RED SOCKS Bilingual Chinese English Board Book Review #ReadYourWorld
Note: Thank you to Star Bright Books for sending me a copy of Red Socks to review. All opinions are my own.
Multicultural Children’s Book Day
Welcome to Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2024! I’m a co-host for the third year in a row and am also a book reviewer. For those who may not be familiar, Read Your World, which runs this annual event, is a non-profit organization whose mission is to raise awareness about children’s books that celebrate diversity and to get more of these books into the hands of readers.
Red Socks
This year, I am reviewing a bilingual Chinese/English board book titled Red Socks. Written by Ellen Mayer and illustrated by Ying-Hwa Hu, this book is ideal for babies ages 0-2 years old.
Published by Star Bright Books, Red Socks is part of its Small Talk Books line which are “playful stories featuring young children and adults talking and having fun together. Their playful conversations enrich the child’s language and turn everyday activities into learning moments.”
The book opens with a note to parents, grandparents, and caregivers from Dr. Betty Bardige, an early language and literacy expert. She says, “The more you talk to babies, the faster their language grows. Red Socks shows research-based ways of talking that you can use to help develop your child’s language. Mama talks a lot with Baby — though Baby doesn’t say words yet. Baby coos back and learns the fun of conversation. As Mama describes what they see and do, Baby learns what the words mean.”
The book features an Asian mom and baby doing everyday things such as folding the clean laundry and dressing the baby. But where’s the red sock? One is missing! The mom converses with the baby, explaining what she’s doing to help her little one understand the world around them. Young readers will enjoy seeing where mom and baby find the sock.
Bilingual Chinese/English Book
For parents and caregivers who want to expose children to both Chinese and English, this bilingual book can support their efforts. The Chinese is written in Simplified Chinese (not Traditional). Nowadays, many Chinese language schools in America teach Simplified Chinese. As such, introducing it to babies can help them to become more familiar should they learn the language more formally later in their childhoods.
Even if children do not have a Chinese background or have no plans to learn the Chinese language in the future, this book can show them a different culture from their own. It can encourage them to embrace others in the diverse world around them. In addition to Chinese/English, this title is available in Hmong/English and Spanish/English.
Where to Buy the Book
Purchase Red Socks directly from Star Bright Books or via bookstores and online sellers like Amazon.
About the Author
Ellen Mayer is an award-winning author who writes picture books for babies and young children and the grown-ups who read to them. She has written ten books for children, seven of them for her Small Talk Books® series with Star Bright Books. A recent book, GIFT & BOX, was released in October 2023 from Knopf Books for Young Readers.
For many years Ellen was an education researcher at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, studying how families are engaged in their children’s learning. She also worked as an early literacy home visitor with young children and their parents in a local affiliate of the ParentChild+ program. Now Ellen volunteers as a visiting children’s book author with public schools and city-run playgroups in her local Cambridge and Somerville, MA communities. Long ago she earned an M.Phil. in Sociology from Columbia University.
When Ellen isn’t writing picture books, you can find her reading them with her young grandchildren. Ellen often collaborates with her musician husband in “Books + Banjo” reading and sing-along programs for young children. www.ellenmayerbooks.com
About the Illustrator
Trained to be a classroom teacher, Ying-Hwa Hu entered into picture books by answering a publisher’s search for illustrators for a book series. From then on she continued to illustrate, often collaborating with her husband, Cornelius Van Wright, on more than fifty children’s books. Many of her picture books depict the lives of children from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Hu and Van Wright together launched Pencilmoon Studio www.pencilmoonstudio.com to showcase their voice in art making. Ying-Hwa’s solo debut, Ten Blocks to the Big Wok (Lee & Low 2022) is a happy and colorful celebration of Chinese culture. Visit www.yinghwahu.com to learn more.
About Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2024
Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2024 (1/25/25) is in its 11th year! Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen founded this non-profit children’s literacy initiative; they are two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural diverse books and authors on the market while also working to get those books into the hands of young readers and educators.
