The Saint Nicholas Day Snow Book Review

This year I am super excited to be a part of the 5th Annual Multicultural Children’s Book Day as a BOOK REVIEWER! The spectacular picture book, The Saint Nicholas Day Snow by Charlotte Riggle and Illustrated by R. J. Hughes was gifted to us.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All of the opinions expressed here are my own.

 

The Saint Nicholas Day Snow

 

In this beautifully illustrated book, Catherine is having her friend Elizabeth over to spend the night.  However, this night that Elizabeth is spending with Catherine is not just any night, it is St. Nicholas Day Eve. Catherine and her Mom plan to bake Snowball Cookies with Elizabeth.  After the baking is complete,  Catherine, Elizabeth, and Catherine’s brother Peter artfully describe the traditions of St. Nicholas Day and examine the differences that vary from home to home over lunch.  With the help of grown ups, the story of St. Nicholas is beautifully explained and all of the children find their answers regarding the various traditions of this day.   Although this is a time for celebration, Elizabeth is worried about her Grandmother who is in the hospital.

 

Prayer for Nana

Interestingly, the secondary story of Elizabeth’s grandmother being in the hospital is depicted throughout the book through painting like illustrations and is referenced in the text through a prayer that Elizabeth, Catherine, and her Mother join in together to help ease Elizabeth’s worry.  This was my favorite part of the book because it illustrates the power prayer and friendship.

 

This is an outstanding book to obtain a deeper understanding of St. Nicholas and the traditions surrounding this celebration. Illustrations of St. Nicholas and churches that honor him are depicted throughout the book in a very fascinating historical way.  There are reference pages in the bool that thoroughly explain everything.   This book also teaches children to respect other’s beliefs and ways to express these beliefs.  Additionally, it is especially important for children to see children with disabilities and of different ethnicities as being no different.  The character’s represented in this book exemplify diversity and inclusion.

 

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2018

 

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2018 (1/27/18) is in its 5th year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators.

Current Sponsors:  MCBD 2018 is honored to have some amazing Sponsors on board.

2018 MCBD Medallion Sponsors

HONORARY: Children’s Book Council, Junior Library Guild

PLATINUM:Scholastic Book Clubs

GOLD:Audrey Press, Candlewick Press, Loving Lion Books, Second Story Press, Star Bright Books, Worldwide Buddies

SILVER:Capstone Publishing, Author Charlotte Riggle, Child’s Play USA, KidLit TV, Pack-n-Go Girls, Plum Street Press

BRONZE: Barefoot Books, Carole P. Roman, Charlesbridge Publishing, Dr. Crystal Bowe, Gokul! World, Green Kids Club, Gwen Jackson, Jacqueline Woodson, Juan J. Guerra, Language Lizard, Lee & Low Books, RhymeTime Storybooks, Sanya Whittaker Gragg, TimTimTom Books, WaterBrook & Multnomah, Wisdom Tales Press

2018 Author Sponsors

Honorary Author Sponsors: Author/Illustrator Aram Kim and Author/Illustrator Juana Medina

Author Janet Balletta, Author Susan Bernardo,  Author Carmen Bernier-Grand, Author Tasheba Berry-McLaren and Space2Launch, Bollywood Groove Books, Author Anne Broyles,  Author Kathleen Burkinshaw, Author Eugenia Chu, Author Lesa Cline-Ransome, Author Medeia Cohan and Shade 7 Publishing, Desi Babies, Author Dani Dixon and Tumble Creek Press, Author Judy Dodge Cummings, Author D.G. Driver, Author Nicole Fenner and Sister Girl Publishing, Debbi Michiko Florence, Author Josh Funk, Author Maria Gianferrari, Author Daphnie Glenn, Globe Smart Kids, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Author Quentin Holmes, Author Esther Iverem, Jennifer Joseph: Alphabet Oddities, Author Kizzie Jones, Author Faith L Justice , Author P.J. LaRue and MysticPrincesses.com, Author Karen Leggett Abouraya, Author Sylvia Liu, Author Sherri Maret, Author Melissa Martin Ph.D., Author Lesli Mitchell, Pinky Mukhi and We Are One, Author Miranda Paul, Author Carlotta Penn, Real Dads Read, Greg Ransom, Author Sandra L. Richards, RealMVPKids Author Andrea Scott, Alva Sachs and Three Wishes Publishing, Shelly Bean the Sports Queen,  Author Sarah Stevenson, Author Gayle H. Swift Author Elsa Takaoka, Author Christine Taylor-Butler, Nicholette Thomas and  MFL Publishing  Author Andrea Y. Wang, Author Jane Whittingham  Author Natasha Yim

We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.

TWITTER PARTY Sponsored by Scholastic Book Clubs: MCBD’s super-popular (and crazy-fun) annual Twitter Party will be held 1/27/18 at 9:00pm.

Join the conversation and win one of 12-5 book bundles and one Grand Prize Book Bundle (12 books) that will be given away at the party! http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/twitter-party-great-conversations-fun-prizes-chance-readyourworld-1-27-18/

Free Multicultural Books for Teachers: http://bit.ly/1kGZrta

Free Empathy Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians and Educators: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/teacher-classroom-empathy-kit/

Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.

 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

Maya