Romina's Rangoli http://www.shens.com/rominas_rangoli/ en-us Copyright 2012 Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:12:56 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Papertigers Features Malathi Michelle Iyengar Papertigers.org spotlights book awards, and naturally, those Asian-Pacific books that have won them. To that end, they have posted a nice review of Romina's Rangoli, written by Malathi Michelle Iyengar.

"Celebrating the richness of growing up biracial, the story does a good job of pointing out the similarities shared between Romina's two cultures. "Chutney is a lot like salsa," she concludes after watching her dad select and mix all the ingredients for his chutney recipe - an observation that goes well beyond cuisine."
Even better is a personal essay written by Malathi herself discussing her biracial heritage and how it has affected her outlook on the world around her, and on her writing. She says:

"When writing Romina's Rangoli, I struggled with wanting to make the story simple enough to engage and entertain very small children, while at the same time trying NOT to promote the kind of simplistic thinking that reduces "culture" to food and holidays - i.e., Romina is Indian and Mexican, so that means she makes rangoli designs and papel picado!  I have often wondered whether Romina's craft project isn't too pat, too simple of an ending.  But in a society that still tells us, most of the time, to "Check only one box," the very fact that we multi-ethnic folks actually exist is news to many children.  Hopefully, as children get older, they will begin to explore with intellectual rigor the subtle complexities of what "culture" means in people's lives, and how various cultural influences converge in family life."
]]> http://www.shens.com/rominas_rangoli/2009/06/papertigers-features-malathi-m.html http://www.shens.com/rominas_rangoli/2009/06/papertigers-features-malathi-m.html Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:12:56 -0800 Visions: Malathi at the LA Times Festival of Books, 2009 malathi_latfob1
Malathi Michelle Iyengar signs at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
April 25, 2009

malathi_latfob2
]]> http://www.shens.com/rominas_rangoli/2009/04/visions-malathi-at-the-la-time.html http://www.shens.com/rominas_rangoli/2009/04/visions-malathi-at-the-la-time.html Events Events Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:01:28 -0800 Mar 28-29, 2009: Malathi Michelle Iyengar at Reading the World readingtheworld.gifMalathi Michelle Iyengar, author of Romina's Rangoli, will be a presenter at one of my favorite conferences, Reading the World, in San Francisco on the weekend of March 28-29, 2009. Her presentation is entitled, "Tan to Tamarind: Brown is Beautiful!" She will be talking about her new book, Tan to Tamarind: Poems About The Color Brown.  She will share a bit about her motivation and process for writing the poems, and then talk about ways for teachers to use these poems in their classrooms.

The Reading the World conference is open to the public, and is an exceptional conference for multicultural literature. There is always such a huge density of amazing authors and illustrators walking around and speaking, and the venue is so intimate, that you feel like you really get to know all the speakers as well as the other attendees. I love the palpable love of books that permeates the hallways like electricity.

The mission of the Reading the World conferences is:

"To create a forum welcoming scholars, students, authors, illustrators, librarians, teachers, editors, book sellers and anyone interested in the field of literature for children and young adults. The main topic for this forum is the presentation, study, analysis and celebration of books of literary and artistic merit created for children adn young adults that present the human experience with respect for its multiplicity and diversity and that specifically promote un-learning biases and prejudice, counteracting racism and exclusion, fostering solidarityand respect for all human beings and protection of all living beings; books that question and address problems, that do not propose merely happy endings but responsible solutions, that in short, invite children and young adults to see themselves as protagonists of their own human experience and unite them to embrace it with trust, love and hope to contribute to the creation of a world of equality, justice and peace."

"Tan to Tamarind: Brown is Beautiful!"
Reading the World Conference
March 28-29, 2009
University of San Francisco School of Education
2350 Turk Blvd.
San Francisco, California
Registration Form


]]> http://www.shens.com/rominas_rangoli/2009/03/mar-28-29-2009-malathi-michell.html http://www.shens.com/rominas_rangoli/2009/03/mar-28-29-2009-malathi-michell.html Events Events Sat, 28 Mar 2009 15:36:13 -0800 Feb 26, 2009 Malathi Michelle Iyengar at CABE Conference Romina's Rangoli, will be speaking at the California Association for Bilingual Education annual conference on February 26, 2009. Her session will be entitled, "Rangoli!  Language, Content and Culture via a Traditional Indian Art." In the session, Malathi will be sharing ideas for using rangoli projects to promote first and second language develpment and to teach various CA state standards in the core curricular areas. She will be on hand to sign books afterward.

