WEBVTT 00:00:20.750 --> 00:00:24.829 Hello, I'm Patrick Adams. And I'm Caroline Legere. 00:00:25.160 --> 00:00:28.379 And this is Librarians of Littles, a podcast 00:00:28.379 --> 00:00:31.519 where we discuss books, give makerspace activities, 00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:35.880 and give some tips and tricks for working with 00:00:35.880 --> 00:00:38.539 our youngest learners in the library setting. 00:00:38.759 --> 00:00:42.399 This week we are going to be sharing two books 00:00:42.399 --> 00:00:46.859 that come from the Texas 2x2 Awards List. So 00:00:46.859 --> 00:00:50.600 the Texas 2x2 Awards List is a list created by 00:00:50.600 --> 00:00:53.939 the Texas Library Association every year. It 00:00:53.939 --> 00:00:59.340 is a list of 20 books that are perfect for children 00:00:59.340 --> 00:01:03.259 between the ages of two and second grade. And 00:01:03.259 --> 00:01:06.099 so this week we're going to be discussing two 00:01:06.099 --> 00:01:09.799 books from that list. The first book is called 00:01:09.799 --> 00:01:15.459 We Are Definitely Human. This book was published 00:01:15.459 --> 00:01:19.640 by Penguin Random House in 2024 and the author 00:01:19.640 --> 00:01:24.719 is ex -fang. This book is on quite a few lists. 00:01:24.879 --> 00:01:29.659 It is on the Ezra Jack Keats Illustrator Award 00:01:29.659 --> 00:01:34.400 list for 2025. The Libby Books Award Picture 00:01:34.400 --> 00:01:39.180 Book Finalist for 2025 The Charlotte Zolotow 00:01:39.180 --> 00:01:45.319 Award Commended for 2025 CCBC Selection 2025 00:01:45.319 --> 00:01:48.680 Junior Library Guild Selection Read Aloud Selection 00:01:48.680 --> 00:01:54.359 2025 ALSC Notable Children's Book Commended 2025 00:01:54.359 --> 00:01:58.540 And the Publisher Weekly's Best Picture Book 00:01:58.540 --> 00:02:04.430 Selection 2024 Our author, X -Fang, was born 00:02:04.430 --> 00:02:08.550 in Taiwan and grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. She 00:02:08.550 --> 00:02:12.150 moved around between Philadelphia and Brooklyn 00:02:12.150 --> 00:02:16.930 before settling down with her family in Maine. 00:02:17.830 --> 00:02:20.770 And there honestly wasn't a ton of information 00:02:20.770 --> 00:02:22.969 about her on her website. That's about all the 00:02:22.969 --> 00:02:26.550 information that they give. On the Penguin Random 00:02:26.550 --> 00:02:29.710 House website, they did say that she also sometimes 00:02:29.710 --> 00:02:33.310 goes by Samantha. I just thought it was interesting 00:02:33.310 --> 00:02:36.669 that to go from Taiwan to Atlanta, Georgia, I 00:02:36.669 --> 00:02:39.310 would bet that that's a culture shock in itself. 00:02:40.189 --> 00:02:43.389 Oh, absolutely. So that was just interesting 00:02:43.389 --> 00:02:47.669 to me. And then to go from Atlanta, Georgia to 00:02:47.669 --> 00:02:53.050 Philadelphia and Brooklyn is its own change also. 00:02:53.509 --> 00:02:56.800 It's just kind of interesting. The author's other 00:02:56.800 --> 00:02:59.080 books, this is actually her third book. She's 00:02:59.080 --> 00:03:06.159 got two others, Broken and Dim Sum Palace. And 00:03:06.159 --> 00:03:10.419 so the summary for this book. When some odd visitors 00:03:10.419 --> 00:03:15.419 arrive at Mr. Lee's farm with a broken car, Mr. 00:03:15.539 --> 00:03:18.159 Lee does what nice humans do. He helps them. 00:03:18.180 --> 00:03:20.400 He allows them to sleep in their home, in his 00:03:20.400 --> 00:03:23.919 home. He takes them to the store. for the materials 00:03:23.919 --> 00:03:28.300 to fix their ride and he helps them meet other 00:03:28.300 --> 00:03:33.460 kind humans and I thought this was such an amazing 00:03:33.460 --> 00:03:37.300 story. I love the message behind this story of 00:03:37.300 --> 00:03:42.740 just be kind. Clearly throughout the story