Ever Ready: Catherine's Pascha

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020 (1/31/20) is in its 7th year! This non-profit children’s literacy initiative was founded by Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen, two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural books and authors on the market while also working to get those books into the hands of young readers and educators.
Seven years in, MCBD’s mission to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves continues.

“Catherine’s Pascha” is written by award winning Charlotte Riggle

illustrated by R.J. Hughes and published by Phoenix Flair Press.

to Charlotte for gifting me with her book for MCBD.

It's a beautifully written and illustrated story about the Orthodox Church celebration of Pascha, as told through the eyes of 6-year-old Catherine.

Pascha is the Greek word for "Passover" with many unique traditions. Pascha is celebrated in the middle of the night, with processions and candles, bells and singing. Since it marks the end of Lent, it includes a huge feast featuring all of their favorite foods. Catherine is determined to stay awake all night long to enjoy all of the festivities. In the beginning of the story we learn Catherine doesn't like vegetables. She doesn't like naps. She doesn't like it when her mom combs her hair. But she does love hot dogs, chocolate cake, her best friend Elizabeth and Pascha! Catherine insists that she's not a bit sleepy and wants to stay up for the celebration. Upon their arrival to church in the middle of the night, they participate in a lively vigil of traditional liturgy, prayers, and festivities.

Young readers will embrace Catherine’s excitement and her anticipation for the Pascha celebration. Some questions that might be generated while reading are would Catherine fall asleep? Would her brother, Peter, wake up, or would he miss the entire celebration, junk food and all? Did the kids really get to hold a burning candle while at church and stay up all night long?

“Catherine's Pascha” is one of those books where you notice something new each time you read it. R.J Hughes' illustrations seamlessly compliment the text with vibrant, detailed and realistic images. The illustrations are engaging as well as following the text in a variety of places on each page. Riggle and Hughes both share the same vision that picture books are more than just books that have pictures but are a way for the words and images to work together to play off each other. Each page features a different ancient Orthodox church from around the world depicting a real life form and detailed artwork. These illustrations add a whole other new dimension to the book as a springboard for discussion.

This book is a great resource for parents home schooling, Sunday School teachers, and those who are interested in learning more about different faiths and celebrations. The book addresses religious diversity and shows a diverse character Elizabeth, Catherines's best friend, who has special needs. Her wheelchair and crutches nearby are presented in several illustrations. Catherine's friendship with Elizabeth becomes more fully developed in "The Saint Nicholas Day Snow”, Riggle's second picture book.

Vocabulary and frequently asked questions section are found at the end of “Catherine’s Pascha,” in addition to the Catherine’s Pascha website. The website answers any additional questions one may have about the celebration of Pascha, but it also includes recipes, activities, and crafts. One could easily use the book and the related links and activities for an entire unit study on the history and celebration of Pascha.

Riggle wears many different hats in her life. She is a wife, mother, picture book author, a technical writer, and a blogger. "Catherine's Pascha” was a finalist in the 2015 Best Book Awards. A technical newsletter she wrote was honored by the Society of Technical Communicators and her poetry has been recognized by the Southern Literary Festival. She is a Silver Sponser for this year's MCBD event.

Since some of her own children faced special needs growing up, Riggle has naturally become an advocate for children with disabilities. Now that her children are grown, she’s sharing what she’s learned on her blog website https://charlotteriggle.com/about/ In addition Riggle posts book reviews and a collection of vegan recipes.

MCBD 2020 is honored to have the following Medallion Sponsors on board
Super Platinum
Make A Way Media/ Deirdre “DeeDee” Cummings,
Platinum
Language Lizard, Pack-N-Go Girls,
Gold
Audrey Press, Lerner Publishing Group, KidLit TV, ABDO BOOKS : A Family of Educational Publishers, PragmaticMom & Sumo Jo, Candlewick Press,
Silver
Author Charlotte Riggle, Capstone Publishing, Guba Publishing, Melissa Munro Boyd & B is for Breathe,
Bronze