And our January pick is...
A Little Bit of Everything by Meghana Narayan & Michelle Carlos
January Pick -- A Little Bit of Everything
Amaya was born on a winter night--and every experience and memory helps to build her identity. She is a little bit of Mama, whose family is far away in India, and a little bit of Papa, whose mother immigrated from China for a new life. She is a little bit of the salty ocean and a little bit of the rolling storm. A little bit of the stars in the sky, and a little bit of so many other things. When Amaya's new sibling arrives, she knows just what to say about who she is, and what her sister will become.
With stunning, whimsical art, this lyrical book asks readers to celebrate their own uniqueness--and that of others. This is a lullaby to any child who is discovering who they are.
Meet Our Creators:
Author: Meghana Narayan
Meghana is an abstract artist and children’s book author living just outside of Baltimore, Maryland. Her visual work is rich with texture, often mimicked from patterns and colors found in nature. As a children's book creator, she feels a great responsibility in creating space for the stories that often go untold. Meghana seeks to bring out the voices and narratives that she was yearning for as a child—those characters that have rich histories and powerful stories to tell. She draws from her unique experiences as a child of Indian immigrants when creating her stories and art. When Meghana is not in her studio, she is reading and creating alongside her daughters, who are her greatest inspiration. She loves to get dirt beneath her fingernails and watch her garden transform every year. Meghana graduated from Teachers College, Columbia University, has an MA in literacy, and has over a decade of teaching experience in the early childhood classroom. We cannot wait to see what lyrical & poetic beauty Meghana has in store for us in her future children's book endeavors. Learn more about Meghana & her work on her website, here.
Illustrator: Michelle Carlos
Born and raised by mathematicians in the Philippines, Michelle preferred doodling on walls until she discovered papers and crayons. After graduating with a degree in Fine Arts with honors, she began her career in filmmaking that eventually led her to a decade-long career in post production and an MA in media conservation. Cancer and years of living as an expat in Singapore, Germany, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates woke up the dormant artist in her, which pushed her to relearn the craft, improve her skills and develop her style through daily practice and self study. Her travels, childhood memories, dreams and exposure to cultures around her greatly influence her visual vocabulary, which are now translated into the children's books that she illustrates and writes. A few of our favorite Michelle illustrated books are: Lullaby for the King by Nikki Grimes; Morning on the Farm by Sabrina Ehlenberger & Shailie Miller; & and her upcoming release with Molly Williams, The Junior Plant Lover's Handbook: A Green-Thumb Guide for Kids. Learn more about Michelle & her work on her website, here.
Below you will find our monthly craft; printable activity sheets; and our community outreach activity where we will be learning a little bit about what our community is made up of. 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 siblings & their stories. 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 A Little Bit of Everything 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: cd mandalas
Mandalas are geometric designs that are used in various spiritual traditions for meditation, spiritual guidance, establishing sacred space, representing the cosmos, and focusing attention. The word "mandala" comes from the ancient Sanskrit language of Hinduism and Buddhism and means "circle". In Tibetan Buddhism, mandalas are used to conceptualize a path to enlightenment. Monks create elaborate mandalas using millions of grains of dyed sand, powdered flowers, herbs, or grains. The sand is placed concentrically, starting from the center, using metal funnels called chak-pur. Once the mandala is complete, it is destroyed in a ceremony to symbolize the impermanence of life. When doing research on mandalas, we came across this notion that "A mandala is a diagram of the universe—a map of true reality that in Tibet is used to conceptualize a rapid path to enlightenment." We like to look at this craft as a diagram or a map of our individual reality as we discuss what we are made up of throughout our story and that includes our memories, adventures, & pivotal moments. We hope you use this activity as a way to better understand each kid you're working with and take a minute to find out a pivotal moment they remember in their young life and why it's important to them. Use this time for connection, we all (even us adults) crave the acknowledgment and attention.
Materials:
Old CDs (we thrifted blank cds for this craft)
Paint
Paintbrushes (if you want)
Q-tips
Paint palettes (we used recycled cardstock/paper plates)
Modifications:
Easy: Hand-over-hand assistance to paint with Q-tips.
Moderate: Allow children to create, may need occasional assistance.
Hard: Allow child to create with no modifications.
Instructions:
1. Gather materials. Dig out your old scratched CDs or head to the thrift store to grab some goodies. If you're working with children in the classroom, old blank CDs are best.
*Note: Before you begin, have kids write their names with permanent marker on the back. You'll thank me later.
2. Set up paints & Q-tips for each child. Discuss what mandalas are (see above) and the patterns used to create. Focusing on circles and dots using the Q-tip.
*Note: With our younger students, we are focusing more on just making dots. With our older students, we allowed them to create freely and found some very talented artistry.
4. Encourage children to continue to work from the inside out.
5. Once complete, allow to dry.
Remember: 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 A Little Bit of Everything by Meghana Narayan & 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:
Sleeping Bear Press has created a packet of coloring sheets for readers. Inside the packet, on page two, is a picture of a mandala shape with an empty middle, we will be using this page for our community activity. Download the activity sheets below:
Community Outreach: a little bit of, a community poem
A Little Bit of Everything has some of the best lyrical, poetic writing paired with beautiful & vibrant illustrations. While our craft focused on the illustrations, we are going to write our own lyrical lines to better understand those we are in community with, our peers. It's this specific spread (see above) that inspired us to create our own community poem together, asking our youth -- What are you made up of? In order to participate, we encourage you to print page two of the activity kit linked above. Have each child write this sentence inside the blank circle in the middle -- I'm a little bit of. Each child will complete the sentence with whatever they wish. Once they've written their sentence, they are free to color the page. After everyone is done, combine each of the sentences to make a community poem. Reading and writing poetry allows children to explore the depth of creative language and self-expression. It is our hope that we can create a small book filled with each MOSS Kids Book Club's collective poem. So if you do participate in our book club and would like to send in your submission, DM us on our socials or email us at hello@mosskidsbooks.com with the headline A Little Bit of.
This doesn't need to be extravagant. This is a way for us to celebrate & educate with our kids -- learning about our peers and understanding each other a little bit more is the perfect way to teach empathy & acceptance. To raise kinder kids.
supplemental books:
We're also reading Gorgeously Me!, The Truth About Dragons, Sulwe, & Laxmi's Mooch to celebrate & educate the uniqueness of ourselves and others!! 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 and honoring our unique selves. 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 mandalas and poems 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.
sign up for our book club
Want our blog with a video storytime sent directly to you email each month? The perfect way to connect with your kids, get friends together, a classroom activity, or even a library storytime.
Don't Forget: We Have Local moss kids book club locations in eastern north Carolina!!
Wednesday, 01/08 at 7pm: Picture Books on Tap at Larema Beverage Company in Rocky Mount
Tuesday, 01/14 at 1030am: MOSS Kids Book Club at Wilson County Public Library in Wilson
Saturday, 01/25 at 10am: 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 this 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 Lunch Bunch pick to start the new year is -- The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class: Emma McKenna, Full Out by Kate Messner!!
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