Lump Lump and the Blanket of Dreams: Inspired by Navajo Culture and Folklore

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{Guest Post by Shannon Yannitello}

I am so excited to be able to review this diverse picture book for kids to review in honor of Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2021! Here are my thoughts:

📖 Lump Lump and the Blanket of Dreams: Inspired by Navajo Culture and Folklore
✒️ Gwen Jackson
🎨 Lissa Calvert
📚 Friesen Press 2016

Winter is nearly here but Lump Lump isn’t ready to say goodbye to the forest. With the help of Mother Bear, Blue Bird, Robin, Hawk, and Fox they collect the light, rain, and rainbow needed by the Spider Woman to weave the blanket of dreams.

Inspired by Navajo folklore, this sweet story of a not-so-sleepy bear treats readers to a glimpse of the importance of song, storytelling, and weaving. Illustrations span the landscape of the American Southwest and feature the work of famed weaver and contributor Barbara Teller Ornelas. This title is best suited for readers ages 8-11.

As part of Multicultural Children’s Book Day, I had the opportunity to interview the author via email. Gwen Jackson shared with me that although her story is not an #OWNVOICES title, she took the time to correspond with and make suggested revisions of Barbara Teller Ornelas, Lynda Teller Pete, and Dr. Paul Apodaca. Together they collaborated to ensure that the book and all related educational resources are an accurate depiction of their Navajo culture even though the story itself is an original tale. Barbara Teller Ornelas was gracious enough to allow the illustrator to copy one of her weavings for the completed blanket of dreams that we see in the book. I was pleased to hear that the author was sensitive to the need for accuracy and included own voices contributors, making mention of them in her acknowledgments in the book as well.

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**This book was kindly sent by the author as part of Multicultural Children’s Book Day, however, all opinions are my own.**

Shannon Yannitello is a book-loving, outdoorsy homeschool mama of two; she can often be found in the woods lugging a tote bursting with library books. As a military spouse and teacher, she has moved often in the last decade and her passion for children’s literature has been shared in classrooms and at play dates all across the USA. You can find her as @thelarkspurandthewaterlily on Instagram.

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2021 (1/29/21) is in its 8^th year! This non-profit children’s literacy initiative was founded by Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen; two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural books and authors on the market while also working to get those book into the hands of young readers and educators.
Eight years in, MCBD’s mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves continues. Read about our Mission & History HERE.