{"id":39926,"date":"2015-11-26T11:11:04","date_gmt":"2015-11-26T15:11:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/?p=39926"},"modified":"2015-11-26T12:48:29","modified_gmt":"2015-11-26T16:48:29","slug":"today-day-eric-walters-illustrated-eugenie-fernandes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/today-day-eric-walters-illustrated-eugenie-fernandes\/","title":{"rendered":"Today Is the Day by Eric Walters, Illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Today<\/a>Today<\/em> is the third title by Canadians\u00a0Eric Walters<\/a> and Eugenie Fernandes that captures real-life events from\u00a0Walters’ The Creation of Hope<\/a>\u00a0complex\u00a0in Kenya. Together, Walters and Fernandes have become quite the dynamic duo in developing an effective series showcasing the inspiring, courageous stories of resilient, caring children who live in The Creation of Hope’s Rolling Hills residence in the rural community of Kikima\u00a0in Kenya’s\u00a0Mbooni District.<\/p>\n

Mutanu, on whom Today<\/i>‘s spotlight shines, tries to always live up to her name which means ‘happy.’ She’s lost her parents and somehow survived on very little, but she’s now a part of the Rolling Hills family of 55 children.<\/p>\n

Today, everybody<\/i> is happy because celebration and surprises await. Before the festivities can begin, the children are\u00a0tasked with\u00a0finishing\u00a0their daily chores. For Mutanu, that means sweeping the yard and feeding Rafiki the compound watchdog a special meal (holding the\u00a0new puppies is a cuddly bonus).<\/p>\n

From all over and around, guests soon arrive, including Mutanu’s grandmother who cared for her after her parents’ deaths until she became too frail: “‘I could not be happier,\u2019” Mutanu\u00a0assures her beloved elder. After many hugs and kisses shared\u00a0among the children and their visiting relatives, “it began. The moment all the children had been waiting for.”<\/p>\n

And what might that be? In addition to gifts and candle-lit cakes comes much-needed affirmation: “‘Each year we gather to celebrate the birthdays of all the children of the orphanage,\u2019” the matron explains. “‘Today is the day. Some of you know the date of your birth and some of you do not. For those who do not know, today and forever, July the twelfth will now officially be your birthday!\u2019” Happy, happy indeed!<\/p>\n

Beyond the balloons and\u00a0merriment, the final five pages tell even more of Mutanu’s story\u00a0\u2013 complete with photographs of her very real life. Birthdays are indeed “a cause for joyous celebration,” but it’s also a much-needed legal stepping stone: an\u00a0official birthdate is the first requirement in obtaining an official government-issued birth certificate. More than a piece of paper, it’s a promise that “[t]he government must acknowledge [the children] as real people with all the rights of citizens.” And\u00a0that’s undoubtedly a most excellent\u00a0reason to have the\u00a0cake and eat it, too!<\/p>\n

Here’s to a grateful day for us all. Today (and every day) is the day for that!<\/p>\n

Readers<\/strong>: Children<\/p>\n

Published<\/strong>: 2015<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today is the third title by Canadians\u00a0Eric Walters and Eugenie Fernandes that captures real-life events from\u00a0Walters’ The Creation of Hope\u00a0complex\u00a0in Kenya. Together, Walters and Fernandes have become quite the dynamic duo in developing an effective series showcasing the inspiring, courageous stories of resilient, caring children…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39879,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[287,274,62,20],"tags":[6608,877,878,10,11,516,42,6737,6738],"class_list":["post-39926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-african","category-canadian","category-children-picture-books","category-nonfiction","tag-bookdragon","tag-eric-walters","tag-eugenie-fernandes","tag-family","tag-friendship","tag-holidays","tag-series","tag-series-creation-of-hope","tag-today-is-the-day"],"yoast_head":"\nToday Is the Day by Eric Walters, Illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes - BookDragon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/today-day-eric-walters-illustrated-eugenie-fernandes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Today Is the Day by Eric Walters, Illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes - BookDragon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today is the third title by Canadians\u00a0Eric Walters and Eugenie Fernandes that captures real-life events from\u00a0Walters’ The Creation of Hope\u00a0complex\u00a0in Kenya. 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