Follow on InstagramMulticultural Children’s Book Day 2024 is in its 11th year! Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen founded this non-profit children’s literacy initiative; they are two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural diverse books and authors on the market while also working to get those books into the hands of young readers and educators.
Read Your World is a non-profit whose mission is to raise awareness about children’s books that celebrate diversity and to get more of these books into the hands of readers. With the alarming increase in children’s books being challenged and banned, it is more important than ever to give kids access to diverse stories.
They do this by donating books to reviewers and classroom libraries. They provide book lists and classroom kits to help parents, guardians, teachers, librarians, and readers find the diverse children’s books that they need. They also spotlight children’s book creators with their weekly Ig Live Interview series.
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"Sophie Washington Treasure Beach" is the 13th book in the highly successful Sophie Washington chapter book series by Tonya Duncan Ellis. The books are geared for the 7-11 age group. Each book is a new adventure with Sophie Washington and her friends as they deal with common tween issues like fighting off bullies, squabbling with siblings, managing social media and video games, completing school assignments on time, fitting in, and “puppy love” with a Texas twist.
Sophie and her brother Cole and Sophie's best friend Chloe are enjoying their Texas beach vacation visiting Sophie and Cole's grandma. One day at the beach they encounter a surprise discovery of a treasure map in a bottle which leads them on a seaside treasure quest. They are hopeful to find more clues with the promise of riches ahead. During their search for more clues they go snorkeling, ride a fancy boat, find an injured endangered sea turtle, visit a WWII warship and a state aquarium. On their quest for riches their friendship is tested and they learn valuable lessons on honesty, truthfulness, and forgiveness which they ultimately find more valuable than any riches. The story reaffirms the importance of family and maintaining friendship ties. As an added bonus to the storyline, their treasure hunt evolves into a learning experience making the vacation much more fun than they had anticipated. Simple line drawings are interspersed throughout the story.
The realistic kid-friendly dialogue along with references to social media, Facetime, phone usage, squabbles with a sibling, jealousy over things friends have, and the threat of impending family divorce are all things young readers will relate to in the story. Ellis subtly creates situations that provide learning lessons. A bonus at the end of the book are short book synopsis of the previous 12 books.
Ellis is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), the Authors Guild, and the Brown Bookshelf’s Highlights Foundation-sponsored Amplify Black Stories storyteller cohort. She has spoken and taught at writing conferences at the Highlights Foundation, for SCBWI in New York City, and for SCBWI Houston and Austin, TX chapters. A former journalist and freelance magazine writer, she holds a BA degree in French from Centre College of Kentucky and an MBA degree from Washington University in St. Louis. Ellis is represented by Sara Megibow of kt Literary. Ellis lives in Houston, Texas, and is married with three children.
Classroom Resources
Book Discussion questions, coloring pages, worksheets, and a full curriculum are available on her website at this link: https://tonyaduncanellis.com/downloads/
There are also animated book trailers available on her website:
https://tonyaduncanellis.com/book-trailer/
There are video book trailers for the Sophie Washington book series.
Website: www.tonyaduncanellis.com
Facebook: @tonyaellisbooks
Instagram: @tonyaellisbooks
Sign up for my email list: HERE
A Special Thanks to Our 2024 Sponsors
Read Your World celebrates Multicultural Children’s Book Day and is honored to be Supported by these Medallion and Ruby Sponsors!
FOUNDER’S CIRCLE: Mia Wenjen (Pragmaticmom) and Valarie Budayr (Audreypress.com)
🏅 Super Platinum Sponsor: Author Deedee Cummings and Make A Way Media
🏅 Platinum Sponsors: Publisher Spotlight, Language Lizard Bilingual Books in 50+ Languages, Lerner Publishing Group
🏅 Gold Sponsors: Barefoot Books, Astra Books for Young Readers
🏅 Silver Sponsors: Red Comet Press, Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, Lee and Low Books, Cardinal Rule Press
🏅 Bronze Sponsors: CK Malone, Tonya Duncan Ellis, Anita Crawford Clark, Star Bright Books, Blue Dot Kids Press, Brunella Costagliola, Red Fin, Fabled Films
Ruby Sponsor: Crayola
Authors: Gwen Jackson, Josh Funk, Eugenia Chu, Sivan Hong, Marta Magellan, Kathleen Burkinshaw, Angela H. Dale, Maritza M Mejia, Authors J.C. Kato and J.C.², Charnaie Gordon, Alva Sachs, Amanda Hsiung-Blodgett, Lisa Chong, Diana Huang, Martha Seif Simpson, DARIA (WORLD MUSIC WITH DARIA) Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou, Gea Meijering, Stephanie M. Wildman, Tracey Kyle, Afsaneh Moradian, Kim C. Lee, Rochelle Melander, Beth Ruffin, Shifa Saltagi Safadi, Alina Chau, Michael Genhart, Sally J. Pla, Ajuan Mance, Kimberly Marcus, Lindsey Rowe Parker
MCBD 2024 is Honored to be Supported by our CoHosts and Global CoHosts!
MCBD 2024 is Honored to be Supported by our Partner Organizations!
Check out MCBD's Multicultural Books for Kids Pinterest Board!
📌 FREE RESOURCES from Multicultural Children’s Book Day
📌 Register for the MCBD Read Your World Virtual Party
Join us on Thursday, January 25, 2024, at 9 pm EST celebrating more than 10 years of Multicultural Children's Book Day Read Your World Virtual Party! Register here.
This epically fun and fast-paced hour includes multicultural book discussions, addressing timely issues, diverse book recommendations, & reading ideas.
We will be giving away a 10-Book Bundle during the virtual party plus Bonus Prizes as well! *** US and Global participants welcome. **
Follow the hashtag #ReadYourWorld to join the conversation, and connect with like-minded parts, authors, publishers, educators, organizations, and librarians. We look forward to seeing you all on January 25, 2024, at our virtual party!
Sounds like a great book. And Read Your World sounds like a wonderful thing! I am serious about literacy, too, and I see it as a human need. Thanks for sharing this post at the Will Blog for Comments #21 linkup this week. Hope to see you next week, too.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your lovely review with Read Your World Day 2024! I enjoyed learning about Tonya Duncan Ellis' successful series and I know that kids will love a treasure hunt!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your kind review and feature!
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