Young Marissa wakes one morning with a toothache – too much candy does have painful consequences! So it's off to the dentist instead of school. She experiences the morning hustle bustle of a busy city, careful to hold her mother's hand tightly. The most "unusual"...
We've all been greeted by the seated, squat kitty with one paw raised as if saluting her 'come-on-in-hello' to anyone and everyone either entering or just passing by in front of Asian shops and restaurants. Her name, in Japanese, is more of a description: she's...
I really should have taken a picture: my too-fast growing tween son, cuddled in bed reading to his little cousin (my not-quite-5-year-old nephew with the most amazing eyes you’ll ever gaze into), hearing the very familiar words of Grace Lin’s delicious Dim Sum for Everyone. “Do...
Mimi's independent ways continue ...
The adorable Mimi is a typical toddler just on the edge of finding her independence, but still needing a bit of assistance now and then from Mommy and Daddy, even Grandma and Grandpa. She's good at throwing her toys in the trash can, but hasn't...
Open the first spread of this warm little wonder – just out as a durably thick board book for the chunkiest little fingers – and marvel at those sleeping, trusting, dreaming faces ...
"A is for abuela. And abandoned car," begins an adventurous afternoon for two friends – one Latina, the other Asian Pacific American – as they explore the familiar yet unique streets and corners of the little girl's neighborhood. From the Chino-Latino corner store to the fire hydrant...
Here's some flip-flop reading fun in honor of my little nephew's birthday today – which makes him old enough to start preK next month ...
Here's another adorable chunky book for the youngest chubby little hands to hold ...
Too often, media headlines are filled with Arab/Palestinian and Jewish/Israeli conflict and tragedy. Here's a resonating anecdote filled with images of real-life kids from both sides of the religious/political/historical borders, enjoying a real-life camp where "...
After reading (and being bothered, aggravated, and ultimately haunted by the unlikely-to-ever-be-forgotten Nomad by Ayaan Hirsi Ali), I seem to be in search of sweeter literary anecdotes about the Muslim experience. As she did in her debut, The White Nights of Ramadan, Kuwaiti-born author Maha Addasi lovingly...
Outside the temple gates, young Mai feeds the caged sparrows ...
Despite the fact that Ling and Ting are twins, they are not – regardless of their many similarities, regardless of what the barber says – exactly the same! And ever since Ting sneezed at just the wrong moment during their latest haircuts and lost an uneven...
"Who blinks in the sunlight / that peeks through the Himalayas?" ...
Let the giggling begin! Mother/daughter writing team of hundreds-and-hundreds-of-titles-between-the-two-of-them present girl power with a pink-less crown on top! And what an absolutely delightful collaboration indeed. Not to disparage the color pink – I admit it! I loathe the color! – but really, pink is just...
In a word – and to quote from the title – this book is amazing. Filled with poems chosen by award-winning poet Lee Bennett Hopkins that celebrate the wonders of our diversity, this gorgeous book is populated by the vibrant immediacy of Chris Soentpiet's stunning canvases...
When our daughter entered kindergarten oh those many years ago (she's a teenager already!), she almost immediately started to get hassled about her lunches ...
For those of us of a certain age, we remember well that shampoo commercial ...
Happy Cinco de Mayo from Perico and his human family! While everyone busily prepares for the big picnic and festivities on the rented barge that will float down the San Antonio River, Perico the parrot looks for ways he can help, too. But Grandmother and Aunt...
Inspired by two real children in Dhaka whom Ann Malaspina met on her travels through South Asia, Yasmin's Hammer is yet more proof for the need to educate girls throughout the world. When a cyclone destroys their home village "by a lazy river," two sisters – Mita and...
