Today is Read Your World Day, and I’m celebrating by sharing a review for an awesome, multicultural picture book titled, GAZILL HILL. Before I dive into my review, here is a little bit more information about what Read Your World Day is and how it came to be. 

Read Your World is a non-profit whose mission is to ensure that every child has access to diverse and inclusive children’s literature. By providing a wide range of books that reflect various cultures, identities, and experiences, they aim to foster literacy, empathy, and inclusivity in young readers-believing that every child deserves to see themselves in the stories they read and to understand the world through the perspective of others.

Founded in 2012 by Valarie Budayr from Audrey Press Books and Mia Wenjen from Pragmatic Mom, Read Your World Day grew out of their own frustrations with the lack of diverse books for their own families. As a result, they decided to team up to create an event that would help raise awareness around children’s books that celebrate diversity but also get these books into classrooms and libraries around the world. Read Your World is an online and offline celebration that attracts thousands of supporters, educators, parents, caregivers, book reviewers, and quality authors and publishers who join forces to shine the spotlight on diversity in children’s and young adult literature.

Celebrated annually on the last Thursday in January, this global non-profit offers a plethora of free resources, teaching tools, booklists, downloads, and a year-round initiative to get multicultural and diverse books into the hands of young readers. To date, they have donated over 10,800+ books to underserved kids, classrooms, and organizations, and that number continues to climb.

They also create resources to help readers, educators, librarians, parents, and caretakers find the right diverse books that they need.

I’m excited to participate this year by reviewing GAZILL HILL by Claudette Shatto (Author), Nejla Shojaie (Illustrator).

MY REVIEW…

“She tried again. Her head swelling with pride. Riley pedaled with more confidence.”

GAZILL HILL is the perfect reminder that perseverance pays off. Follow young Riley as she ventures into a training wheel-free ride down Gazill Hill. At first Riley is hesitant to try something new and venture out from the comfort of her training wheels but as she sees and hears all the fun the neighborhood kids are having as they coast down Gazill Hill, she wants to join, too. After being told she can only join if she rides without training wheels, Riley is determined to learn. With the help of her mother’s encouragement and countless attempts, she accomplishes her goal and reaps the rewards of her hard work learning a new skill. A great book to encourage young readers to try new things and never give up! Perfect for school and home libraries. I also appreciated how the book features a multiracial main character and family, which resonated with my biracial child and family.  

More about the book: 

Join us on an adventure down Gazill Hill, (as in gazillion) a heartwarming tale of bravery and perseverance.

Young Riley learns to face her fears and ride a bike without training wheels. Supported by her parents and inspired by her neighborhood friends, Riley embraces the challenge of Gazill Hill, learning valuable lessons about taking positive risks.

I encourage you to check out this lovely book and the READ YOUR WORLD online auction! 

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