Ashia

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Let’s Explore World Faith & Religion

Respecting and supporting the religious and cultural practices of others doesn’t threaten our faith, it’s just makes it stronger.

As an athiest-agnostic family, our kids have a healthy appreciation and respect for folks of faith. With these stories, we see how the foundation of our values are rooted in the same humane principles of justice, love, and interdependence.

Read:

• Winter Candle (ages 7-11)
• My Grandma and Me (ages 4-8)
• Yaffa and Fatima (ages 3.4-9)
• *Dear Mama God (ages 3-7)
• *Finding Om (ages 4-8)
• *A Lion’s Mane (ages 4-8)

Additional resources to dig deeper into this topic:

• How We Are All Connected – Interfaith Kids Books for the Winter Solstice
• Progressive Kids Books About Faith, Religion,& Spirituality – many religions are under-represented in this list, mostly because the big 4 publishers aren’t interested in publishing any stories beyond popular monotheistic religions with wealthy members.
• Interfaith friendship stories
• Books For Littles Favorite Winter Stories
• How Kids Look For The Good In Folks with ‘Oskar And The Eight Blessings’
• Cozy Kid’s Books To Warm Up Your Winter
• For adults: Parenting Forward Podcast: Cindy Wang Brandt helps parents heal from religious trauma, break toxic cycles, and raise children with healthy spirituality and conscious citizenship.
• *Saffron Press, Sikh-owned indie publisher fights discrimination with gorgeous books
• *Circumventing white fragility with South Asian indie press, Mango & Marigold
• Kids Stories About Muslim Experiences – Beyond the Month of Ramadan
• Raising Luminaries Devotionals for Radically Inclusive Agnostic Atheist Parents
• From Cerebellum: Was it a Cult? Childhood Poetry & Tea Time

*Disclosure and transparency! Daneen A. (author of Dear Mama God), Sailaja J. founder of Mango & Marigold Press (Finding Om), Navjot K., founder of Saffron Press (A Lion’s Mane), and Cindy Wang Brandt of Parenting Forward are friends of mine, and some have sent me free review copies of their books.

Raising Luminaries & Books for Littles are free and accessible for readers who can’t afford a paywall. Posts may contain affiliate links, which allow me to earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Check out the full affiliate disclosure along with my statement of accountability.

Let’s learn about vaccinations and herd immunity

We got the Earthquakes vaccinated for both the flu and Covid, and oh my gosh, such sweet relief. If your kids are able and it’s accessible for your family, be a hero and get a shot. Herd immunity helps keep our most vulnerable community members safe.

For those of you who can’t be vaccinated due to having younger kids or health limitations, holding space for you, and I recognize this pandemic isn’t over, and it’s still up to us to wear masks and avoid crowds and foolish behavior. You deserve to be safe and it’s our responsibility as potential vectors to ensure that.

For those of you with kids who aren’t familiar with vaccines, who have vaccine-hesitant family who don’t understand the science – or how herd immunity works, – or don’t understand how it’s not only about you, or you can’t catch my autism through medicine (!!!), here are a few books to help.

They’re also helpful for kids who are less-than-wild about getting poked by sharp things, who are kind and brave, but still have some anxiety.

Stay save, spread hope, not germs!

Read:

• Baby Medical School: Vaccines (ages 3+) for a simple explanation of how vaccines work
• For kids who are nervous about shots, try The Little Ouch (ages 3-10)
• Judah Maccabee Goes to the Doctor (ages 4-7)
• Thank You, Dr. Salk (ages 4-8)

Discuss

• What is the difference between actual illness and symptoms and side-effects of a vaccine response?
• Why do we get vaccines even though we’re not currently sick?
• Some parents refuse to vaccinate their children because they are afraid. What are they afraid of?
• What is the anti-vaxx movement? What assumptions does this movement make about our responsibility to keep others safe?

