Cultural Celebrations in the Library
The Heatherwood Library provides age-appropriate resources to help classrooms and families celebrate a number of nationally recognized culturally significant periods throughout the school year.
September 15 - October 15
National Latinx and Hispanic Heritage Month
October
Indigenous People's Day
There are an estimated 7,000 indigenous languages spoken worldwide. Through the Celebrating Indigenous Languages Project, children can listen to greetings recorded by 50 indigenous language speakers. Kids can also look at a picture of each language speaker and learn a little bit about what they appreciate about their language.
Halloween
October 31
November 1 & 2
Dia de los Muertos
Dia de los Muertos translates to Day of the Dead. Watch and listen to this picture book read aloud to see how traditional celebrations happen.
When you click on this link, wait for the video to load at the top of the page. Then watch it to see what Dia de los Muertos celebrations look like in Mexico!
See how one Colorado family celebrates Dia de los Muertos.
November
National Native American Heritage Month
A powwow is an indigenous ceremony that honors Native American ancestors and heritage. It usually includes dancing and music. Watch this video of a 2019 powwow in Helena, Montana. What do you notice? What do you see and hear?
Brenda Child is the author of Bowwow Powwow. In this story, the main character experiences a powwow with her family and dreams about people transforming into animals. The book is written in English and Ojibwe.
Josie dreams of dancing at next summer's powwow. To get read, she will need the help of her community. Denise Lajimodiere reads her story Josie Dances.
Kevin Noble Maillard is a law professor at Syracuse University, a journalist for The New York Times, and a member of the Seminole nation. His book Fry Bread celebrates a food made by Native Americans after they were forcibly moved from their homelands. Many families had only government-issued ingredients, or rations, to cook with. They created recipes for fry bread because that was all they had. The back of the book includes a recipe to make fry bread at home!
In this interview, Kevin Noble Maillard discusses his motivation for writing Fry Bread, the need for all people to see themselves represented in books, and the history of Native American fry bread. His son reads some of the book at the end of the interview.
Thanksgiving: Spotlight on Gratitude
Winter Holidays
January
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
"Martin's Big Words" by Doreen Rappaport
"A Place to Land: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Speech that Inspired a Nation"
PBS Video on Dr. King's Challenges and Accomplishments
Dr. King Interview about Gandhi and the Power of Nonviolent Protest
February
Lunar New Year
February
Lantern Festival for Lunar New Year
February
Black History is American History
March
Women's History Month
April
National Arab American Heritage Month
Grandma wears it clasped under her chin. Aunty pins hers up with a beautiful brooch. Jenna puts it under a sun hat when she hikes. Zara styles hers to match her outfit. As a young girl observes six very different women in her life who each wear the hijab in a unique way, she also dreams of the rich possibilities of her own future, and how she will express her own personality through her hijab. Written in sprightly rhyme and illustrated by a talented newcomer, Under My Hijab honors the diverse lives of contemporary Muslim women and girls, their love for each other, and their pride in their culture and faith.
Lailah is in a new school in a new country, thousands of miles from her old home, and missing her old friends. When Ramadan begins, she is excited that she is finally old enough to participate in the fasting but worried that her classmates won’t understand why she doesn’t join them in the lunchroom.
Lailah solves her problem with help from the school librarian and her teacher and in doing so learns that she can make new friends who respect her beliefs.
Author Reem Faruqi based this story on her own experiences as a young Muslim girl immigrating to the United States.
During Syria’s Civil War, homeless cats wander the empty, silent streets. Wanting to help, Alaa opens his home to the cats and cares for the abandoned creatures. But there are too many cats and only one Alaa. Thankfully, his story inspires people around the world to send help and donations. This Caldecott Honor-winning picture book is based on the true story of a man who stayed in his war-torn city to care for the cats.
This vibrant picture book is a story about equal opportunity, perseverance, and dreaming big. It is inspired by the Nobel Peace Prize nominee Loujain Al-Hathloul, who fought for driving rights for women. In the story, young Loujain sees her father flying and dreams of joining him in the air. Even though girls are not allowed to fly in their country, Loujain’s father teaches her. The gorgeous illustrations and powerful message make this book unforgettable.
