And our December pick is...
An Anishinaabe Christmas by Wab Kinew & Erin Hill
December Pick -- An Anishinaabe Christmas
One winter solstice, Mommy says, “Baby, we’re going home to the Rez. We’re going to have an Anishinaabe Christmas.” But this is Baby’s first Christmas away from the city, and they’re worried! They have a lot of questions: How will Santa know where to find them? Why do we have presents on Christmas? How come they’re going home to the Rez but don’t live there? On the long trip to Mooshom’s and Kookom’s, Baby learns about animals being part of their family, about the North Star leading them home and even the meanings of some Anishinaabe words. Will this Anishinaabe Christmas be Baby’s best yet?
A festive, joyful Indigenous picture book that explores both Christmas traditions and Anishinaabe culture.
Meet Our Creators:
Author: Wab Kinew
Wab Kinew is the bestselling, award-winning author of The Everlasting Road, Walking in Two Worlds, Go Show the World and The Reason You Walk. A member of the Midewin and an Honorary Witness for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, he is a former journalist, hip-hop artist and television host who was named by Postmedia News as one of “9 Aboriginal movers and shakers you should know.” Kinew is now the Premier of Manitoba and lives in Winnipeg with his family.
Illustrator: Erin Hill
Erin Hill is an Indigenous artist based in Oakville, Ontario. They are a graduate from the Illustration program at Sheridan College. They’re inspired by the notion of making art that’s fun, and they enjoy creating illustrations and motion graphics while also having an interest in animation and storyboarding.
Below you will find our monthly craft; printable activity sheets; and our community outreach activity where we will be celebrating & learning more about cultural family holiday traditions as we finish the year. We'll also be participating in a Miigiwe (he/she/they gives things away) with holiday cards. For more books to read this month, don't forget to check out our supplemental book list:
This is also the perfect opportunity to read books celebrating the wintery months ahead. Check out that booklist here.
We really hope you enjoy this month of book club as we continue to keep our nationwide book club free & accessible for all. Each book is intentionally handpicked with each activity and outreach curated to engage and enrich our youth's experiences. Through these diverse and inclusive reads, working and playing together, and giving back to their own community, we hope to instill empathy, understanding, & kindness in our kids. Be sure to sign up for our book club to receive a virtual storytime reading of An Anishinaabe Christmas read by our co-founder, Kara Cecchi, directly to your inbox. Email us at hello@mosskidsbooks.com for this month's story.
Let's Craft: mosaic ornament
We all have holiday traditions. Whether we celebrate Winter Solstice, Hannukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Eid, Diwali, or Lunar New Year, we all gather surrounded by loved ones. We use family gatherings as a way to connect, a way to come together & check in on those we love, to be present. This book and these activities provide the space to discuss holiday traditions and how each of us celebrates. When kids are working on their ornaments, encourage communication about their family traditions with their peers -- what holidays do they celebrate, who do they celebrate with, what's their favorite thing they do to celebrate. Curiosity in kids is beautiful and allowing them a safe space to ask questions and learn more is vital in raising empathetic kids.
Materials:
Air dry clay (we are measuring out about 2oz/kid)
Mosaic tiles (or you could use beads)
Rolling pin
Drinking straw
Twine/yarn/ribbon
Scissors (not pictured)
Modifications:
Easy: Hand-over-hand assistance to roll out the air-dry clay. Child may need help pushing in the tiles/beads. Adult to complete hole punch & string to hang.
Moderate: Allow children to create, may need occasional assistance.
Hard: Allow child to create with no modifications.
Instructions:
1. Gather materials. We have TONS of kids at each local location, so we are measuring out 2oz of air-dry clay for each child.
2. Have child roll clay into a ball & then flatten. This encourages hand strength that kids need to hold pencils for extended periods & open/close scissors. Use rolling pin to roll into their shape about 1/4in thick . We kept ours as an oval or as circular as we could. But it would be cute with cookie cutter shapes too, maybe, a heart like Baby.
3. Allow child to create independently with mosaic tiles (or beads). This would be a great opportunity to discuss putting mosaic tiles together can create new shapes!
*NOTE: Make sure kids are pushing the mosaics far enough in. Upon completion of our test trials, we noticed that a few of our mosaics didn't stick & fell right off. We fixed it with some hot glue, but on our next trial we pushed further in & all stayed.
4. While still wet & after the design is finished, take a paper/plastic straw and poke a hole in the top of the ornament. Make sure you give yourself enough room at the top so the twine doesn't break through when dry and hanging.
5. Allow the ornament to dry completely. Put it in a sunny window and read a few supplemental titles or begin work on our community outreach activity (see below). At our local school locations, we will keep them drying over night & educators will allow children to take home the following day.
*NOTE: It does take a LONG time for these to dry. Overnight is best.
