| Dear Parents, The end of the school year is around the corner, and we can imagine how much your children are looking forward to a break! While they’re out for the summer, you can keep their reading skills active with TumbleBooks. The TumbleBook Library gives kids an interactive experience with books, games, puzzles, and more to keep them entertained and engaged. Check out the May 2021 newsletter below to see some of the cool titles available from this great resource. To access TumbleBooks, go click the logo above. If you need any help, be sure to let us know. Happy tumbling! |
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month!
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebrates the culture, traditions, and history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States.
TumbleBooks pays tribute in May by highlighting some amazing books: Golden Threads, The Paper Crane, Mooncakes, and Red Is a Dragon!
In “Golden Threads”, a storm sweeps Emi’s beloved stuffed fox away from their mountain home, and he ends up tattered and alone on a distant shore. A kind old man finds the fox and gives it to his granddaughter, Kiko. As she recovers from an injury of her own, Kiko mends the fox lovingly with golden thread. This sweet book honours Japanese culture in its language, landscape, and its use of Kintsugi: the art of repairing broken pottery with gold.
May 1: May Day!
May Day dates back to ancient Roman times, when people would celebrate Flora, the goddess of flowers! Nowadays, it has many meanings to many different cultures and religions. Nevertheless, it keeps its hopeful springtime outlook! We hope you enjoy “Rose’s Garden” this May Day!
May 1: Free Comic Book Day!
Every year, on the first Saturday in May, Comic Book Stores, authors, artists, publishers, and other retailers celebrate “FREE COMIC BOOK DAY” by offering up some amazing content to their loyal readers and comic book newbies!
Join us in celebrating the day with The Geeky F@b 5: It’s Not Rocket Science! *Please note that this title is available on Premium subscriptions only.
May 4: Star Wars Day!
May the Fourth be with you! Today is a fun holiday dedicated to the classic Star Wars series! Whether you’re a Sci-Fi geek or a Science buff, we think you’ll enjoy exploring our universe with “Older Than The Stars”!
May 5: On this date… 50th anniversary of the 1st American in space.
Flying a Mercury Spacecraft, Alan Shepard became the first American man in space on May 5th, 1961!
Celebrate his spirit of adventure, and American ingenuity with the NEW TumbleBook, “Earthrise”!
May 9: Born on this day… J.M. Barrie!
Happy Birthday Mr. Barrie!
Born in 1860, J.M. Barrie would be a whopping 161 years old if he were alive today!
He is best known for writing the play and book, “Peter Pan”, which is beloved by children around the world (particularly those who never grow up!)*Please note that this title is available on Premium subscriptions only.
May 9: National Lost Sock Memorial Day!
Have you ever wondered where all your lost socks go?
Are they eaten by a sock ogre? Or does a sock-elf steal them in the night? (Other possibilities are just too boring to think about!) Whatever happens to our lost socks, it’s unlikely that they’ll ever be found!
May 9: Happy Mother’s Day!
In North America, Mother’s Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May… this year it’s May 9th.
TumbleBooks honours Mothers and maternal guardians everywhere by presenting “Mama Do You Love Me?”!
May 11: Happy Birthday, Martha Graham! (1893-1991)
Martha Graham was born on May 11, 1893, and was a hugely influential American dancer during her long and illustrious career!
We like to think that she’d get a kick out of “Frank was a Monster Who Wanted To Dance” about a friendly little monster who LOVES dancing so much, he just FALLS APART!
May 14: Happy Birthday, Gabriel Fahrenheit!
Born on May 14, 1686, Gabriel Fahrenheit would be 335 years old today! Fahrenheit is most famous for developing his Fahrenheit Scale which measures temperature based on three fixed points: 0 was the temperature of salt water ice bath, 32 was the point at which water freezes, and 96 was the temperature of a human body.
Explore what it means to be hot and cold, and how the body reacts to those changes, in “Too Hot! Too Cold!”
May 15: International Day of Families
May 15th is the international Day of Families! Families come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes they live close together, but sometimes they may live far apart. Sometimes two people make a family… and sometimes there are DOZENS.
As different as families are, the most important thing they all share is LOVE… as the TumbleBook “I Love Saturdays y Domingos” will show.
May 17: On this date… The US Supreme Court officially desegregated American schools
On May 17, 1954, the US Supreme Court ruled in the case of Brown Vs. The Board of Education and officially desegregated schools in the United States. This meant that black people could go to school with white people, and opened up more educational opportunities for children around the country.
In “Ruby’s Wish”, Ruby can definitely empathize with this struggle. All she wants is to learn and be given the same opportunities as her brothers! But because she is a girl, she is expected to grow up and marry, not go to university. Ruby shows how important it is to persevere in the fight for equal rights.
May 17: Day against Homophobia
May 17th is a day to to stand up to homophobia, a form of bullying and discrimination.
TumbleBooks has many books which teach children that bullying is bad, including one of our favorites: “Angus All Aglow”.
It’s about a little boy named Angus who just LOVES sparkly things! But when he wears his grandma’s sparkly beaded necklace to school one day, his classmates are shocked and deride his self-expression and noncomformity.
Luckily Angus’ friend Melody stands by him, and helps him rediscover his love for bright things The story tells a timeless lesson: that love and friendship are stronger than bullying and alienation.
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May 23: World Turtle Day
May 23rd is a day to bring attention to the important role that Turtles and Tortoises play in the world’s ecosystems!
We hope “Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out!” will do just that!
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May 24: Memorial Day
The United States celebrates Memorial Day on the last Monday in May. The day honors those who’ve given their lives in military service to the country.
Why not take a trip around the country’s capitol this Memorial Day, by reading “Postcards from Washington, D.C.”?
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May 25: Geek Pride Day!
Don’t Panic! Do you know where your towel is? No matter… the cake is a lie, anyway. Speak “friend” and enter!
May 25th is Geek Pride Day, and if you’re not quite sure what anything meant in the first part of this section, that’s ok! Join the GEEK side – we have cookies! AND BOOKS! “Bill The Boy Wonder” is a fantastic TumbleBook that tells the story of the original creator of BATMAN!
Like a leaf on the wind, you’ll think I am your father, but I have a bad feeling about this… because you might Expecto Patronum and ask “beam me up, Scotty!”
(But wait! There’s More! May 25th is also Towel Day, in honor of hoopy frood extraordinaire, Douglas Adams, and his classic book “Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy”!)
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May 27: On this date… The Grand Opening of The Golden Gate Bridge!
The grand opening of the Golden Gate Bridge, in San Francisco, California, was held on May 27, 1937. It had taken four years, and over $25 million to complete! Construction began in January of 1933!
The classic TumbleBook, “Pop’s Bridge”, tells the story of just a few of the MANY workers who helped build the bridge, particularly those who lost their lives when a scaffolding fell shortly before the grand opening. It is an endearing story that shows the importance of teamwork and respect.
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May 29: World Digestive Health Day
What goes in… must come out! You are what you eat! Let’s chew the fat… That’s my cup of tea!
If the sheer number of English idioms about eating and digesting are any proof, digestive health is vitally important to our lives! After all, you wouldn’t want to bite off more than you can chew!
Learn more about digestive help with the TumbleBook “Quest to Digest”!
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