The California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE) is a non-profit organization incorporated in 1976 to promote bilingual education and quality educational experiences for all students in California. CABE has 5,000 members with over 60 chapters/affiliates, all working to promote equity and student achievement for students with diverse cultural, racial, and linguistic backgrounds. CABE recognizes and honors the fact that we live in a rich multicultural, global society and that respect for diversity makes us a stronger state and nation.

Rangoli!  Language, Content and Culture via a Traditional Indian Art
February 26, 2009 2:30-3:45
CABE 34th Annual Conference
Long Beach Convention Center
Long Beach, California


]]> http://www.shens.com/rominas_rangoli/2009/02/feb-26-2009-malathi-michelle-i.html http://www.shens.com/rominas_rangoli/2009/02/feb-26-2009-malathi-michelle-i.html Events Events Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:27:10 -0800 Skipping Stones Honor Awards skippingstones.jpgSkipping Stones Magazine has announced their annual honor awards for multicultural and ecology children's books. I am so pleased that one of their multicultural honors has gone to Romina's Rangoli by Malathi Michelle Iyengar and Jennifer Wanardi. Go Romina!

Here is the official press release from Skipping Stones. As usual, all of their honors are truly wonderful books:

The 15th Annual Skipping Stones Honor Awards recognize 26 exceptional books and teaching resources. Together, they encourage an understanding of the world's diverse cultures, as well as nature and ecological richness. The selection promotes cooperation, nonviolence, respect for differing viewpoints and close relationships in human societies. We present these outstanding books to you as the summer season stretches before us. It's a time of year when we can travel to explore new places or to revisit meaningful ones. Reading books is another way to explore cultures, places and even other time periods. The winners are featured in our summer issue and also on www.SkippingStones.org. Welcome to the wonderful world of words!

Multicultural & International Awareness Books:

One City, Two Brothers by Chris Smith, illustr. Aurélia Fronty. Barefoot Books; www.barefootbooks.com. Picture Book. ISBN: 978-1-84686-042-3

When The Shadbush Blooms by Carla Messinger with Susan Katz, illustr. David Kanietakeron Fadden. Tricycle.www.tricyclepress.com. Picture Book. ISBN: 978-1-58246-192-2

Armando and the Blue Tarp School by Edith Hope Fine and Judith Pinkerton Josephson, illustr. Hernán Sosa. Lee & Low; www.leeandlow.com. Picture Book. ISBN: 978-1-58430-278-0 I

Remember Abuelito: A Day of the Dead Story/Yo Recuerdo a Abuelito: Un Cuento del Dia de los Muertos by Janice Levy, illustr. Loretta Lopez. Albert Whitman; www.albertwhitman.com.Picture Book. ISBN: 978-0-8075-3516-5

The Best Eid Ever by Asma Mobin-Uddin, illustr. Laura Jacobsen. Boyds Mills Press; www.boydsmillspress.com. Picture Book. ISBN: 978-1-59078-431-0

Romina's Rangoli by Malathi Michelle Iyengar, illustr. Jennifer Wanardi. Shen's Books; www.shens.com. Picture Book. ISBN: 978-1-885008-32-9

Sky Sweeper by Phillis Gershator, illustr. Holly Meade. Farrar, Straus & Giroux; www.fsgkidsbooks.com. Picture Book.ISBN: 978-0-374-37007-7

One Hen by Katie Smith Milway, illustr. Eugenie Fernandes. Kids Can Press; www.kidscanpress.com. Picture Book. Ages 7 and up.ISBN: 978-1-55453-028-1

Rickshaw Girl by Mitali Perkins, illustr. Jamie Hogan. Charlesbridge; www.charlesbridge.com. Ages 7-10. ISBN: 978-1-58089-308-4

Great Peacemakers: True Stories from Around the World (Teacher's guide available) by Ken Beller & Heather Chase. LTS Press; www.greatpeacemakers.com. Ages 12-80. ISBN: 978-0-9801382-0-7

We Are One: The Story of Bayard Rustin by Larry Dane Brimner. Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills Press; www.boydsmillspress.com. Ages 10-15. ISBN: 978-1-59078-498-3

Chess Rumble by G. Neri, illustr. Jesse Joshua Watson. Lee and Low; www.leeandlow.com. Ages 11-15. ISBN: 978-1-58430-279-7

Jeannette Rankin: Political Pioneer, a biography by Gretchen Woelfle. Calkins Creek/ Boyds Mills Press; www.boydsmillspress.com. Ages 11-17. ISBN: 978-1-59078-437-2

Tasting The Sky: A Palestinian Childhood, a memoir by Ibtisam Barakat. Farrar, Straus & Giroux; www.fsgkidsbooks.com. Ages 11-15. ISBN: 978-0374-35733-7

