How Many Days until YOUR birthday?

Following the fun and frolic of the holiday season and New Year's gatherings, here's a delightful new picture book with a "birthday launch" to celebrate! I'm especially excited about this one because it is written by a friend and writing buddy, Stef Wade. She's also the author of other books you may know and love, as I do, reviewed HERE, with other great titles previously published and new ones on the way!

Running Press Kids, January, 2023

EVERY DAY'S A HOLIDAY: Winnie's Birthday Countdown is illustrated by Husna Aghniya with colorful, action-packed scenes featuring the very imaginative Winnie and her innovative mom in a romp of lively language and STEM-related possibilities. 

 Winnie’s post-birthday letdown has her asking in the opening line, “How many days ‘til my birthday?” I’m certain Winnie is not the only child who’s felt that way, even with 362 days left to go!

That relatively familiar situation leaves both mom and daughter with the same dilemma, from two different perspectives: how to get through SO. MANY. DAYS! What seems to begin as a creative one-day distraction (Winnie waking to find popcorn for breakfast on National Popcorn Day) diverts her attention only while the jumbo bag of popcorn lasts. Winnie is again dismayed at so many days to wait, and her mom is challenged to continue daily celebration recognitions. When her actual birthday finally returns, the year of alternatives has broadened Winnie’s perspective. This contemporary, realistic picture book incorporates entertainingly age-appropriate content connections to math, calendar skills, significant national holidays, and invites group sharing, discussion of familiar holidays, and pursuit of creative ideas for other holidays.

 

This delightfully entertaining premise is executed with perfect pacing, themed sequences, nicely varied language to sustain novelty at each page turn, and an effective blend of recognizable holidays and important days with surprising (but REAL!) minor ones. 

Wade’s knack for humor and lighthearted dialogue lift a strong offering to even higher levels. Share this with any child who has a birthday (those are easy to find, right?) and join in the fun yourselves. If your particular child(ren) need to wait all the way to or near December for a birthday, start now with those fun alternatives. An abundance of specialty celebration days are just a search-click away, or invent your own! How would YOU celebrate Lost Sock Memorial Day?

Congratulations and happy book birthday, Stef, on another kid-bait picture book that's jam-packed with learning potential!

 

Happy ACTUAL Birthday, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Scholasti reprint, 2006

Portions of this post are reprinted from a post three years ago, which in turn linked back to one of my first posts when this blog launched six years ago.

It's no wonder that few people realize that Washington's birthday is February 22, Lincoln's birthday is February 12, and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday is actually today, January 15. Designating official MONDAY celebrations for his commemoration and also for President's Day next month may allow federal and some other employees/schools to enjoy three-day-weekends, but my hope is it will focus more attention on the accomplishments and integrity of these incomparable leaders than simply getting discounts on linens.

Monday is the routine day for garbage collection at my curb. I couldn't find the calendar indicating changes, so I called the service to ask if it would be moved to tomorrow. The young woman who answered had no idea why it would be, and when I cited this holiday, Martin Luther King's Birthday, she quickly said, no, that's not a real holiday. That statement is sad, even tragic, made more so because this is the fiftieth anniversary of the garbage collectors protest.  This is the very reason why MLK, Jr. was in Memphis when he was assassinated. If the history of that protest and the reasons for it are new to you, or forgotten, please take a moment to click HERE and learn more.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARTIN LUTHER KING, written by Jean Marzolla and illustrated by J. Brian Pinkney is one of the MANY books about MLK, Jr., one that focuses directly on his birthday. 

While reflecting on my six years of sharing reviews, interviews, and thoughts about the unlimited power of picture books for all ages, I reread my first-ever post on this holiday, written as an open letter to Martin. It included this: 

"Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King, Jr.

You’re a hero to so many, but I’d like to take a moment to tell you why you are mine.

When sharing your accomplishments with students, describing the doors you opened, opportunities you produced, changes resulting from your leadership in the USA and the world, my admiration is evident to them. 

Then I tell them about my experience in high school."

My post included links to a few outstanding titles, but there are numerous other titles released before and since that are being featured across the blogosphere. They can be found easily enough, and I urge readers to seek them out. Some places to start include Reading Rockets, this New York Times Review,  Colours of US, BookKidsBlog, and one of my earlier posts. 

I urge you to begin today to read and gather these and other books that are inspiring, informative, and entertaining. Share them, today and throughout the widely recognized Black History Month. But I beg you, PLEASE, to continue to display, circulate, reference, and read aloud these and other books throughout the year. It's not surprising that our compartmentalizing of the struggles of history and the inspiring lives of leaders has fostered generations of people who readily see powerful truths as slogans and symbols to be waved about on specific days, but not integrated into our lives.

The post I quoted above, my letter to Martin Luther King, concluded with this:

"Because, thanks to your leadership, risks, and sacrifices, along with those of so many others, now every one of those schools accepts women. That change took place too late for me.

So, Martin, not just on your birthday or during Black History Month, I thank you for your vision and accomplishments. You threw open the doors of opportunity for me and for everyone else to live in a country that guarantees equality, or recourse when that has been denied."

Those words are as true today as ever, but are also are greater risk than they have been since Martin walked among us. Recent events across the country (the world, in fact) make them even more true today. I chose to wrap my thoughts around a mix of previous readings and writings because they continue to shape every day of my life. I hope you'll take the time to read the rest of the that early post, here.

Then find ways to honor my hero in every day life.