Mr. 00:03:42.900 --> 00:03:46.939 Lee is not convinced that these visitors are 00:03:46.939 --> 00:03:50.759 human even though they insist that they definitely 00:03:50.759 --> 00:03:55.740 are human. Their odd behaviors and interactions 00:03:55.740 --> 00:04:02.479 are comical But he continues even though he doesn't 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:06.860 think they're human to be kind and help and offer 00:04:06.860 --> 00:04:11.520 what he can to assist them and as They go into 00:04:11.520 --> 00:04:14.159 town to the store and they meet other humans 00:04:14.159 --> 00:04:19.250 those humans choose to help and be kind and like 00:04:19.250 --> 00:04:22.550 the entire community comes together to help them 00:04:22.550 --> 00:04:26.550 fix their vehicle and they dance and they share 00:04:26.550 --> 00:04:30.250 food and it's just such a sweet and wholesome 00:04:30.250 --> 00:04:34.629 story. The illustrations are amazing. I love 00:04:34.629 --> 00:04:38.810 the character designs of the definitely human 00:04:38.810 --> 00:04:43.689 characters. And it's just such a sweet story 00:04:43.689 --> 00:04:48.209 with an amazing message, you know, just Above 00:04:48.209 --> 00:04:53.389 all else just be kind and it's just That's the 00:04:53.389 --> 00:04:56.610 kind of message that we need right now and need 00:04:56.610 --> 00:05:00.230 to remind people of right now so much in our 00:05:00.230 --> 00:05:04.449 society so It just it brought such a smile to 00:05:04.449 --> 00:05:08.509 my face reading this story. I think that students 00:05:08.509 --> 00:05:11.389 Will definitely be able to relate to the story 00:05:11.389 --> 00:05:15.089 and find it funny the like I said the the story 00:05:15.089 --> 00:05:18.990 itself is it wonderfully engaging but the illustrations 00:05:18.990 --> 00:05:25.069 are fantastic uh i and it's just it's just a 00:05:25.069 --> 00:05:28.709 wonderful all -around story i say five out of 00:05:28.709 --> 00:05:31.529 five bookmarks absolutely yeah it's it's just 00:05:31.529 --> 00:05:35.610 perfect it's so wonderful and it just it just 00:05:35.610 --> 00:05:39.610 made me feel so good reading the story Yeah, 00:05:39.610 --> 00:05:41.709 I really liked this one. This was the first time 00:05:41.709 --> 00:05:46.269 I got to read this book and it was very sweet 00:05:46.269 --> 00:05:50.470 It was very clever and it was just it. I loved 00:05:50.470 --> 00:05:53.649 it. It was the author did an excellent job of 00:05:53.649 --> 00:05:56.709 helping you connect with those characters and 00:05:56.709 --> 00:06:00.149 really care about everybody and Like you said 00:06:00.149 --> 00:06:02.730 it had a wonderful message of just always be 00:06:02.730 --> 00:06:05.410 kind It's okay if somebody's a little bit different. 00:06:05.410 --> 00:06:09.079 Just be kind. It's okay if they you know want 00:06:09.079 --> 00:06:11.579 to go do this or whatever just be kind that's 00:06:11.579 --> 00:06:14.399 all you got to do it's not that hard we can do 00:06:14.399 --> 00:06:17.699 hard we can do that we can be kind because that's 00:06:17.699 --> 00:06:20.879 that's what decent people do it was very sweet 00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:25.180 i left it a lot yes it like this is another banger 00:06:25.180 --> 00:06:28.620 from the texas two by two list it's just so wonderful 00:06:28.620 --> 00:06:33.060 and with i and i have to be honest like i read 00:06:33.060 --> 00:06:37.800 this and now i want to go and read the author's 00:06:37.800 --> 00:06:39.980 other two books because I'm like if this is what 00:06:39.980 --> 00:06:43.959 they can do as an author and Illustrator to to 00:06:43.959 --> 00:06:45.839 portray such a wonderful story. I want to go 00:06:45.839 --> 00:06:50.139 and read the other two To see to see what else 