The Teen Guide to Global Action: How to Connect with others to Create Social Change by Barbara A. Lewis. Free Spirit; www.freespirit.com. Ages 12-17. ISBN: 978-1-57542-266-4

A Shout in the Sunshine, a novel by Mara W. Cohen Ioannides.Jewish Publication Society; www.jewishpub.org. Ages 12-17. ISBN: 978-0-8276-0838-2

Windows into My World: Latino Youth Write Their Lives, ed. by Sarah Cortez. Piñata Books; www.artepublicopress.com. Ages 13-18. ISBN: 978-1-55885-482-6

The Ocean in the Closet, a debut novel by Yuko Taniguchi. Coffee House Press; www.coffehousepress.org. Ages 15 to adults. ISBN: 978-1-56689-194-3

Nature and Ecology Books:

Nature's Yucky! 2: The Desert Southwest by Lee Ann Landstrom & Karen I. Schragg, illustr. Rachel Rogge. Mountain Press; www.mountain-press.org. ISBN: 978-0-87842-529-7

River Song with the Banana Slug String Band by Steve Van Zandt, illustr. Katherine Zecca. Dawn Publications; www.dawnpub.com. Picture Book. ISBN: 978-1-58469-093-1

The Bee Tree by Stephen Buchmann and Diana Cohn, illustr. Paul Mirocha. Cinco Puntos Press; www.cincopuntos.com.Picture Book. ISBN: 978-0-938317-98-2

The Inuit Thought Of It: Amazing Arctic Innovations by Alootook Ipellie with David MacDonald. Annick Press; www.annickpress.com. Ages 9-12. ISBN 978-1-55451-087-0

The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming by Laurie David and Cambria Gordon. Scholastic Inc.; www.scholastic.com. Ages 8-13. ISBN: 978-0-439-02494-5

Teaching and Parenting Resources:

2008 World Diversity Calendar, Orison Publishers; www.worlddiversitycalendar.com. This interfaith, multilingual calendar belongs on every classroom wall! ISBN: 978-0-9763800-5-4.

What Kids REALLY Want to Ask: Using Movies to Start Meaningful Conversations - A Guidebook for Parents and Children Ages 10-14by Rhonda A. Richardson, Ph.D. and A. Margaret Pevec, M.A. VanderWyk & Burnham; www.vandb.com. ISBN: 978-1-889242-31-6

My Imaginary Friend by Shirley Ann Povondra and Kathryn Andrew. Llumina; www.llumina.com. For parents and educators to read with children. ISBN: 978-1-59526-669-9

]]> http://www.shens.com/rominas_rangoli/2008/05/skipping-stones-honor-awards.html http://www.shens.com/rominas_rangoli/2008/05/skipping-stones-honor-awards.html Awards Mon, 05 May 2008 18:20:07 -0800 Multicultural Review: Romina's Rangoli I just received my Winter issue of Multicultural Review, and was pleasantly surprised to see a review of Romina's Rangoli inside. Besides giving a great summary of the book, the reviewer, Kena Sosa, has this to say:

"Romina's Rangoli depicts the dilemma of many biracial and multiracial children today. We've come a long way, but sometimes we forget about those in the middle who have more than one box to check, none of which includes their entire cultural background... As the population of biracial and multiracial children continues to grow (expecting one soon myself), we must have literature that grows with them as well, books like Romina's Rangoli."
]]> http://www.shens.com/rominas_rangoli/2008/01/multicultural-review-rominas-r.html http://www.shens.com/rominas_rangoli/2008/01/multicultural-review-rominas-r.html Reviews Reviews Fri, 04 Jan 2008 22:04:12 -0800 Pooja Makhijani reviews Romina's Rangoli at Chicken Spaghetti Chicken Spaghetti, author and educator Pooja Makhijani has written a very nice review of Romina's Rangoli. Pooja is the author of Mama's Saris and gives presentations to teachers and librarians about "representations of South Asia and the South Asian diaspora in children's literature."

Pooja says, "Romina's Rangoli is a very satisfying book. And like Uma Krishnaswami's Bringing Asha Home (Lee & Low Books, 2006), Romina's Rangoli allows an ever-growing demographic--bi-racial, bi-cultural children--to see themselves in the pages of a book. "


]]> http://www.shens.com/rominas_rangoli/2007/08/pooja-makhijani-reviews-romina.html http://www.shens.com/rominas_rangoli/2007/08/pooja-makhijani-reviews-romina.html Reviews Thu, 30 Aug 2007 21:37:19 -0800