Little girls love weddings. Dressing up in white, carrying a bouquet of silk flowers… My daughter has had several pretend weddings, complete with Daddy as the groom.
Three years ago she had the honor of being a flower girl in my niece’s wedding, a dream come true for any little girl who loves fancy dresses. She still has the puffy, lavender tulle dress hanging in her closet, a beloved memento of the day.
Her love of weddings is one reason I knew she would love the Flower Girl World series by Lynelle Woolley. We were delighted to have the chance to read and review Starr and the High Seas Wedding Drama this month. (While I received a copy of the book to review, all opinions are my own.)
Flower Girl World: Starr and the High Seas Wedding Drama
When Starr’s grandmother, Abuela, first announces she is getting married, Starr is excited to get to go on a cruise to meet Abuela’s fiance. Then Starr meets Ivy, the fiance’s granddaughter. The two girls are as different as night and day, but they have one thing in common: they are both afraid to lose their grandparent. Abuela and Starr live in Texas, while Ivy’s grandfather lives with her in California. What will happen when they get married?
The girls team up in the attempt to break off the engagement. It surprises everyone when Grandpa Walt wins the mole (moh-lay) sauce cooking competition. Maybe this couple really is made for each other?
But when Grandpa Walt and Abuela argue over a soccer match a little while later, it seems like a wedding may not happen after all. Can the girls work together to mend this broken relationship?
My daughter really enjoyed this book. The characters and story were entertaining and fun. I liked the short chapters and beautifully drawn illustrations, which make it perfect for those just starting to read chapter books.
Book Activity: In the beginning of the story Abuela gives her granddaughter, Starr, a colorful tissue paper flower when she asks her to be in the wedding. After reading the book we decided to recreate that scene by making these simple tissue paper flowers, perfect for pretending to be a flower girl.
We also looked up a recipe to make mole sauce, just like Abuela and Grandpa Walt made.
***
I received this book from Markelle Media as a part of the 2017 Multicultural Children’s Book Day. This is the second year I have participated in the event. (Check out our review for last year’s book.)
As a former classroom teacher, and now as a homeschooler, I love sharing books with characters from a variety of cultures with my children. Multicultural books allow us a glimpse into different cultures while also showing us that we are all human, with the similar problems and feelings.
About Multicultural Children’s Book Day
Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2017 (1/27/17) is in its fourth year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators.
Despite census data that shows 37% of the US population consists of people of color, only 10% of children’s books published have diversity content. Using the Multicultural Children’s Book Day holiday, the MCBD Team is on a mission to change all of that.
Current Sponsors: MCBD 2017 is honored to have some amazing Sponsors on board. Platinum Sponsors include Scholastic, Barefoot Books and Broccoli. Other Medallion Level Sponsors include heavy-hitters like Author Carole P. Roman, Audrey Press, Candlewick Press, Fathers Incorporated, KidLitTV, Capstone Young Readers, ChildsPlayUsa, Author Gayle Swift, Wisdom Tales Press, Lee& Low Books, The Pack-n-Go Girls, Live Oak Media, Author Charlotte Riggle, Chronicle Books and Pomelo Books.
Author Sponsors include: Karen Leggett Abouraya, Veronica Appleton, Susan Bernardo, Kathleen Burkinshaw, Delores Connors, Maria Dismondy, D.G. Driver, Geoff Griffin, Savannah Hendricks, Stephen Hodges, Carmen Bernier-Grand,Vahid Imani, Gwen Jackson, Hena Kahn, David Kelly, Mariana Llanos, Natasha Moulton-Levy, Teddy O’Malley, Stacy McAnulty, Cerece Murphy, Miranda Paul, Annette Pimentel, Greg Ransom, Sandra Richards, Elsa Takaoka, Graciela Tiscareño-Sato, Sarah Stevenson, Monica Mathis-Stowe, SmartChoiceNation, Andrea Y. Wang
We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive Co-Host Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our Co-Hosts HERE.
MCBD links you may want to check out:
- MCBD Site
- Free Multicultural Books for Teachers
- Free Kindness Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians and Educators
- Free Diversity Book Lists and Activities for Teachers and Parents
Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for the official hashtag, #ReadYourWorld.
**I was given a free copy of the book to review. The opinions expressed are purely my own. **
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Valarie says
January 27, 2017 at 2:31 pmThanks so much for sharing your book review and celebrating with us !! #readyourworld
Katie Logonauts says
January 27, 2017 at 8:38 pmFun extension activity that readers would love! Thanks for sharing about this book with #ReadYourWorld.