Amelia Lau Carling’s picture-book, Mama and Papa Have a Store (Dial, 1998)/ La Tienda de Mamá y Papá (Groundwood, 2003)) is all about a day in her parents’ Chinese shop in Guatemala City. In a wonderfully evocative Personal View for our current issue of PaperTigers, Amelia shares some more memories from her childhood, as she recalls the celebrations “On Our Street” around this time of year:

We sat in the rooftop terrace around a small card table. We were the three kids my mother could rope into a chore that would pay us a quarter each. My feet dangled without touching the floor. Mama had cooked a pot of glue with cornstarch, water and lemon juice. The pot sat cooling in the middle of the table and a couple of old paintbrushes lay next to it. There was a stack of “Cohete El Aguila” labels and a case of firecrackers, each one a four-inch square of red paper and gunpowder. Our job was to glue a label on each packet. In the sky, a kite or two danced among the clouds. The air was crisp and the sun shone strongly. We whiled away the afternoon around the little table in silly banter, slapping on labels.

It was December in Guatemala, and we were happy to be in the middle of our summer vacation. School was out from October to January. Christmas and New Year’s Eve were coming, and pasting firecracker labels was only part of the excitement. We helped in the store, our Chinese store where a little of everything was sold. I stood on a stool to punch the numbers in quetzales and centavos on the old cash register and turned the crank on the side to make its drawer fly open with a cheerful brrring…”

Read the rest of Amelia’s article here - and while you’re at it, check out our gallery feature and interview with her…

It’s Sunday night and as I type this post my husband and children are putting the final decorating touches on our Christmas tree.  So, as I sit  here thinking about what event to blog about this week, perhaps  Family Trees: A Celebration of Children’s Literature would be most appropriate.

Held from December 4, 2009  through to January 3, 2010 in Concord, MA, USA, the annual Family Trees event is unique among the many holiday events in Greater Boston as it focuses on  children’s literature! The historic Concord Museum galleries are filled with fanciful trees of all shapes and sizes decorated with original ornaments inspired by acclaimed children’s storybooks and contemporary picture book favorites.  Each tree serves as a canvas for the artistic creations of a dedicated team of volunteer decorators. Inspired by the storyline, the illustrations, the characters or setting of a particular book, the decorators let their imaginations take flight, much to the delight of visitors of all ages from all over New England.

Serving as inspiration for this year’s trees are books that are classics and sure-to-become classics. Selections include:

Listen to the Wind: The Story of Dr. Greg and Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and Susan L. Roth

Mrs. Greenberg’s Messy Hanukkah by Linda Glaser, illustrated by Nancy Cote

Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem by Maya Angelou, illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher

Fortune Cookie Fortunes, by Grace Lin

Flotsam by David Wiesner

For a complete list of this year’s  books (there are over 30 titles!)  click here.

Proceeds from Family Trees benefit the Concord Museum’s educational mission serving an audience of preschoolers, school-age children, college students, families, adults and seniors in over 600 school and public programs yearly.  For hours of operation, admission costs etc. click here.

And since we are speaking of the holidays, be sure to check our new website features, which focus on Religious Diversity in relation to End-of-Year Celebrations.

The new issue of PaperTigers, focusing on Religious Diversity in relation to End-of-Year Celebrations, is now live.

The end of the year, when so many holy and secular days are observed and celebrated, reminds us of the importance of understanding and being respectful of how others in our communities engage with and
express their beliefs. Books play an essential role in helping children learn about differences (for instance, why some people celebrate different holidays, or the same holidays in different ways, while others don’t celebrate anything): but more than anything, books can help them realize that, while our individualities do matter, our common humanity matters even more.

We hope you will enjoy our new features, which focus on celebrating diversity while striving for a more encompassing and tolerant world for all our children, families and communities.

We will also be talking about religious diversity and end-of-year celebrations here on the blog this month, so we hope you will share your favorite books and experiences with us!