May
Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Amy Wu & The Perfect Bao
A Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book of 2019
Meet the funny, fierce, and fearless Amy Wu, who is determined to make a perfect bao bun today. Can she rise to the occasion?
Amy loves to make bao with her family. But it takes skill to make the bao taste and look delicious. And her bao keep coming out all wrong.
Then she has an idea that may give her a second chance…Will Amy ever make the perfect bao?
Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon
In this sweet and brightly illustrated picture book, Amy Wu must craft a dragon unlike any other to share with her class at school in this unforgettable follow-up to Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao.
Amy loves craft time at school. But when her teacher asks everyone to make their own dragon, Amy feels stuck. Her first dragon has a long, wingless body, stag-like horns, and eagle claws, but her friends don’t think it’s a real dragon. Then she makes dragons like theirs, but none of them feels quite right...None of them feels like hers.
After school, a story from Grandma sparks new inspiration, and Amy rounds up her family to help her. Together, can they make Amy’s perfect dragon?
Eyes the Kiss in the Corners
A School Library Journal Best Book of 2021
This lyrical, stunning picture book tells a story about learning to love and celebrate your Asian-shaped eyes, in the spirit of Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry, and is a celebration of diversity.
A young Asian girl notices that her eyes look different from her peers'. They have big, round eyes and long lashes. She realizes that her eyes are like her mother’s, her grandmother's, and her little sister's. They have eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea, crinkle into crescent moons, and are filled with stories of the past and hope for the future.
Drawing from the strength of these powerful women in her life, she recognizes her own beauty and discovers a path to self-love and empowerment. This powerful, poetic picture book will resonate with readers of all ages.
Eyes that Speak to the Stars
“A brilliant treatise to love of self and heritage.” —School Library Journal (starred review)
A young boy comes to recognize his own power and ability to change the future. When a friend at school creates a hurtful drawing, the boy turns to his family for comfort. He realizes that his eyes rise to the skies and speak to the stars, shine like sunlit rays, and glimpse trails of light from those who came before—in fact, his eyes are like his father’s, his agong’s, and his little brother’s, and they are visionary.
Inspired by the men in his family, he recognizes his own power and strength from within. This extraordinary picture book redefines what it means to be truly you.
Eyes That Kiss in the Corners received three starred reviews and was embraced as "breathtaking," "lyrical," and "poignant." This companion volume is sure to be welcomed with equal joy.
Watercress
Caldecott Medal Winner
Newbery Honor Book
APALA Award Winner
A story about the power of sharing memories—including the painful ones—and the way our heritage stays with and shapes us, even when we don’t see it.
While driving through Ohio in an old Pontiac, a young girl's Chinese immigrant parents spot watercress growing wild in a ditch by the side of the road. They stop the car, grabbing rusty scissors and an old paper bag, and the whole family wades into the mud to gather as much as they can.
At first, she's embarrassed. Why can't her family just get food from the grocery store, like everyone else? But when her mother shares a bittersweet story of her family history in China, the girl learns to appreciate the fresh food they foraged—and the memories left behind in pursuit of a new life.
Together, they make a new memory of watercress.
A Different Pond
A 2018 Caldecott Honor Book that Kirkus Reviews calls "a must-read for our times," A Different Pond is an unforgettable story about a simple event - a long-ago fishing trip. Graphic novelist Thi Bui and acclaimed poet Bao Phi deliver a powerful, honest glimpse into a relationship between father and son - and between cultures, old and new. As a young boy, Bao and his father awoke early, hours before his father's long workday began, to fish on the shores of a small pond in Minneapolis. Unlike many other anglers, Bao and his father fished for food, not recreation. A successful catch meant a fed family. Between hope-filled casts, Bao's father told him about a different pond in their homeland of Vietnam. Thi Bui's striking, evocative art paired with Phi's expertly crafted prose has earned this powerful picture books six starred reviews and numerous awards.
Discover the island cultures of the South Pacific and their musical expressions with songs, crafts, and games. Uses recordings of Hawaiian slack key guitar, rhythmic game songs from the Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea flute playing.
folkways.si.edu/island-soundscape-hawaii-solomon-papua-new-guinea/music/tools-for-teaching/smithsonian