Read Your World’s mission is to raise awareness of the need to include kids’ books celebrating diversity in homes and school bookshelves. Read about our Mission and history HERE.
Read Your World celebrates Multicultural Children’s Book Day and is honored to be Supported by these Medallion and Ruby Sponsors!
FOUNDER’S CIRCLE: Mia Wenjen (Pragmaticmom) and Valarie Budayr (Audreypress.com)
🏅 Super Platinum Sponsor: Author Deedee Cummings and Make A Way Media
🏅 Platinum Sponsors: Publisher Spotlight, Language Lizard Bilingual Books in 50+ Languages, Lerner Publishing Group
🏅 Gold Sponsors: Barefoot Books, Astra Books for Young Readers
🏅 Silver Sponsors: Red Comet Press, Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, Lee and Low Books, Cardinal Rule Press
🏅 Bronze Sponsors: CK Malone, Tonya Duncan Ellis, Anita Crawford Clark, Star Bright Books, Blue Dot Kids Press, Brunella Costagliola, Red Fin, Fabled Films
Ruby Sponsor: Crayola
Poster Artist: Rebecca Burgess
Classroom Kit Poster: Barefoot Books
MCBD 2024 is honored to be Supported by these Author Sponsors!
Authors: Gwen Jackson, Josh Funk, Eugenia Chu, Sivan Hong, Marta Magellan, Kathleen Burkinshaw, Angela H. Dale, Maritza M Mejia, Authors J.C. Kato and J.C.², Charnaie Gordon, Alva Sachs, Amanda Hsiung-Blodgett, Lisa Chong, Diana Huang, Martha Seif Simpson, DARIA (WORLD MUSIC WITH DARIA) Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou, Gea Meijering, Stephanie M. Wildman, Tracey Kyle, Afsaneh Moradian, Kim C. Lee, Rochelle Melander, Beth Ruffin, Shifa Saltagi Safadi, Alina Chau, Michael Genhart, Sally J. Pla, Ajuan Mance, Kimberly Marcus, Lindsey Rowe Parker
MCBD 2024 is Honored to be Supported by our CoHosts and Global CoHosts!
MCBD 2023 is Honored to be Supported by our Partner Organizations!
Check out MCBD’s Multicultural Books for Kids Pinterest Board!
📌 FREE RESOURCES from Multicultural Children’s Book Day
- MCBD 2024 Poster
- Mental Health Support for Stressful Times Classroom Kit
- Diversity Book Lists & Activities for Teachers and Parents
- Homeschool Diverse Kidlit Booklist & Activity Kit
- FREE Teacher Classroom Activism and Activists Kit
- FREE Teacher Classroom Empathy Kit
- FREE Teacher Classroom Kindness Kit
- FREE Teacher Classroom Physical and Developmental Challenges Kit
- FREE Teacher Classroom Poverty Kit
- Gallery of Our Free Posters
- FREE Diversity Book for Classrooms Program
📌 Register for the MCBD Read Your World Virtual Party
Join us on Thursday, January 25, 2024, at 9 pm EST celebrating more than 10 years of Multicultural Children’s Book Day Read Your World Virtual Party! Register here.
This epically fun and fast-paced hour includes multicultural book discussions, addressing timely issues, diverse book recommendations, & reading ideas.
We will be giving away a 10-Book Bundle during the virtual party plus Bonus Prizes as well! *** US and Global participants welcome. **
Follow the hashtag #ReadYourWorld to join the conversation, and connect with like-minded parts, authors, publishers, educators, organizations, and librarians. We look forward to seeing you all on January 25, 2024, at our virtual party!
2024 ReadYourWorld Bundle Giveaways by Frances E.
Read Your World 2024 Link Party with Book Reviews
Opens: Jan 24, 2024, 12:00 pm
Closes: Apr 30, 2024, 12:00 pm
