Multicultural Children’s Book Day:

Lump Lump And The Blanket Of Dreams Book Review

Disclaimer: I was provided a copy of this book from the author to facilitate this review. As always, all opinions are my own.

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2019

Multicultural Children’s Book Day brings attention to all the extraordinary children’s books available that celebrate diversity.  This is my 2nd year as a book reviewer, and I’m ecstatic to share with you all my review of Lump Lump And The Blanket Of Dreams authored by, Gwen Jackson, and illustrated by, Lissa Calvert.  This book is 28 pages in length, suitable for children ages 8-11 and grades 3-6.

Lump Lump And The Blanket Of Dreams Book Review

What child doesn’t loathe or resist the need to slumber at bedtime?  The newness of each day means an adventure awaits.  Sleep is not nearly as exciting!

Lump Lump And The Blanket Of Dreams is an enchanting tale inspired by Navajo/Dine’ folklore and culture.  Each page of this book is vividly illustrated with landscapes of the Southwest and clothed in symbolism.  And it features a beautiful child’s blanket weaving by Barbara Teller Ornelas, a sixth generation Navajo weaver.

This children’s picture book begins with Lump Lump, a little black bear being told by his mother, Mother Bear that winter is coming.  And that Lump Lump should “enjoy Blue Bird’s stories while you can.  Soon we will go to sleep for winter.”  However, Lump Lump is uneasy about this idea.  Hence Mother Bear enlists the help of Blue Bird, Robin, and some other forest friends to journey to meet a Spider Woman to weave a blanket of dreams.

That said this book highlights the mysticism and intrigue in the stories passed down from our ancestors.  It emphasizes the beauty of friendship.  And how there is a collective rhythm to life.  Lastly, it relays that although we must all slumber that sleep is not without purpose, and it does not have to be without love.  This book is a sensational addition to any family library or classroom.  Purchase this book at Amazon.

About The Author

Gwen Jackson graduated magna cum laude from Lincoln University with a B.A. in psychology. She won a Ford Foundation Fellowship and attended the University of Michigan, where she received an M.A. in psychology. An avid lover of history, anthropology, and people, Gwen has traveled to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Sicily, Capri, the Greek Islands, Italy, Turkey, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Bali, Malaysia, Thailand, and India. Gwen’s main wish in life is Thurber’s Dog Wish: “a strange and involved compulsion to be as happy and carefree as a dog.”…

Multicultural Children’s Book Day

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2019 (1/25/19) is in its 6^th 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 homes and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents, and educators.

MCBD 2019 is honored to have the following Medallion Sponsors on board

Medallion Level Sponsors

Honorary: Children’s Book Council, The Junior Library Guild, TheConsciousKid.org.

Super Platinum: Make A Way Media

GOLD: Bharat Babies, Candlewick Press, Chickasaw Press, Juan Guerra and The Little Doctor / El doctorcito, KidLitTV, Lerner Publishing Group, Plum Street Press,

SILVER: Capstone Publishing, Carole P. Roman, Author Charlotte Riggle, Huda Essa, The Pack-n-Go Girls,

BRONZE: Charlesbridge Publishing, Judy Dodge Cummings, Author Gwen Jackson, Kitaab World, Language Lizard – Bilingual & Multicultural Resources in 50+ Languages, Lee & Low Books, Miranda Paul and Baptiste Paul, Redfin, Author Gayle H. Swift, T.A. Debonis-Monkey King’s Daughter, TimTimTom Books, Lin Thomas, Sleeping Bear Press/Dow Phumiruk, Vivian Kirkfield,

MCBD 2019 is honored to have the following Author Sponsors on board

Honorary: Julie Flett, Mehrdokht Amini,

Author Janet Balletta, Author Kathleen Burkinshaw, Author Josh Funk, Chitra Soundar, One Globe Kids – Friendship Stories, Sociosights Press and Almost a Minyan, Karen Leggett, Author Eugenia Chu, CultureGroove Books, Phelicia Lang and Me On The Page, L.L. Walters, Author Sarah Stevenson, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Hayley Barrett, Sonia Panigrah, Author Carolyn Wilhelm, Alva Sachs and Dancing Dreidels, Author Susan Bernardo, Milind Makwana and A Day in the Life of a Hindu Kid, Tara Williams, Veronica Appleton, Author Crystal Bowe, Dr. Claudia May, Author/Illustrator Aram Kim, Author Sandra L. Richards, Erin Dealey, Author Sanya Whittaker Gragg, Author Elsa Takaoka, Evelyn Sanchez-Toledo, Anita Badhwar, Author Sylvia Liu, Feyi Fay Adventures, Author Ann Morris, Author Jacqueline Jules, CeCe & Roxy Books, Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace, LEUYEN PHAM, Padma Venkatraman, Patricia Newman and Lightswitch Learning, Shoumi Sen, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, Traci Sorell, Shereen Rahming, Blythe Stanfel, Christina Matula, Julie Rubini, Paula Chase, Erin Twamley, Afsaneh Moradian, Claudia Schwam, Lori DeMonia, Terri Birnbaum/ RealGirls Revolution, Soulful Sydney, Queen Girls Publications, LLC

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.

Co-Hosts and Global Co-Hosts

A Crafty Arab, Agatha Rodi Books, All Done Monkey, Barefoot Mommy, Biracial Bookworms, Books My Kids Read, Crafty Moms Share, Colours of Us, Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes, Descendant of Poseidon Reads, Educators Spin on it, Growing Book by Book, Here Wee Read, Joy Sun Bear/ Shearin Lee, Jump Into a Book, Imagination Soup, Jenny Ward’s Class, Kid World Citizen, Kristi’s Book Nook, The Logonauts, Mama Smiles, Miss Panda Chinese, Multicultural Kid Blogs, Raising Race Conscious Children, Shoumi Sen, Spanish Playground

TWITTER PARTY Sponsored by Make A Way Media!

MCBD’s super-popular (and crazy-fun) annual Twitter Party will be held 1/25/19 at 9:00pm.E.S.T. TONS of prizes and book bundles will be given away during the party. GO HERE for more details.

We will be giving away Book Bundles every 5 minutes!

Twitter Party Details:

When: Friday, January 25th

Time: 9 pm to 10 pm EST

Where: On Twitter! Follow McChildsBookDay to participate

Hashtag: #ReadYourWorld

Sponsored By: Make A Way Media

FREE RESOURCES From MCBD

Free Multicultural Books for Teachers: https://wp.me/P5tVud-1H

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.