day Music Video
Firebird by Misty Copeland, illustrated by Christopher Myers
We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Frane Lessac
I Am Enough by Grace Byers, illustrated by Keturah A. Bobo
The Blessed Bananas: A Muslim Fable Hardcover by Tayyaba Syed, illustrated by Melani Putri
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
Stella Diaz Has Something to Say by Angela Dominguez
Salsa Stories by Lulu Delacre
Tia Lola Comes to (Visit) Stay by Julia Alvarez
Merci Suarez Changes Gears by Meg Medina
The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Cruz
Love, Amalia by Alma Flor Ada
From Another World by Ana Maria Machado
Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan
Malala’s Magic Pencil by Malala Yousafzai, illustrated by Kerascoët
The Nameless City: The Stone Heart by Faith Erin Hicks
Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus
When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin
Samurai Rising: The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune by Pamela S. Turner, illustrated by Gareth Hinds
Momotaro: Xander and the Lost Island of Monster by Margaret Dilloway
Amulet series by Kazu Kibushi
What If… by Samantha Berger, illustrated by Mike Curato
No Kimchi for Me by Aram Kim
Joy to the World!: Christmas Stories from Around the Globe by Saviour Pirotta, illustrated by Sheila Moxley
Someday Is Now: Clara Luper and the 1958 Oklahoma City Sit-ins by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, illustrated by Jade Johnson
OCDaniel by Wesley King
Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone
Between the Lines: How Ernie Barnes Went from the Football Field to the Art Gallery by Sandra Neil Wallace, illustrated by Bryan Collier
Sisters and Champions: The True Story of Venus and Serena Williams by Howard Bryant, illustrated by Floyd Cooper
Welcome To Country: A Traditional Aboriginal Ceremony by Aunty Joy Murphy, illustrated by Lisa Kennedy
Jada Jones Rock Star by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
Onibi: Diary of a Yokai Ghost Hunter by Atelier Sento and Cecile Brun
Mommy’s Khimar by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, illustrated by Ebony Glenn
We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices edited by Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson
I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Dreidel by Caryn Yacowitz, illustrated by David Slonim
Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop: The Sanitation Strike of 1968 by Alice Faye Duncan, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship & Freedom by Tim Tingle, illustrated by Jeanne Rorex Bridges
Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship by Irene Latham, illustrated by Charles Waters
The 5 O’Clock Band Hardcover by Troy Andrews, illustrated by Bryan Collier
Hammering for Freedom by Rita Lorraine Hubbard, illustrated by John Holyfield
I See the Sun in the USA by Dedie King, illustrated by Judith Inglese
Daddy’s Mini-Me by Arnold Henry, illustrated by Ted M. Sandiford
This is Just a Test by Wendy Wan-Long Shang and Madelyn Rosenberg
Step Up to the Plate Maria Singh by Uma Krishnaswami
Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Boy by Tony Medina, illustrated by Javaka Steptoe
Love, Mama by Jeanette Bradley
Game Changers: The Story of Venus and Serena Williams by Lesa Cline-Ransome and James E. Ransome
Auntie Luce’s Talking Paintings by Francie Latour, illustrated by Ken Daley
Jasmine Toguchi, Flamingo Keeper by Debbi Michiko Florence, illustrated by Elizabet Vukovic
No Small Potatoes: Junius G. Groves and His Kingdom in Kansas by Tonya Bolden, illustrated by Don Tate
The Little Kokeshi Doll from Fukushima by Sunny Seki
The Shadow in the Moon by Christina Matula, illustrated by Pearl Law
The Field by Baptiste Paul, illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara
Small World by Ishta Mercurio, illustrated by Jen Corace
All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold, illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman
Ruth Asawa: A Sculpting Life by Joan Schoettler, illustrated by Traci Van Wagoner
Brandon Makes Jiao Zi (餃子) by Eugenia Chu
Pies from Nowhere: How Georgia Gilmore Sustained the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Dee Romito, illustrated by Laura Freeman
The Serpent’s Secret by Sayantani DasGupta
Front Desk by Kelly Yang
The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal
So Done by Paula Chase
Like Vanessa by Tami Charles
Two Naomis by Audrey Vernick and Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Dion Graham, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Refugee by Alan Gratz
The Tale of the Lucky Cat by Sunny Seki