00:06:50.139 --> 00:06:53.839 they've done with these books. And so I yes, 00:06:53.839 --> 00:06:58.279 I just Just wonderful. So I love it. It was really 00:06:58.279 --> 00:07:04.300 good. Yeah as far as a makerspace activity Go 00:07:04.300 --> 00:07:06.800 in simple actually honestly one thing that I 00:07:06.800 --> 00:07:11.339 would love to do with this is challenge the the 00:07:11.339 --> 00:07:16.199 students To see how many acts of kindness they 00:07:16.199 --> 00:07:20.060 could do Between the time they leave the library 00:07:20.060 --> 00:07:22.139 to the time they get back to the library the 00:07:22.139 --> 00:07:24.899 following week and just kind of have them like 00:07:24.899 --> 00:07:26.920 have and talk to the teacher about it so that 00:07:26.920 --> 00:07:31.060 they can like Keep track like do just like a 00:07:31.060 --> 00:07:33.579 tally chart or something where they can Find 00:07:33.579 --> 00:07:36.079 out how many acts of kindness they can do in 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:38.139 a week's time because I think that would be really 00:07:38.139 --> 00:07:41.379 nice to go along with this activity With this 00:07:41.379 --> 00:07:44.019 book is just to kind of like keep track of how 00:07:44.019 --> 00:07:48.180 many kind things can you do as a class? In just 00:07:48.180 --> 00:07:50.519 a week and just see what they can come up with 00:07:50.519 --> 00:07:53.560 but for like an actual activity in the library 00:07:53.560 --> 00:07:57.579 for To relate to this book go simple with it 00:07:57.579 --> 00:08:00.060 give some kind of building materials legos blocks 00:08:00.060 --> 00:08:02.740 Whatever and have the students build their own 00:08:03.469 --> 00:08:06.790 spaceships for the definitely human characters. 00:08:07.610 --> 00:08:10.829 Since clearly, they are not actually from Europe, 00:08:10.829 --> 00:08:14.550 like it mentions in the book, as they fly off 00:08:14.550 --> 00:08:17.829 in their vehicle, have the kids build their own 00:08:17.829 --> 00:08:20.110 spaceships, it would be kind of cool to see what 00:08:20.110 --> 00:08:23.930 the students get to what they come up with and 00:08:23.930 --> 00:08:26.709 how they can be creative about making those things. 00:08:26.709 --> 00:08:29.230 And so just giving them that opportunity to be 00:08:29.230 --> 00:08:32.919 creative and and make something cool like a spaceship. 00:08:33.539 --> 00:08:36.340 Yeah, love it. That would be a lot of fun for 00:08:36.340 --> 00:08:42.500 them. That was a good one. All right. Well, today 00:08:42.500 --> 00:08:46.539 for our Library of Littles management tip, we 00:08:46.539 --> 00:08:50.200 are going to talk about bookmarks, kind of. So 00:08:50.200 --> 00:08:53.940 for the last couple of years with my pre -K classes, 00:08:54.120 --> 00:08:57.960 the way we did our specials rotation is the kids 00:08:57.960 --> 00:09:02.549 would come to library and then for about 30 minutes 00:09:02.549 --> 00:09:05.250 and then they would go straight to P .E. So the 00:09:05.250 --> 00:09:08.230 kids didn't get to when they came to library 00:09:08.230 --> 00:09:11.309 and they would check out books they didn't get 00:09:11.309 --> 00:09:14.570 to go straight back to their classrooms to drop 00:09:14.570 --> 00:09:18.309 off said books which made it really challenging 00:09:18.309 --> 00:09:22.009 especially for our pre -k kids which is obviously 00:09:22.009 --> 00:09:25.090 all I had because none of them maybe not none 00:09:25.090 --> 00:09:29.450 of them but very few of them could remember with 00:09:30.759 --> 00:09:35.039 accurately which books they checked out themselves 00:09:35.039 --> 00:09:37.980 so when they checked out books it created a big 00:09:37.980 --> 00:09:40.899 problem of like where like where do we put them 00:09:40.899 --> 00:09:42.519 