6. Once dry, thread the twine through the hole & tie a knot at the top to hang.
Remember: Since we are no longer sending out free copies of the book, we encourage you to request your local library purchase the title for your community to share. It's easy to request. Head to your local library's website. On the site, there will be a "Suggest A Title" tab (see below). Just add this book An Anishinaabe Christmas by Wab Kinew & Erin Hall & submit. You can even share this blog with them. After reading or listening, we encourage you to please review the book on goodreads, on Amazon, & on your social media platforms. Reviews will help get the word out about this incredible book!
printable activity sheets:
We created an activity kit for our readers! Below you will find -- a Do-A-Dot sheet to decorate a Christmas tree like Baby sees outside on his way to the Rez; a Connect-the-Dots sheet practicing our counting numbers 1-20 to create Baby's ornament; & a maze to help the Makwa family find each other, just like Daddy's story. Each of these activity sheets works primarily on visual motor control, coordination, & perception which allows children to effectively coordinate their eye sight with their movements, enabling them to perform everyday tasks like writing, cutting, catching a ball, and reading, essentially bridging the gap between what they see and how they physically interact with their environment. Download the activity sheets below:
Community Outreach: create cards for your community
Miigiwe is the Anishinaabemowin word for he/she/they gives away. As Baby heads to the Rez to see Kookom & Mooshom, they talk with Mommy about what Miigiwe means when discussing why we have presents on Christmas. Mommy says "Because Anishinaabe people love to give things away." Baby goes on to think about the present in their pocket, a gift they made to give to Kookom & Mooshom for Christmas. This holiday season we want to share in the spirit of Miigiwe to bring joy to those in our community. Have your kids create cards for someone who may need it in your area. Holidays and the winter season can be hard on so many. Maybe they are missing a loved one. Maybe they are separated from their family. Maybe they just lost their job. Maybe they're working multiple jobs to support their family. Or maybe, they are just tired and in need of a little supportive acknowledgement. These cards don't need to be holiday specific. They can have a snowman or a snowflake on the front. Maybe a star. Maybe a rainbow. Or a football. Or a book. Or a heart. The message inside can be simple -- you are loved, you're doing a great job, we appreciate you, you are a light. Once completed, we encourage you to hang them throughout your community with a note to take what they need. We plan to hang a few in our local post offices, coffee shops, libraries, small shops, free libraries, senior centers/assisted living. Spaces where they can find their way to the people that need them most.
This doesn't need to be extravagant. This is a way for us to celebrate & educate with our kids -- creating for a stranger something beautiful to let them know someone is thinking of them this season while also learning about the Anishinaabemowin word, Miigiwe, is the perfect way to teach empathy, understanding, & acceptance. To raise kinder kids.
supplemental books:
We're also reading A City Full of Santas, The House Without Lights, Soulful Holidays, & Tamales for Christmas to celebrate & educate on holiday traditions across cultures!! We'll be donating copies of The House Without Lights to our local elementary schools with their copies of An Anishinaabe Christmas. There are a few great resources for some of our supplemental books, check them out below:
Please do not skip the community outreach activities. We truly believe this outreach activity is a vital part of childhood & an opportunity to raise kind kids. Teaching our youth the importance of celebrating & educating cultural traditions. To learn the importance of understanding the diversity of our world & of our own communities. To learn kindness, empathy, acceptance, & understanding of our peers, neighbors, & new friends.
YAY! Another MOSS Kids Book Club pick, craft, printable sheets, and community outreach activity. We would love to see all the ornaments and holiday cards your kids create. You do not need to share kid's faces. Please be sure to tag us on Instagram @mosskidsbooks & use #mosskidsbookclub. Sharing about MOSS Kids Book Club is a way for your community to learn more about what MOSS Kids has to offer & for them to know about brand new diverse & inclusive books. By doing so, we can reach & help more kids across the country. We'd also love to hear any feedback you may have, please email us at hello@mosskidsbooks.com. We appreciate you all so much for taking the initiative to bring kids together to read diverse books & hopefully learn vital life skills to help make our world a better place.
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Don't Forget: We Have Local moss kids book club locations in eastern north Carolina!!
Tuesday, 12/10 at 1030am: MOSS Kids Book Club at Wilson County Public Library in Wilson
Wednesday, 12/11 at 7pm: Picture Books on Tap at Larema Beverage Company in Rocky Mount
PAUSED THIS MONTH due to the holidays: MOSS Kids Book Club at Larema Coffee House in Rocky Mount & MOSS Kids Book Club with Drag Story Hour at Boxyard RTP
We're continuing our SCHOOL POP-INS! We have plans to visit 4 local elementary schools across two counties bringing our MOSS Kids Book Club right to them & then donating the book to their school library for all to enjoy. We're hoping to expand & add more at the beginning of the new year!
We're continuing Lunch Bunch! We will be popping in every week this month to a local school to read with a small group of third graders, to diversify their bookshelves (they get to keep the books!) & to develop a love for reading. Our seconds Lunch Bunch pick of the year is -- Sadiq and the Festival of Cultures by Siman Nuurali & Christos Skaltsas.