And our November pick is...
Meena's Saturday by Kusum Mepani & Yasmeen Ismail
November Pick -- Meena's Saturday
Meet Meena & her sisters, young Indian girls who have to manage a bustling house full of boisterous guests every Saturday. Saturday mornings start early for Meena. She and her sisters watch the sun ride while drinking chai before they clean the house and then head to the grocery store... while their brother gets to stay in bed. As the guests arrive, including Meena's favorite cousins, the women crowd into the kitchen to cook. The doorbell rings nonstop as family, neighbors, and friends fill the bustling house. Once fresh chapatis are made, dinner begins -- for the men. But Meena spots an empty seat at the table and decides today is the day she makes an important change.
A love letter to the gatherings of community and family, this story proves that there are some long-standing traditions that need to change. And that change can start with you.
Meet Our Creators:
Author: Kusum Mepani
Kusum Mepani has been migrating her entire life. She was born in Kenya but moved to England, where she grew up in the crowded, chaotic, loving house seen in this book, surrounded by so many cousins, uncles, and aunts that she can’t even remember all their names. As an adult, she moved to New York and finally California, where she now lives with her husband, two sons, and a dog. This is her debut picture book.
Illustrator: Yasmeen Ismail
Yasmeen Ismail is an Irish-born, Bristol-based award-winning author, illustrator, and animator. After graduating from art school, Yasmeen worked in advertising, film, and children’s publishing. After a few years, she began writing and illustrating picture books, and has illustrated over fifteen books and written twelve. Yasmeen has been nominated for her works as well and has been selected by the Society of Illustrators to have her work shown in the Original Art Exhibition in New York four years in a row. We love her illustrations in My Brother Is An Avocado, written by Tracy Darnton. You can find her drinking coffee when she’s not painting or writing. She lives with her husband, their two children, and Betty the cat.
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 traditions heading into the holiday season. We'll also be participating in a sensorial chai tea tasting. 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 & educating Indigenous Peoples for American Indian & Native Alaskan Heritage Month, which is celebrated in November -- you can find 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 Meena's Saturday 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: dinner party - who's at your table?
We all have family traditions. Growing up, my household was similar to Meena's on her bustling Saturdays. Each holiday (& some Sundays), my big boisterous family would gather at my great-grandmother's house. The men would be chatting in the living room, while the women spent the day cooking, cleaning, and eating last. I wanted to take the first step, just like Meena, to create change in my own family. We've decided to celebrate differently. We celebrate an autumnal gathering, eating what's in season with our family, friends, & neighbors instead of the traditional Thanksgiving. We choose to teach the actual historical events, acknowledge the land we're on, & honor the land by tending it with care & supporting our local BIPOC farmers. Everyone contributes to the meal. At the meal (& every meal we have), we discuss one exciting thing that happened in our day, something we are grateful for & we also share one thing that challenged us, that was hard that we had to push through, or something we did that maybe we could have approached differently. We use family meals as a way to connect, a way to come together & check in on those we love, to be present. This book & these activities provide the space to discuss family traditions & one thing each family does that may be unique or it can be an opportunity to discuss what they would change.
Materials:
Popsicle sticks, jumbo (4 per child)
Hot glue (you can use liquid glue, but this will maintain longevity)
Markers
Yarn/ribbon
Scissors (to cut yarn/ribbon)
White cardstock (we used jumbo index cards with great success)
Modifications:
Easy: Pre-prep the frame by glueing the popsicle sticks, index card to the back. & ribbon to hang
Moderate: Allow children to create the "table" frame, adults handle hot glue
Hard: Allow child to create with no modifications
Instructions:
1. Gather materials. Pre-prep popsicle sticks for younger children or to save time. We will have all "table" frames pre-prepped for our students.
2. Make a square with the popsicle sticks. Place a bead of glue at the connection of each corner.
3. Glue a jumbo index card to the back of the popsicle stick frame with the blank side facing forward. This is where kids will draw who they would like to invite to their table.
4. Now it's time to decorate the frame. Encourage kids to use bright vibrant colors. This is the perfect opportunity to discuss current family traditions & what traditions they would like to see for their own families.
5. When the table decorations are complete, it's time to draw on the index card -- who are you inviting to your table? Discuss Meena's choice to include everyone at the table; creating a table & kitchen big enough for all. Have each child draw who they would have join them for dinner inside the frame on the index card.
*NOTE: It is extremely important to have crayons/colored pencils/markers that represent all skin tones & hair colors. Representation matters.
6. Last step: Add ribbon so each table frame can hang. You can pre-prep this at the beginning for time or to keep use of the hot glue in the hands of the adults.