they're not going back to their classroom because 00:09:42.519 --> 00:09:44.879 their teacher still has their planning time going 00:09:44.879 --> 00:09:48.720 on so I have to leave this pile over here for 00:09:48.720 --> 00:09:52.019 the to drop off with the teacher later but we 00:09:52.019 --> 00:09:55.580 don't know which book goes with which kid so 00:09:55.580 --> 00:10:00.360 what I did was we created bookmarks for each 00:10:00.360 --> 00:10:04.779 student. And the way I did it was I asked the 00:10:04.779 --> 00:10:08.679 paraprofessional to we cut out, I cut out for 00:10:08.679 --> 00:10:13.960 them just strips of construction paper. And I 00:10:13.960 --> 00:10:16.559 just made it, you could color coordinate it by 00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:18.639 like each class. I've done it that way. I did 00:10:18.639 --> 00:10:22.120 it just like random for each. where it was just 00:10:22.120 --> 00:10:24.279 very colorful. So the kids got to pick their 00:10:24.279 --> 00:10:27.519 colors or whatever works best for you is what 00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:29.659 you could do. Personally, I liked it where I 00:10:29.659 --> 00:10:32.740 had like one color for each class. So it was 00:10:32.740 --> 00:10:36.139 a little bit more identifiable, which bookmark 00:10:36.139 --> 00:10:41.000 went with each. What went with each teacher, 00:10:41.019 --> 00:10:45.539 but I had the para bright with black Sharpie 00:10:45.539 --> 00:10:49.549 at the top of it, the students name. and we laminated 00:10:49.549 --> 00:10:52.870 it and when they were checking out books I would 00:10:52.870 --> 00:10:56.789 just slide that student's bookmark inside the 00:10:56.789 --> 00:11:00.429 book so that it was kind of labeled for them. 00:11:00.549 --> 00:11:03.009 So then at the end of book checkout I had this 00:11:03.009 --> 00:11:04.929 you know the stack of 20 books and each one of 00:11:04.929 --> 00:11:08.070 them has the bookmark in it with the child's 00:11:08.070 --> 00:11:10.269 name on it so that when I dropped it off this 00:11:10.269 --> 00:11:12.870 teacher knows which one goes in which backpack. 00:11:13.370 --> 00:11:15.610 And when they were putting it in they could just 00:11:15.610 --> 00:11:19.649 pull out the bookmark and hand it back to me 00:11:19.649 --> 00:11:22.409 later like later that day so then I just kept 00:11:22.409 --> 00:11:26.970 track of the bookmarks and that really Works 00:11:26.970 --> 00:11:30.450 really well for me to and the teachers So that 00:11:30.450 --> 00:11:33.289 that we knew which book went with each student 00:11:33.289 --> 00:11:36.110 and nothing ever got lost I don't think we ever 00:11:36.110 --> 00:11:39.549 had any mix -ups with it or anything I did have 00:11:39.549 --> 00:11:43.509 the paras create those for me as we got new students 00:11:43.509 --> 00:11:46.830 because we did have a highly transient population 00:11:46.830 --> 00:11:50.789 lots of new students frequently and then lots 00:11:50.789 --> 00:11:54.370 of kids would you know go to work from other 00:11:54.370 --> 00:11:56.090 countries so they would be gone for like a month 00:11:56.090 --> 00:12:00.049 at a time randomly to go visit their native countries 00:12:00.049 --> 00:12:02.950 but you could also do it with if you didn't have 00:12:02.950 --> 00:12:07.899 a para doing that you could also just have the 00:12:07.899 --> 00:12:09.440 students write their own names on it because 00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:11.080 that's that's one of the things that they're 00:12:11.080 --> 00:12:13.659 meant to be learning anyway is writing their 00:12:13.659 --> 00:12:16.799 own names so you could like that could be one 00:12:16.799 --> 00:12:19.919 of your first lessons of the year is Making your 00:12:19.919 --> 00:12:22.440 