Yuko-Chan and the Daruma Doll by Sunny Seki
The Last Kappa of Old Japan by Sunny Seki
How To Code a Sandcastle by Josh Funk, illustrated by Sara Palacios
Midnight Teacher: Lilly Ann Granderson and Her Secret School by Janet Halfmann, illustrated by London Ladd
Cilla Lee-Jenkins: This Book is a Classic by Susan Tan
Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines by Jeanne Walker Harvey, illustrated by Dow Phumiruk
Ash Mistry and the World of Darkness by Sarwat Chadda
Rebound by Kwame Alexander
The Emperor’s Riddle by Kat Zhang
A Place to Start a Family: Poems About Creatures That Build by David L. Harrison, illustrated by Giles Laroche
Someone Else’s Shoes by Ellen Wittlinger
First Laugh–Welcome, Baby! by Rose Ann Tahe and Nancy Bo Flood
Flying Deep: Climb Inside Deep-Sea Submersible Alvin by Michelle Cusolito, illustrated by Nicole Wong
The Monkey King’s Daughter by Todd DeBonis
The Zodiac Legacy by Stan Lee and Stuart Moore
Rickshaw Girl by Mitali Perkins, illustrated by Jamie Hogan
Thief of Hearts by Laurence Yep
Millicent Min: Girl Genius by Lisa Yee
Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins
A Million Shades of Gray by Cynthia Kadohata
A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
Jet Black and the Ninja Wind by Leza Lowitz and Shogo Oketani
The Problem with Being Slightly Heroic by Uma Krishnaswami, illustrated by Abigail Halpin
Clara Lee and the Apple Pie Dream by Jenny Han
Out of Wonder by Kwame Alexander, illustrated by Ekua Holmes
Bear and Chicken by Jannie Ho
Libba: The Magnificent Musical Life of Elizabeth Cotten by Laura Veirs, illustrated by Tatyana Fazlalizadeh
To examine any book more closely at Amazon, please click on image of book.
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Lyrics to Multicultural Children’s Book Day Theme Song by Annie Lynn
MULTICULTURAL BOOK DAY THEME SONG (a.k.a #ReadYourWorld)
INTRO:
Annie: Hey Everyone! Glad you’re here! Did you bring your books with you?
KID #1: (AMANDA) Yeah! I’ve got a great Multicultural Book to share!
KID#2: (WILL): Me TOO!
KID #3 (HAILEY): “Me THREE!”
KID #4: (HAVANA) “Me FOUR!”
Annie: Well then lets get started. Listeners, do you have your books ready?
Here we are,
On this most auspicious day,
Wanna hear what you have to say,
So won’t you share a good read, a multicultural good read?
When you look in a book (KIDS: YEAH YEAH YEAH)
Tell me, tell me what do you see?
Are there protagonists that look like you (KID #4: HAVANA): “I think so?”
Are the some that look like me?
We each deserve adventure we can relate to
So share your book, don’t be shy,
That’s why we’re here today, cause it’s
CHORUS: (ALL KIDS SING WITH ANNIE)
Multicultural Children’s Book Day
MCBD if it’s too hard to say.
Multicultural Children’s Book Day,
Read Your World, Hashtag Read Your World
And it’s Multicultural Children’s Book Day
MCBD if it’s too hard to say.
Multicultural Children’s Book Day,
Read Your World, Hashtag Read Your World
When we try to see through eyes of others we find,
Empathy, love and kindness,
And so we happily say, that it’s
CHORUS: (ALL KIDS SING WITH ANNIE)
Multicultural Children’s Book Day
MCBD if it’s too hard to say.
Multicultural Children’s Book Day,
Read Your World, Hashtag Read Your World
And it’s Multicultural Children’s Book Day
MCBD if it’s too hard to say.
Multicultural Children’s Book Day,
Read Your World, Hashtag Read Your World
(ANNIE & KIDS)
Every Person’s like a chapter,
We’re all in the same book
At the library or store it’s happening take a look
Books that recognize and celebrate diversity
Children’ reading, filled with wonder
Saying “LOOK THAT’S ME!”
(ANNIE & KIDS)
READ YOUR WORLD,
READ YOUR WORLD,
READ YOUR WORLD
HASHTAG READ YOUR WORLD
READ YOUR WORLD,
READ YOUR WORLD,
READ YOUR WORLD
HASHTAG READ YOUR WORLD
Follow PragmaticMom’s board Multicultural Books for Kids on Pinterest.
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My books:
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
- Starred review from School Library Journal
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
- Green Earth Book Award longlist
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Very catchy tune! I love it! Great song for classrooms.
Tried to share you link on FB, but no photo popped up just words. So I deleted.
Also had trouble with the #diversekidlit link again. I posted mine, using my FB, but it wouldn’t let me click on other posts already posted. Said my e-mail was spam. Mentioned to Myra too.
Hi Pat,
I’m so sorry about that! Not sure why that is happening. Hopefully, it’s just a temporary glitch in Facebook.
Hi Patricia,
Annie Lynn is so talented! I love how her song came out and we are so fortunate to have her talents for Multicultural Children’s Book Day!