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 Meena's Saturday by Kusum Mepani & Yasmeen Ismail & 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 matching sheet with items you can find in throughout Meena's Saturday, a tracing sheet of Meena's routes to deliver chai tea to their visitors that works on fine motor control & visual motor skills; & a word search for our older readers to promote visual scanning as well as isolation of letters and words within a bank of letters. Download the activity sheets below:
Community Outreach: chai tea tasting & more cultural family traditions
There is an art to tea. The preparation and the presentation of tea is a cultural activity that spans thousands of years across countries steeped in rich history and traditional practices that we still implement today. We will be taste testing chai tea featured in Meena's story as a welcoming beverage served to family, friends, & neighbors.
Chai - an expression of freedom and rebellion
"The folklore encircling the origin of spice mixes dates back to an Indian Royal Court over 5000 years ago, in which a King sought to create an invigorating drink made from Ayurvedic spices to heal and cleanse the body. The immunity boosting drink known as Kadha was born, and for thousands of years, Indian people have utilised and diversified the ancient drink with a wide array of spices and ingredients, often incorporating ginger, black pepper, turmeric and munakka raisins. Yet by the time black tea had reared its head in India during the time of the British Raj, Kadha began to find a new lease of life; its fusing with tea leaves, milk and sugar, serving almost as an ironic rebellion to British propaganda attempting to indoctrinate tea alone into Indian society. Although the India Tea Committee disapproved of the addition of spices, as well as large amounts of milk and sugar, tea vendors had discovered a loophole in the campaign to integrate black tea into the country. The tea was being used, but the unique, homespun inclusion of other ingredients greatly reduced the usage of tea leaves - and thus their purchase - by liquid volume. So came Chai; a flavorful, spice-infused tea that sweetens the tooth and vitalizes the mind and body. Served piping hot to trigger the body’s natural cooling reflexes, the best Chai recipes are now often found to contain cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, peppercorn and more. In a creamy combination with milk and sugar, the luxurious liquid gold that streams from high pouring kettles never fails to entice, excite and delight the taste buds. Yet, like its predecessor, Kadha, the beauty of Chai is in its diversity and growth. From African Chai served with rose petal and liquorice root, to the nut garnished pink Kashmiri Chai of Pakistan, Chai has evolved from its roots in royal courts to endure beyond empires. As new pioneers of Chai spread its reach worldwide, the drink that is rich in every way imaginable continues to heal and enchant those who drink it around the globe." Written by Charlie Lau for the Chai Guys, see full article here!
Let's get to the taste test. Download our tea journal worksheet below to encourage children to use all their senses. Fill out the top together prior to beginning -- name, tea name (chai), and tea type (black, usually Assam). Show kids the dry chai tea leaves. Have them smell the dry leaves & note their appearance. Have them write down their initial observations. Measure out the appropriate amount of tea or use tea bags to make the tea. Make sure you use the appropriate temperature & steeping time (see your packaging for instructions). If your water temperature is too hot, you can burn the leaves & be left with a bitter taste. If you don't steep long enough, the flavor may not infuse correctly. After the tea is made, allow children the opportunity to observe the wet leaves. What aroma do the leaves have now? What do they look like? Write responses on their worksheets. Have children take a look at the tea. What color is the infusion? Have children fill in the bubble with the appropriate hue. While typically chai is enjoyed steaming hot, we don't need to burn any mouths. This is the perfect opportunity to read a supplemental story (see below) to learn about other cultural family traditions. Pour each child a splash of chai. It's time to taste. After their first sip, have children write what they think it tastes like. Have them draw a picture of what the tea reminds them of. A few minutes after finishing, have them note what the aftertaste tastes like & score on a scale of 1-5 their review of chai tea.
For our school visits, we will have the ingredients to make homemade chai tea (although we will be using prepackaged tea bags) just so students can see & smell each individual item. We're using this recipe from David's Tea -- DIY Masala Chai Mix.
This doesn't need to be extravagant. This is a way for us to celebrate & educate with our kids -- learning about & honoring a beautiful tradition from a different culture is the perfect way to teach empathy, understanding, & acceptance. To raise kinder kids.
supplemental books:
We're also reading Masala Chai, Fast and Slow, The Spice Box, At Our Table, & Saturday to celebrate & educate on family traditions across cultures!! We'll be donating copies of At Our Table to our local elementary schools with their copies of Meena's Saturday. There is a few great educator guides/activity kits 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 inclusive tables & photos from the chai tea tasting experience. 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!!
*NEW DATE/TIME Tuesday, 11/12 at 1030am: MOSS Kids Book Club at Wilson County Public Library in Wilson
Wednesday, 11/13 at 7pm: Picture Books on Tap at Larema Beverage Company in Rocky Mount
Saturday, 11/30 at 10am: MOSS Kids Book Club with Drag Story Hour at Boxyard RTP with reader Satine
PAUSED THIS MONTH due to traveling: MOSS Kids Book Club at Larema Coffee House in Rocky Mount
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 first Lunch Bunch pick of the year is -- Marya Khan and the Spectacular Fall Festival by Saadia Faruqi who generously donated all copies for us & the kids! Our BIGGEST, heartfelt thanks!
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