own bookmarks and just cut out those strips for 00:12:22.440 --> 00:12:25.460 them the construction paper strips that are you 00:12:25.460 --> 00:12:28.399 know shaped like bookmarks and you could Ask 00:12:28.399 --> 00:12:30.759 the kids to write like give them all a black 00:12:30.759 --> 00:12:33.720 marker So that they can write their name on there 00:12:33.720 --> 00:12:35.940 and like obviously they're learning how to do 00:12:35.940 --> 00:12:37.720 that. So they would need help a little bit with 00:12:37.720 --> 00:12:39.840 that, but you've got to do a lesson anyway. I 00:12:39.840 --> 00:12:42.120 would just turn it into a whole lesson. And then 00:12:42.120 --> 00:12:44.820 they could color with crayon and decorate it 00:12:44.820 --> 00:12:46.480 however they want to. And then you just laminate 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:49.480 it and then you have your bookmarks ready to 00:12:49.480 --> 00:12:52.419 go after that. And that's a fun kind of way to 00:12:52.419 --> 00:12:55.659 have the kids take ownership of that. They would 00:12:55.659 --> 00:12:58.720 probably identify their own bookmarks a little 00:12:58.720 --> 00:13:00.559 bit better after that, too, if they decorated 00:13:00.559 --> 00:13:03.639 themselves. And it's still a pretty easy way 00:13:03.639 --> 00:13:06.019 to. Kind of keep track of something like that. 00:13:06.039 --> 00:13:09.639 So that's clearly labeled for when you have to 00:13:09.639 --> 00:13:11.779 check out books if your students don't go straight 00:13:11.779 --> 00:13:14.440 back to the classroom or And they can't put it 00:13:14.440 --> 00:13:17.620 away right away It really helped me a lot and 00:13:17.620 --> 00:13:19.879 I like my teachers I got really good feedback 00:13:19.879 --> 00:13:21.860 from it for my teachers too because it was pretty 00:13:21.860 --> 00:13:24.860 easy for them to keep track of as well I love 00:13:24.860 --> 00:13:28.059 that idea. That sounds like a great way for you 00:13:28.059 --> 00:13:30.019 to be able to keep track of the books and you 00:13:30.019 --> 00:13:32.620 know get to know the kids' names a little bit 00:13:32.620 --> 00:13:36.600 better and just kind of, yeah, I love the whole 00:13:36.600 --> 00:13:42.960 idea. Wonderful. Thanks. Alrighty, well the next 00:13:42.960 --> 00:13:44.940 Texas 2x2 book that we're going to talk about 00:13:44.940 --> 00:13:48.519 today is called The Spice Box. It's published 00:13:48.519 --> 00:13:52.860 by Alfred A. Knopf Books in 2024. The author 00:13:52.860 --> 00:13:56.259 is Meera Sriram and the illustrator is Sandhya 00:13:56.259 --> 00:14:00.179 Prabhat. This book is on the Texas 2x2 list for 00:14:00.179 --> 00:14:06.299 2025. And it is an Asian Pacific American Librarians 00:14:06.299 --> 00:14:09.179 Association best of the best book list selection 00:14:09.179 --> 00:14:12.879 for 2024. That was a long title, but I got through 00:14:12.879 --> 00:14:18.639 it. That was great. Good job. Thank you. And 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:21.500 for our author history, Meera Sriram was born 00:14:21.500 --> 00:14:24.200 in South India. She originally got a master's 00:14:24.200 --> 00:14:26.679 degree in electrical engineering with no intention 00:14:26.679 --> 00:14:29.240 of ever being a children's author. However, after 00:14:29.240 --> 00:14:31.480 moving to America and becoming a mother herself, 00:14:31.559 --> 00:14:33.440 she saw that there was a significant lack of 00:14:33.440 --> 00:14:36.480 books reflecting her own children's life experiences 00:14:36.480 --> 00:14:39.799 and culture. She then became a children's writer 00:14:39.799 --> 00:14:43.259 specializing in diverse books for kids. She currently 00:14:43.259 --> 00:14:45.500 lives in Berkeley, California with her family. 