Valerie Budayr of Jump Into a Book/Audrey Press and Mia Wenjen of Pragmatic Mom founded Multicultural Children’s Book Day to celebrate multicultural and diverse children’s literature. Every year this wonderful event takes place online and offline on the last Friday of January. This year it falls on January 28th.
For this occasion, Storyopolis Press sent me Finish the Story! Harriet Tubman’s Secret Raid by Jeffrey Bensam.
Friends Danny and Kenna are watching TV at Danny’s grandma’s house when the power goes out in the middle of a storm. Grandma Ashton begins telling them a story about General Tubman. But after a lightning strike, Danny and Kenna find themselves back in 1863 in South Carolina. The American Civil War is raging on. Danny and Kenna must find Harriet Tubman and help her complete her mission of leading three Union Navy gunboats up to the Combahee River to rescue fleeing slaves and recruit as many men to fight against the Confederate Army.
Finish the Story! Harriet Tubman’s Secret Raid by Jeffrey Bensam is an interactive middle-grade novel full of historical facts about Harriet Tubman, also known as Moses and General Tubman. It is not common for children to learn in school that Harriet Tubman was one of the Combahee River Raid leaders because she is usually only associated with the Underground Railroad.
The book includes more than twenty challenges and three possible endings. As the children read, they will help Danny and Kenna manage the mission’s budget with their “Beat the Budget Decisions.” What is more, the book includes instructions on how to do all of these activities on touch-screen devices and e-readers.
I recommend Finish the Story! Harriet Tubman’s Secret Raid by Jeffrey Bensam to middle-grade children who enjoy interactive historical books with problems to solve. It is excellent for history teachers and educators to spice up their curricula and a perfect addition for libraries.
To learn more about Harriet Tubman, visit the following historical resources:
- The National Archives: Claim of Harriet Tubman
- The Library of Congress: Harriet Tubman: A Resource Guide
- The New York Public Library, Archives & Manuscripts: Harriet Tubman Research Material
Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2022 (1/28/22) is in its 9th 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 books into the hands of young readers and educators.
MCBD’s mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves. Read about our Mission & History HERE.
MCBD 2022 is honored to be Supported by these Medallion Sponsors!
SUPER PLATINUM: Make A Way Media
PLATINUM: Language Lizard
GOLD: Barefoot Books, KidLitTV, Candlewick, Capstone, Abrams Books
SILVER: Pack-n-Go Girls, Charlotte Riggle, Kimberly Gordon Biddle
BRONZE: Carole P. Roman, Patrice McLaurin, Dyesha and Triesha McCants/McCants Squared, Redfin.com, Redfin Canada, Redfin Mortgage, Redfin/Title Forward, Create & Educate, Star Bright Books, Vivian Kirkfield, Dr. Eleanor Wint, Kind World Publishing, Snowflake Stories, Lisa Wee, SONGJU MA, Melissa Stoller, J.C. Kato and J.C.², Crystel Patterson, Audrey Press, Pragmaticmom, TimTimTom, Wisdom Tales
MCBD 2022 is honored to be Supported by these Author Sponsors!
Charlene Mosley (official MCBD2022 Poster Creator)
Illustrator Isabelle Roxas (Class Kit Poster Creator)
Alva Sachs, Brianna Carter, Ebony Zay Zay, Rita Bhandari, Gwen Jackson, Lois Petren/The 5 Enchanted Mermaids, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, Josh Funk, Afsaneh Moradian, Eugenia Chu, Maritza Martínez Mejía, Diana Huang, Kathleen Burkinshaw, CultureGroove, Sandra Elaine Scott, Dorena Williamson, Veronica Appleton, Alejandra Domenzain, Lauren Muskovitz and Sandfish Publishing, Tonya Duncan Ellis, Kimberly Lee, Susan Schaefer Bernardo & Illustrator Courtenay Fletcher, Nancy Tupper Ling, Winsome Hudson-Bingham, Amanda Hsiung-Blodgett, Sivan Hong, Michael Genhart, Debbie Dadey, Elizabeth Cureton, Stephanie Wildman, Maryann Jacob, Sherri Maret, Rochelle Melander, Dia Mixon, Kiyanda and Benjamin Young, Shereen Rahming, Linda Thornburg and Katherine Archer, Rebecca Flansburg and BA Norrgard , Maxine Schur Natalie McDonald-Perkins
MCBD 2022 is Honored to be Supported by our CoHosts and Global CoHosts!
MCBD 2022 is Honored to be Supported by these Media Partners!
Check out MCBD’s Multicultural Books for Kids Pinterest Board!
FREE RESOURCES from Multicultural Children’s Book Day
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
FREE Homeschool Diverse Kidlit Booklist & Activity Kit
FREE Teacher Classroom Raising Awareness on Systemic Racism in America Classroom Kit
FREE Diversity Book for Classrooms Program
Join us on Friday, Jan 28, 2021, at 9 pm EST for the 8th annual Multicultural Children’s Book Day Twitter Party! Be sure and follow MCBD and Make A Way Media on Twitter!
This epically fun and fast-paced hour includes multicultural book discussions, addressing timely issues, diverse book recommendations, & reading ideas.
We will be giving away an 8-Book Bundle every 5 minutes plus Bonus Prizes as well! *** US and Global participants welcome. **
Follow the hashtag #ReadYourWorld to join the conversation, connect with like-minded parts, authors, publishers, educators, organizations, and librarians. See you all very soon on Twitter!
Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I receive a small compensation at no extra cost to you.
Glitter Reviews 
What a fun way to learn about history. I love that readers can “finish the story!” Thank you for sharing with Multicultural Children’s Book Day. I hope you can join us tonight at 9pm EST for our Twitter Party. We are giving away book bundles every five minutes!
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Great review! This sounds like an engaging and informative book for learning more about such an influential person in our country’s history. Thanks for joining us for Multicultural Children’s Book Day!
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