Take action

• Book a covid vaccination for your child or yourself
• Help someone who faces barriers getting vaccinated, for example:
  • Overwhelmed parents who might not have time to spare booking a vaccination (this is a surprisingly big hurdle).
  • Families who need transportation but are uncomfortable with public transportation and ride-shares due to exposure risk.
  • Families who have transportation, but can’t take time off (work, school, getting dinner on the table, caring for younger children or elders, etc.) for vaccinations.
  • Vaccine-hesitant families who need someone to take them seriously in a conversation. Be the person who can just listen to their concerns without trying to convince them or bend to your will. Affirming that their fears are a sign they want to do best for their kids, and asking what information they need and for how they want to move forward – is a great way to support families and open minds.

Resources to dig deeper:

• The Neurodivergent Narwhals explain Coronavirus
• Stories to help your kids understand vaccines & herd immunity
• Motivating Kids To Protect Others With ‘Do Not Lick This Book’
• Inclusive Kids Books about Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Mathematics
• Kids Books For Pandemic Life
• Books to brighten days home sick
• Books To Reassure Kids During Coronavirus Isolation
• Whenever the Earthquakes get a little uppity and superior about ‘knowing better’ than anti-vaxxers, I like to knock a bit of humility into them with: What is the Dunning-Kruger effect? (9+)
• Vaccines do not cause autism (8+)
• Unpacking the vaccines and autism medical myth (8+)
• Plain Language Guides: What you need to know about COVID 19 vaccines for children video & Easy Read Guide, via ASAN

[Video description: R2 explains for other kids what to expect from the first covid vaccination Captions available.]

Raising Luminaries & Books for Littles are free and accessible for readers who can’t afford a paywall. Posts may contain affiliate links, which allow me to earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Check out the full affiliate disclosure along with my statement of accountability.

Let’s explore radical generosity

When we demonstrate radical generosity with our kids, we give without an expectation of getting anything back in return. Reciprocation is a healthy part of interdependence, but without rampant radical generosity, we just live in a transactional world of cold capitalism and a widening wealth gap.

Radical generosity is not setting ourselves on fire to keep others warm. It’s not violating our own boundaries, becoming a martyr, or silently suffering.

Radical generosity requires strong, resilient, transparent boundaries. As the Tomte in The Tomten and the Fox says to the starving fox he’s chosen to care for: ‘No eating hens!’ We’re allowed to choose who we support, what that support looks like, and under what circumstances we’re willing to do so. Being generous doesn’t mean being a doormat.

Radical generosity does not mean throwing gifts at everyone we know, just for the sake of giving. It’s not showing up to every invitation. Radical generosity means listening to what people really need, understanding how supporting them benefits our wider community – and then asking ourselves if we’re willing, and able to help them get there.

Sometimes that sounds like a thoughtful, conditional ‘Yes. I will do that for you, with the conditions...’ Sometimes that looks like a compassionate, honest, “Thank you for the opportunity to help, but no, I can’t.” without apology, and without feeling the need to justify our ‘no,’

Read:

• Extra Yarn (ages 4-7)
• The Tomten and the Fox (ages 3-6)
• No Water No Bread (ages 4-8)

Discuss:

• When have we felt happy to give?
• What do we find is easy to give? Acts of service? Gifts or donations? Our time, attention, or care?
• When have we felt obligated to give? How did it make us feel?
• When do we feel uncomfortable saying ‘no’? How can we role-play and practice our ‘no‘?
• How do we show appreciation for what we received?
• Have we ever felt the urge to ‘get even‘ with a return gift after receiving a kindness? Did it feel like healthy appreciation, or a competition to show off?

Activities for Families & Classrooms:

Each of the following activities shows kids:

• We give what we have extra of
• It’s okay to accept what we need
• We distribute support and supplies based on need, not ability
• The point is to keep resources circulating so everyone has enough and the community thrives together

Learn about Potlach traditions from Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest.

• What was involved and how did they support the community?
• Why did colonizers ban them?
• How have Indigenous people kept these traditions alive today?