00:14:46.480 --> 00:14:50.580 And some of her other books include A Garden 00:14:50.580 --> 00:14:55.059 in My Hands, illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat, 00:14:55.600 --> 00:15:01.399 Our World India, illustrated by Neethi, Dumpling 00:15:01.399 --> 00:15:09.419 Day, illustrated by Ines de Antuanano. I'm not 00:15:09.419 --> 00:15:12.549 sure I butchered that, but... I tried. You did? 00:15:12.830 --> 00:15:16.049 Between two worlds. Between two worlds, the art 00:15:16.049 --> 00:15:21.870 and life of Amrita Ishrigul, a gift for Amma, 00:15:22.210 --> 00:15:26.629 market day in India, illustrated by Mariana Kabasa, 00:15:28.090 --> 00:15:31.250 and wrote and illustrated the yellow suitcase. 00:15:31.590 --> 00:15:33.929 Oh, she wrote and illustrated the yellow suitcase, 00:15:34.090 --> 00:15:39.720 my bad. All right, our illustrator is Sandhya 00:15:39.720 --> 00:15:42.480 Prabhat and she's originally from Chennai, India. 00:15:42.980 --> 00:15:45.659 She currently lives in the Bay Area in California. 00:15:45.860 --> 00:15:49.159 She is both an animator and an illustrator, and 00:15:49.159 --> 00:15:52.500 she holds an MFA degree in Animation and Digital 00:15:52.500 --> 00:15:57.259 Arts from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Asia. 00:15:57.840 --> 00:16:01.019 And she has a bachelor's degree in Literature 00:16:01.019 --> 00:16:06.970 from Stella Maris College. And her website currently 00:16:06.970 --> 00:16:10.470 lists a total of 27 books that she has illustrated, 00:16:11.129 --> 00:16:15.370 including the Spice Box. Other books that she 00:16:15.370 --> 00:16:21.389 has illustrated include I Am Brown, written by 00:16:21.389 --> 00:16:26.149 Ashok Banker, A Garden in My Hands, written by 00:16:26.149 --> 00:16:31.570 Meera Sriram, Large As Life, written by Johnny 00:16:31.570 --> 00:16:36.269 Marks. Ani's Light written by Tanu Sri Singh 00:16:36.269 --> 00:16:42.649 and Namaste is a greeting written by Suma Subramaniam. 00:16:43.409 --> 00:16:49.129 Well done. All right for our book summary. When 00:16:49.129 --> 00:16:52.210 Rishi's Patti, grandmother, comes to visit from 00:16:52.210 --> 00:16:54.490 India Rishi asks his father if they can make 00:16:54.490 --> 00:16:57.289 a potato curry to help welcome her. At first 00:16:57.289 --> 00:16:59.509 he's too busy cleaning and getting the room ready 00:16:59.509 --> 00:17:02.309 for Patti's visit so Rishi grabs the family box. 00:17:02.269 --> 00:17:05.269 family spice box himself and thinks about all 00:17:05.269 --> 00:17:07.369 the significance that the spice box holds for 00:17:07.369 --> 00:17:11.130 the family. He remembers how he heard about his 00:17:11.130 --> 00:17:13.569 potty and how she brought the spice box with 00:17:13.569 --> 00:17:16.049 her. She traveled from a small village to India 00:17:16.049 --> 00:17:19.289 to the big city to become a chef when women weren't 00:17:19.289 --> 00:17:22.279 really allowed to do that at the time. Later 00:17:22.279 --> 00:17:26.140 on Rishi's pati gifted the same spice box to 00:17:26.140 --> 00:17:29.259 his father when he moved to America and he used 00:17:29.259 --> 00:17:31.359 it anytime he felt homesick and needed to feel 00:17:31.359 --> 00:17:34.079 closer to his family. Wanting to carry on the 00:17:34.079 --> 00:17:37.579 family legacy and use the spice box himself, 00:17:37.819 --> 00:17:40.640 Rishi grabs it intending to begin cooking on 00:17:40.640 --> 00:17:43.220 his own, but then he drops the spice box breaking 00:17:43.220 --> 00:17:46.019 it in two. So Rishi and his father clean up the 00:17:46.019 --> 00:17:49.019 mess, fix the box, and then Rishi gets the chance 00:17:49.019 --> 00:17:50.980 to work with his father to create a delicious 00:17:50.980 --> 00:17:54.200 dish for the first time together. I love this 00:17:54.200 --> 00:17:58.059 book a lot. It