Today, the kids took part in selecting and voting for the stories we read.  The consensus was Hair, It’s a Family Affair by Mylo Freeman and Look Up by Nathan Bryon and illustrated by Dapa Adeola.  Our book of the day was The Day You Begin by National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson and two-time Pura Belpre Illustrator Award winner, Rafael Lopez.  The book is about cultural diversity and acceptance, and is has a special message for children who have immigrated to new places.  To make sure that other children could enjoy the book, Chocolate Storytime donated it to the library.  Go to Sankofa Reads to hear the read aloud for The Day You Begin.  For reviews for all of the books, jog on over to goodreads.com.

After story time, kids learned a little about the centennial celebration of the 19th amendment, the 1913 march in Seneca Falls, and the Pasadena Celebrates 2020 float that was in this year’s Rose Parade.

To make the topic more relatable, guests took part in a make believe voting process that excluded girls.  All of the boys were asked to select a book that they wanted to read.  So our 2 boys and 1 dad selected their books.  The girls said they felt left out and the subject matter that the males focused on seemed to be along the same topic.  So the kids learned that there was more genres and varieties where there was more diversity.

The craft for the day was a replica of the suffrage banner, “Lifting as We Climb,” the motto for the nation’s oldest and first national black organization, the National Associaton of Colored Women’s Club.  The supplies needed for this craft were simple–repurposed gold paper (or large yellow envelopes), crayons, pencils, and scissors.  After cutting a scalloped bottom, kids drew a line around the border, created the shape of 3 overlapping triangles at the top, with the largest one in the middle colored in, centered the motto on their paper (as best they could by first penciling it in and adjusting after), and incorporated the colors of the American suffrage movement the colors of the movement:  purple, gold and white.   After they completed those basic parts, they continued adding their own flair.  These simple materials plus four design elements–line, shape, space, and color–resulted in a nice reminder that as we move up, we should bring people with us.

Afterwards guests feasted on an assortment of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry Galletas cookies donated by retired teacher, Barbara Lindsey.  Help came from Girl Scout Troop 4601 mom, Tiffany Walker, and Girl Scouts Anala and Naila.  Thanks to the La Pintoresca Branch Library team Melvin Racelis, Maria “Lupita” Barajas, Rosa Cesaretti, and Carlos Perez.

Sources:

“Lifting as We Climb:  The Triumphs and Tragedies of African-American Women in the Suffrage Movement”

Banner from the Smithsonian, “Lifting as We Climb