THE LATINA BOOK CLUB

  Many thanks to the MCCBD creators  Mia and Valarie for including  The Latina Book Club i n their lineup.    We strongly believe in diversity in schools, on TV and  at the Oscars.—mcf Publisher: Making Spirits Bright...one book at a time I love chocolate milk.  In fact, every Wednesday it is my ritual to visit my local Farmer’s Market and buy a pint of chocolate milk from the Ronnybrook Farm.  It is so rich and creamy. It’s like drinking a chocolate bar.  I also love making hot chocolate by melting pieces of a Cortés Sweet Chocolate Bar in Carnation evaporated milk.  Yum. Hence, I was very pleased to receive a copy of CHOCOLATE MILK, POR FAVOR! by Maria Dismondy to review for Multicultural Children’s Book Day, January 27.  It is a beautiful and touching story of inclusion, diversity and empathy.   As Maria Dismondy puts it: “It is about how actions speak louder than words!”   Children of all ages will enjoy this wonderfully written and illustrated book.  

Atria Books This book also available in Spanish. I would empty myself of everything but love. – Ichimei Isabel Allende’s THE JAPANESE LOVER is an engaging and romantic tale spanning 70 years and multiple generations. The main themes in this novel are family, friendship, loyalty, identity and above all, love.  Love makes the world go round and in this novel, love’s survival is at its heart. The forbidden love between Alma, a young Polish girl and her family’s Japanese gardener, Ichimei, lasts a lifetime in spite of their racial differences and the trials that separate them. Beautiful love letters and small token gifts keep them connected through his imprisonment in the Japanese concentration camps and afterward when they wed other people.  Readers will laugh and cry as these lovers fall in love, only to lose their love.  Romeo and Juliet?  Maybe, but these lovers decide to live and to love even if it’s in secret and only in their hearts.  As Ichimei state

The Latina Book Club wishes everyone a Happy New Year and a Happy Three Kings Day! January 6, 2016, was the 39 th annual Three Kings Day Parade sponsored by El Museo del Barrio .  This is my fourth year attending and each year the parade is spectacular, as was the company.  Members of Las Comadres Para Las Americas , of which I am one, gather to attend the parade and then finish with a fabulous lunch at La Fonda restaurant. Julia, Tess, Dora, Maria, Ingrid, Carmen, Clara, Gladys, Nikki & Julie Wednesday was a magical day full of shiny crowns, music, dancing, colorful puppets and live camels! The day was sunny and bright so it was easy to see the smiles and joy on the faces of the kids and adults lined up on 106 Street and Third Avenue; all eager to catch a glimpse of the Baby Jesus, his parents Mary and Joseph and the Three Kings. Aside from the parade, El Museo del Barrio also honored Latinos who have made a contribution to the community. This year’s h