was really sweet. I love that 00:17:58.059 --> 00:18:01.000 Rishi kind of thinks back on all the significance 00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:03.779 that the spice box has for the family and how 00:18:03.779 --> 00:18:07.700 it kind of connects three generations of them 00:18:07.700 --> 00:18:12.839 and how it, you know, it kind of... When he reflects 00:18:12.839 --> 00:18:15.940 on it he remembers how it you know began in India 00:18:15.940 --> 00:18:20.299 and it kind of holds them to their roots It's 00:18:20.299 --> 00:18:22.299 just something tangible that kind of holds them 00:18:22.299 --> 00:18:25.220 all together. It was really sweet. I especially 00:18:25.220 --> 00:18:27.720 loved the illustrations They were just so bright 00:18:27.720 --> 00:18:33.119 so colorful really engaging and even for because 00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:38.130 this one has I think it might be a little bit 00:18:38.130 --> 00:18:44.170 more difficult. I said more harder, I did. It 00:18:44.170 --> 00:18:48.289 has some harder concepts for younger learners 00:18:48.289 --> 00:18:52.569 in that it talks a lot about India and just being 00:18:52.569 --> 00:18:56.309 in another country in general, which is challenging 00:18:56.309 --> 00:18:58.960 because that's something that like... If it's 00:18:58.960 --> 00:19:01.400 not concrete and right in front of a four -year 00:19:01.400 --> 00:19:04.019 -old, a lot of the times they can't really understand 00:19:04.019 --> 00:19:07.299 it, but these illustrations are so bright and 00:19:07.299 --> 00:19:11.980 engaging. It really brings life to it. And because 00:19:11.980 --> 00:19:15.519 the spice box in particular is what kind of holds 00:19:15.519 --> 00:19:18.380 the family together and this is what they're 00:19:18.380 --> 00:19:22.140 kind of focusing on a little bit more. I think 00:19:22.140 --> 00:19:24.680 it helps because you can kind of see it moving 00:19:24.680 --> 00:19:28.210 from generation to generation and you can physically 00:19:28.210 --> 00:19:31.950 see how it connects all of them together. So 00:19:31.950 --> 00:19:34.809 I really loved that it kind of made it a little 00:19:34.809 --> 00:19:38.089 bit more tangible and just made it a little bit 00:19:38.089 --> 00:19:41.230 more relatable for our youngest learners. I would 00:19:41.230 --> 00:19:43.130 give this one also a five out of five. It was 00:19:43.130 --> 00:19:46.650 a really sweet story and I love that it in the 00:19:46.650 --> 00:19:50.069 end it really just brought everybody in the book 00:19:50.069 --> 00:19:53.650 that much closer together. The characters were 00:19:53.650 --> 00:19:58.500 really engaging and you were really like wanting 00:19:58.500 --> 00:20:00.940 all of them to connect. It was just really sweet. 00:20:01.140 --> 00:20:04.359 I loved it. It was a great book. Agreed. Like 00:20:04.359 --> 00:20:06.200 everything that you said, this was just such 00:20:06.200 --> 00:20:09.079 a wonderful story. I loved it a lot. The illustrations 00:20:09.079 --> 00:20:11.859 were amazing. I personally just love learning 00:20:11.859 --> 00:20:15.119 about different cultures and reading books from 00:20:15.119 --> 00:20:18.259 other cultures and kind of seeing the points 00:20:18.259 --> 00:20:20.160 of view and learning about like the food and 00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:22.440 all. And so like this hits all of those points 00:20:22.440 --> 00:20:26.099 as well. I just I think this is a wonderful story. 00:20:26.140 --> 00:20:30.509 I love that it's from somebody who has that experience. 00:20:30.750 --> 00:20:33.930 It's not just like a white person writing a story 00:20:33.930 --> 00:20:37.289 about a kid coming from another country. So that's 00:20:37.289 --> 00:20:41.130 always wonderful to have people with their original 00:20:41.130 --> 00:20:44.970 voice in the story. It makes it so much better 00:20:44.970 --> 00:20:47.690 and so much more authentic. But it was just, 00:20:47.690 --> 00:20:51.650 yeah, just a really great story. I loved it a 00:20:51.650 --> 00:20:54.089 lot. I look forward to using this book this year. 00:20:54.720 --> 00:20:57.900 read this one until you suggested it for this 00:20:57.900 --> 00:21:01.240 and I love it. It's amazing and definitely gonna 00:21:01.240 --> 00:21:04.500 become one that I read with the kids. It's just 00:21:04.500 --> 00:21:07.720 so great. I loved it a lot. Yeah, it was a good 00:21:07.720 --> 00:21:11.859 one for sure. Okay, for our makerspace activity 00:21:11.859 --> 00:21:14.700 for this book, we were thinking that you could, 00:21:14.980 --> 00:21:18.279 since there's such a heavy family focus, you 00:21:18.279 --> 00:21:21.839 could just have the kids draw a picture of them 00:21:21.839 --> 00:21:25.809 with their family. You could This one talks about 00:21:25.809 --> 00:21:27.970 three different generations so you could really 00:21:27.970 --> 00:21:31.349 talk about like extended family and Really think 00:21:31.349 --> 00:21:33.289 about the different people that are in their 00:21:33.289 --> 00:21:35.829 family Even the people who don't necessarily 00:21:35.829 --> 00:21:38.950 live like in their house just talk more about 00:21:38.950 --> 00:21:41.569 grandparents and aunts and uncles and things 00:21:41.569 --> 00:21:44.910 like that You could also take it a step further 00:21:44.910 --> 00:21:47.089 and if you want You could spend a little bit 00:21:47.089 --> 00:21:49.289 of money, it doesn't have to be a lot, but you 00:21:49.289 --> 00:21:54.369 could go to the dollar store and get some small 00:21:54.369 --> 00:21:57.710 gift boxes and give everybody a small little 00:21:57.710 --> 00:22:01.049 gift box and they could decorate the box and 00:22:01.049 --> 00:22:03.890 have their own little, not necessarily a spice 00:22:03.890 --> 00:22:06.130 box, but just their own little memory box or 00:22:06.130 --> 00:22:10.259 something where they could keep their own. little 00:22:10.259 --> 00:22:13.839 knickknacks that we know all the children love 00:22:13.839 --> 00:22:18.380 to collect. And they could keep their own little 00:22:18.380 --> 00:22:22.400 special things right there just for them. So, 00:22:23.339 --> 00:22:27.200 yeah. Love those ideas. Whoever came up with 00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:35.640 them is brilliant. Brilliant indeed. All right. 00:22:35.839 --> 00:22:42.380 Well, thank you. Too giggly today. Okay. Thank 00:22:42.380 --> 00:22:44.339 you all for joining us today on this episode 00:22:44.339 --> 00:22:47.259 of Librarians of Littles. We hope you found some 00:22:47.259 --> 00:22:49.680 fresh ideas for inspiring our youngest readers. 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:51.920 Please be sure to subscribe and connect with 00:22:51.920 --> 00:22:55.119 us on social media. Happy reading. Thank you 00:22:55.119 --> 00:22:57.920 for listening to this episode of Librarians of 00:22:57.920 --> 00:23:00.460 Littles. We hope that you've enjoyed it. Check 00:23:00.460 --> 00:23:04.869 back each Wednesday for a new episode. Librarians 00:23:04.869 --> 00:23:07.630 of Littles is a podcast produced and hosted by 00:23:07.630 --> 00:23:11.289 Patrick Adams and Caroline Legier. Editor, Patrick 00:23:11.289 --> 00:23:15.069 Adams. Our theme song is performed by JD Adams. 00:23:15.509 --> 00:23:18.150 You can follow us on Instagram at Librarians 00:23:18.150 --> 00:23:23.309 of Littles. You can follow us on bluesky at littleslibrarian 00:23:23.309 --> 00:23:27.910 .bsky .social. And you can send us your emails 00:23:27.910 --> 00:23:32.289 at librarianoflittlespodatgmail .com.