Multicultural Children's Book Day – Catherine's Pascha

Catherine's Pascha: A Celebration of Easter in the Orthodox Church 
Written by Charlotte Riggle
Illustrated by R. J. Hughes

Mom's Review
Catherine's Pascha is hard to review because there are so many things I like about it. It is absolutely worth reading if you have any interest in an Easter story What. So. Ever.  Orthodox Christian children will identify with Catherine, Elizabeth, and Peter, and others will gain an understanding of the most holy day for Orthodox Christians. 

The book begins with Catherine and her younger brother napping before attending church at midnight (Holy Saturday into Easter Sunday). While Peter sleeps through the entire liturgy, Catherine and her best friend Elizabeth are determined to stay awake. Spoiler: they don't manage to do so. Readers can see much of the sequence of the liturgy. At the end, Catherine and Elizabeth are excited to join the feast in the church hall; they have eaten no animal products during Lent and are excited for hot dogs, fried chicken, and dessert.

As we read, T and I talked a lot about the similarities and differences between Orthodox and Catholic Christians; T recognized several similarities, but we were both surprised by how the congregation celebrated Easter at midnight. He is now dead set on attending Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve (I'm crossing my fingers that he forgets in the next 12 months). Aside from the look at a different religious celebration, we enjoyed reading about such a happy and determined character. T really identified with Catherine – he, too, is determined to stay up late. Furthermore, after reading The Saint Nicholas Day Snow last year, where Elizabeth was the main character and Catherine was a supporting character, we were excited to read the companion book about Catherine.  In Snow, Elizabeth uses a wheelchair. In Catherine's Pascha, she is depicted with crutches and a wheelchair.  

One more thing...
Something really cool is the layout of Catherine's Pascha: Each page features a different Orthodox church from around the world in the background; the story (text and illustrations) is in an inset box that covers a two-page spread.  

Son's Review
(Age:4)
[My favorite part was] Mass in the middle of the night because I like staying up late. I knew it was Easter because of the bunnies and the eggs. They say, "Christ is risen." That's on Easter. I changed my favorite part because I never knew there was a church on Antarctica. That's my favorite part. 

[It's good to read] especially on Easter and Christmas because it is a mix of Easter and Christmas because you go to Mass at night on Christmas. [Readers] should know that it's about people going to Mass in the middle of the night, which clearly I like.



Multicultural Children's Book Day
Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020 (1/31/20) is in its 7th year! This non-profit children’s literacy initiative was founded by Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen; two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural books and authors on the market while also working to get those book into the hands of young readers and educators.

Seven years in, MCBD’s mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves continues.

MCBD 2020 is honored to have the following Medallion Sponsors on board

Super Platinum
Make A Way Media/ Deirdre “DeeDee” Cummings,

Platinum
Language Lizard, Pack-N-Go Girls,

Gold
Audrey PressLerner Publishing GroupKidLit TVABDO BOOKS : A Family of Educational PublishersPragmaticMom & Sumo JoCandlewick Press,

Silver
Author Charlotte RiggleCapstone PublishingGuba PublishingMelissa Munro Boyd & B is for Breathe,

Bronze
Author Carole P. RomanSnowflake Stories/Jill BarlettiVivian Kirkfield & Making Their Voices HeardBarnes Brothers BooksTimTimTomWisdom Tales PressLee & Low Books, Charlesbridge PublishingBarefoot Books Talegari Tales

Author Sponsor Link Cloud
Jerry CraftA.R. Bey and Adventures in BoogielandEugina Chu & Brandon goes to BeijingKenneth Braswell & Fathers IncorporatedMaritza M. Mejia & Luz del mes_MejiaKathleen Burkinshaw & The Last Cherry BlossomSISSY GOES TINY by Rebecca Flansburg and B.A. NorrgardJosh Funk and HOW TO CODE A ROLLERCOASTERMaya/Neel Adventures with Culture GrooveLauren RanalliThe Little Green Monster: Cancer Magic! By Dr. Sharon ChappellPhe Lang and Me On The PageAfsaneh Moradian and Jamie is JamieValerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena PublishingTUMBLE CREEK PRESSNancy Tupper LingAuthor Gwen JacksonAngeliki Pedersen & The Secrets Hidden Beneath the Palm TreeAuthor Kimberly Gordon BiddleBEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN’S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 by Mia WenjenSusan Schaefer Bernardo & Illustrator Courtenay Fletcher (Founders of Inner Flower Child Books)Ann Morris & Do It Again!/¡Otra Vez!, Janet Balletta and Mermaids on a Mission to Save the OceanEvelyn Sanchez-Toledo & Bruna Bailando por el Mundo\ Dancing Around the WorldShoumi Sen & From The Toddler DiariesSarah Jamila StevensonTonya Duncan and the Sophie Washington Book SeriesTeresa Robeson & The Queen of Physics, Nadishka Aloysius and Roo The Little Red TukTukGirlfriends Book Club Baltimore & Stories by the Girlfriends Book ClubFinding My Way Books, Diana Huang & IntrepidsFive Enchanted MermaidsElizabeth Godley and Ribbon’s Traveling CastleAnna Olswanger and GreenhornDanielle Wallace & My Big Brother Troy, Jocelyn Francisco and Little Yellow JeepneyMariana Llanos & Kutu, the Tiny Inca Princess/La Ñusta DiminutaSara Arnold & The Big Buna BashRoddie Simmons & Race 2 RioDuEwa Frazier & Alice’s Musical DebutVeronica Appleton & the Journey to Appleville book series  Green Kids Club, Inc.

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 ArabAfsaneh MoradianAgatha Rodi BooksAll Done MonkeyBarefoot Mommy, Bethany Edward & Biracial BookwormsMichelle Goetzl & Books My Kids ReadCrafty Moms ShareColours of UsDiscovering the World Through My Son’s EyesEducators Spin on itShauna Hibbitts-creator of eNannylinkGrowing Book by BookHere Wee ReadJoel Leonidas & Descendant of Poseidon Reads {Philippines}Imagination SoupKid World CitizenKristi’s Book NookThe LogonautsMama SmilesMiss Panda ChineseMulticultural Kid BlogsSerge Smagarinsky {Australia}Shoumi SenJennifer Brunk & Spanish PlaygroundKatie Meadows and Youth Lit Reviews

FREE RESOURCES from Multicultural Children’s Book Day

Free Multicultural Books for Teachers

Our New FREE Teacher Classroom Physical and Developmental Challenges Kit http://ow.ly/kcbZ30p3QWz

Free Empathy Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians, and Educators

Free Understanding Developmental & Physical Challenges Classroom Kit

TWITTER PARTY! Register here!




Hashtag: 
Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.
____________________________________________
Note: A review copy of this book was provided for this event. Catherine's Pascha was provided by author Charlotte Riggle. 

Comments

  1. I didn't realize that there is a Midnight Mass in Orthodox churches just like Catholic ones. What a great way to learn about religions and find out that we are more alike than different. Thank you so much for sharing your review with Multicultural Children's Book Day!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment