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in Blog on December 16, 2019 by Sarah Powers

Holidays Around The World Through Picture Books

This post is part of a paid partnership with Epic! Books for Kids. Tips, ideas, and opinions are totally ours! -Meagan & Sarah

I have always loved learning about holidays and celebrations from countries and cultures different from my own, and it’s something I want me kids to grow up with an appreciation for as well. And while learning about, honoring, and appreciating other cultures can happen all year round, something about the winter holidays seems to present a heightened opportunity for learning.

Because picture books and reading aloud are already a part of our family culture, including discussions about a wide variety of holidays and religious practices fits really naturally into storytime. While there are great non-fiction books to help parents and kids learn together, we also love finding compelling stories with beautiful illustrations that center around celebrations different from the ones we observe.

This year I got the idea to use Epic! to curate a list of picture books that honor, celebrate, and teach us about holidays and celebrations from around the world. I was thrilled with the titles I found in Epic’s library, and I love the ability to save them to a collection that all three of my kids can access through their account. I can even “assign” the reading to my kids and see their progress!

Picture Books That Celebrate Holidays From Around The World

Here are a few of the titles we’ll be reading together over winter break as we deepen our knowledge and appreciation of cultures around the world:

Winter Candle, by Jerone Ashford

Read Winter Candle on Epic!

This book is so cleverly conceived and beautifully executed! It follows one candle as it’s shared, loaned, and borrowed among families in an apartment complex, each of whom need the light for a different purpose or celebration. Any story that reminds us of our shared humanity is a win for me–plus we see a number of different faith traditions in one story, so the learning is rich!

Snow Party, by Harriet Ziefert

Read Snow Party on Epic!

I’ve always loved learning about Winter Solstice celebrations, both in their ancient traditions and modern practices. This is a lighthearted story about snow-people characters coming together on the longest night of the year for a special celebration.

Hannukah Bear, by Eric A. Kimmel

Read Hannukah Bear on Epic!

I love the humor in this book, even as we learned so many things about Hannukah celebrations. Bubba Brayna is a 97-year-old grandmother who doesn’t hear or see well, and mistakes a bear for the rabbi come to visit. She feeds him latkes, and they pray and play together into the evening; it isn’t until when the real rabbi comes to call that she realizes her mistake (spoiler alert: there are enough latkes for everyone).

Sam and the Lucky Money, by Karen Chinn

Read Sam and the Lucky Money on Epic!

We learned about traditional Chinese foods, traditions, and values through the story of Sam, a Chinese-American boy who has to make a choice about how he spends money gifted to him for the New Year. It’s a sweet story that kids can relate to, with beautiful pictures of Chinese cultural elements.

Lailah’s Lunchbox: A Ramadan Story, by Reem Faruqui

Read Lailah’s Lunchbox on Epic!

Kids who notice differences in how their classmates celebrate holidays, or who observe the overlap between school routines and cultural traditions, will love this smart story of Lailah, who is excited to fast for Ramadan for the first time but worries about how to explain her choice to her teacher and school friends.

Great Joy, by Kate DiCamillo

Listen to Great Joy on Epic!

If you’re already a fan of Kate DiCamillo’s middle grade novels, this Christmas picture book will be a treat. Epic! has the audiobook version, which tells the story of a little girl coming to terms with the poverty and injustice she sees around her at Christmastime.

Non-Fiction Books For Kids About World Religions

While we gravitate more toward stories than fact books to explore different cultures, a couple of non-fiction titles on Epic! caught my eye as I was building out this collection:

Who Believes What?: Exploring the World’s Major Religions, by Anna Wills

Read Who Believes What? on Epic!

This is a really cool combination of illustrations and text that explains to children the tenets of faith from religions around the world. There is some oversimplification in the way some of the information is presented and I will talk to my kids about the dangers of generalizing when it comes to religious groups, but if you’d like to brush up on your own comparative religions knowledge while giving your kids an introduction, this is a great start.

Christmas Traditions Around the World, by Ann Ingalls

Read Christmas Traditions Around The World, by Ann Ingalls

Similar to the previous title, this is a fun look at how one holiday–Christmas–plays out differently all across the world. It’s a great reminder that the Christmas our kids experience in North America is not the way the whole world celebrates.

Happy celebrating, friends–and happy reading!

Epic! is a digital library of more than 30,000 high-quality, popular children’s books, videos, quizzes and more — for kids in grades K-6. To try it out for two months FREE, visit getepic.com and use coupon code MOMHOUR.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: books, holidays & celebrations

About Sarah Powers

Sarah Powers is co-host and Executive Producer of The Mom Hour podcast. She lives in Santa Barbara, CA with her husband and three kids, ages 9, 11, and 13.

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Here’s your January reminder to save shoeboxes f Here’s your January reminder to save shoeboxes for February and March classroom projects! Valentine boxes and leprechaun traps are around the corner, and shoe boxes are so much harder to come by these days. Consider this a friendly head’s up from a mom who’s been there.

Want more help and tips, plus reassurance that you’re doing a great job? (You are.) Search for The Mom Hour in your favorite podcast app and hit subscribe!

#kindergarten #firstgrade #valentinebox #leprechauntrap #shoeboxcraft #roomparent #roommom #classroomvalentines #parenting #momlife #parentingtip #tipsformoms
Looking to implement daily "quiet time" for presch Looking to implement daily "quiet time" for preschoolers? Even for kids who want to GO GO GO all day long, having a built-in pause in the day can help develop independent play skills, encourage rest, and - of course - give caregivers a chance to reset as well.

Since this week's podcast episode is all about kids and alone time, we thought we'd revisit this resource on the blog by Sandy Hsu:

👉 How To Encourage Independence In Preschoolers With A “Quiet Time” Routine. 👈 

Sandy (@hopefulsmiles) give tips for implementing a successful quiet time routine AND rounds up products and activities that help make independent play more likely - even in young preschoolers. Check it out by clicking this image at the link in our bio!

#quiettime #parentingtoddlers #parentingpreschoolers #momoflittles #stayathomemom #stayathomeparent #activitiesforpreschoolers #activitiesfortoddlers #threeyearolds #fouryearolds #fiveyearolds #momlife #sahm #sahmlife
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Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts
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Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts
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Shoutout to our NEW sponsors:
🍳 @caraway_home (10% off gorgeous, non-toxic cookware!)
💪 @futurefitapp (risk-free trial of 1-on-1 personal training!)
🔪 @prepdish (2 weeks free of healthy, prep-ahead meal plans!)
🎨 @minted (design marketplace with art, bags, gifts & more!)
📚 @chatbooks (deals on the easiest photo books ever!)
😍 @fabletics (2 stylish workout bottoms for $24!)

And welcome back . . . 
⭐️ @stitchfix ($20 off your 1st purchase!)
⭐️ @theessentialcalendar (10% off full-season calendars!)
⭐️ @hiyahealth (50% off 1st order!)
⭐️ @kiwico_inc (50% off your 1st mo!)
⭐️ @athleticgreens (1yr of Vit.D + 5 travel packs!)
⭐️ @vionicshoes (free shipping on cute, comfy shoes!)
Braces on, braces off. First phones, driver's ed, Braces on, braces off. First phones, driver's ed, high school registration. As we discussed in this week's episode, we still get all the feels when older kids meet cultural or developmental milestones - even if they cringe when we celebrate and share.

Would love to hear what you're celebrating about your older kids! Everything from learning a new skill to blossoming independence - leave us a comment! 

PS - Listen to the episode in your favorite podcast app, or by clicking this image at the link in our bio!

#parenting #parentingbigkids #parentingteens #parentingtweens #bigkidmilestone #teenagers #tweens #momoftweens #momofteens #momofteenagers
Turns out, when your last baby approaches double-d Turns out, when your last baby approaches double-digits, you find yourself staring a different milestone right in the (puffy) face:

It's been a decade since I was pregnant for the last time. 

This photo was taken the morning of my scheduled c-section, just a few hours before we'd meet our third and last babe. It's hard to remember, but I'm SURE I was ready to be done. Constant braxton-hicks, heartburn I hadn't experienced with the other two, food aversions that lasted the whole 39w5d, and physical exhaustion trying to keep up with a 2- and 4-year old: all part of an otherwise uncomplicated pregnancy, but still nobody's idea of easy.

I don't miss it - being pregnant. Grateful to have had the experience, absolutely. But I've never really pined for another go-around, at least not seriously. Still, a whole decade removed feels as significant a milestone to me as does the notion that that double-dimpled babe will blow out ten candles this weekend.

Time, like, whoa. 

-Sarah
If you're looking at school options for Fall 2023, If you're looking at school options for Fall 2023, you might be feeling overwhelmed by school tours, open houses, registration deadlines, or the all-too-common "red shirting question". That's why today we're revisiting an enormously detailed resource on our site: 

➡️ What Teachers & Educators Wish Parents Knew About Making School Decisions ⬅️

This piece is a collaboration between four educators on our team whose careers span preschool through middle school. They weigh in what what they wish parents knew about things like...

...choosing “the right school” 
...what it means to be “ready for kindergarten” 
...visiting a school for a tour or open house 
...learning to read 
...kids and friendships; playground politics
...making school decisions for a special needs student 
...becoming part of a classroom or school community 
 
Click this image at the link in our bio to get the guide. Bookmark it, send it to your co-parent or mom friends, and use it as a starting place as you wade through this tricky time of year! 

@lisaapayne4 @ashleydawn519 @thepaperdart @cafedumartin
C-e-l-e-b-r-a-t-e good times, come on! Today’s e C-e-l-e-b-r-a-t-e good times, come on! Today’s episode is number 400! We can’t think of a better way to celebrate hitting a big podcast milestone than talking about how we honor birthdays and milestone celebrations in our families – especially as kids get older. Join Meagan and Sarah as we offer insight into making birthdays special for big kids, tweens and teens; how kids getting older hits us differently as moms, too; and how honoring big kid milestones gets tricker, but still gives us all the feels. 

Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts
Y'all's reaction to our entire catalog now being a Y'all's reaction to our entire catalog now being available has been so fun! Listeners have told us that they're now able to re-listen to old favorites, or - amazing for us - share them directly with friends.

(If you missed it, previously, podcast apps showed only our most recent 300 episodes – less than half our catalog. The rest were only available on our website.)

Just for fun, we rounded up a few more of our team's favorite episodes from the early days of the podcast. Here are five MORE oldies that have stood the test of time, and that make for great entry-points to our early catalog.

You can listen from our website by clicking this image at the link in our bio – but EVEN BETTER, you can find the episodes in your favorite podcast app - just search by episode title, or keep on scrolling until you find them!

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