Set up family or classroom Time Bank

• Help kids brainstorm skills they can offer to the group – helping to zip coats, carrying snack bins, or reading to each other
• Have kids draw or write their offerings on index cards, and place the cards on a bulletin board
• Anyone can ‘withdraw’ support from the board when they need it – including adults (normalize asking for help!)
• Track ‘help offered’ with star stickers for 5-15 minute increments, with every type of labor celebrated as equally valuable

Create a mini Buy Nothing Community

• Help kids write or draw pictures of items they no longer need for a sharing bulletin board
• Show kids that it’s fun to share what we have excess of, and it’s okay to accept help without ‘owing’ anyone
• Read more about Buy Nothing community principles

More resources to dig deeper:

• How we strengthen our communities with Kids Books about Radical Interdependence
• More Stories Cultivating Gratitude & Appreciation
• More Stories to discuss Courageous Generosity
• Kids books on building and respecting boundaries
• Post-Consumerism for Kids Stories
• For Luminary Braintrust members: Unpacking Greed in Spirited Away
• How I taught my kids to share what we have at the holidays, by Shannon Brescher Shea
• If you struggle with transactionalism and accepting help, join the Summer Luminator to learn more about reciprocity and keeping resources flowing so you can keep caring for others.

Let’s learn about the Gregorian New Year

Since we celebrate the Lunar New Year, we don’t make a big deal out of the Gregorian one.

But if you’re looking for some books to ring in the new year, or enjoy learning a few traditions beyond staying up too late and smooching strangers (this pandemic ruins everything!!!), here are a few sweet stories.

When is it?

• Gregorian New Year happens on January 1, although it seems like New Year’s Eve on 12/31 is the actual Big Deal date.

Read:

• A Song of Frutas (ages 4-8)
• Shanté Keys and the New Year’s Peas (ages 3-8)
• Greet the Dawn (ages 6+)

Additional resources to dig deeper into this topic:

• Kids stories for the Gregorian New Year
• Books for Littles Best Books of 2022

Let’s learn about Kwanzaa

There are plenty of dry, didactic books explaining Kwanzaa for new folks – but where are the stories for second- and third-generation families who are well past the need for a primer?

Here are our three favorites – but there’s still plenty of room for authors to create new stories and adventures based on the seven principles of Kwanzaa.

When is it?

• December 26 through January 1

Read:

• Li’l Rabbit’s Kwanzaa (ages 4-7)
• Seven Spools of Thread (ages 4+)
• A Kwanzaa Celebration Pop-Up Book (ages 4-8)

Discuss as a family:

• Umoja (unity): In a society that divides people to make them easier to control and oppress, what are the benefits coming together and affirming a larger sense of ‘us‘?
• Kujichagulia (self-determination): Given our country’s history of enslavement, segregation, and mass incarceration, why is the ability to self-identify and choose their path so important to Black people living in the US?
• Ujima (collective work and responsibility): Why is it important for us to recognize our responsibilities in working together for shared safety and freedom?
• Ujamaa (cooperative economics): Why is it important for us to consider where, and with whom, we spend our money and distribute our wealth?
• Nia (purpose): How can we adjust our individual goals to support our wider community?
• Kuumba (creativity): Why should we strive to leave the world better than we found it? Why is it important to take time to create and appreciate beauty and joy even while we struggle?
• Imani (faith): Why is it important for us to work toward a goal that seems out of reach – that we may never see or achieve in our own lifetime?
• How are the rituals and principles of Kwanzaa similar to the ones in our other ancestral and cultural holidays?

Action:

• Grownups, register for free virtual bystander intervention training via Right to Be:
  Bystander Intervention to Stop Police Sponsored Violence and Anti-Black Racist Harassment

Additional resources to dig deeper into this topic:

• Where are all the Kwanzaa books for kids?
• A sparse list of Kwanzaa Favorites where we’ll add new good finds as they’re published
• Kids Books About Collective Action
• Gathering with family causing holiday stress? Listen to the Come Back to Care podcast on How my Parents & I are breaking our family cycles together
• Black Futures Family Action Toolkit

Raising Luminaries & Books for Littles are free and accessible for readers who can’t afford a paywall. Posts may contain affiliate links, which allow me to earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Check out the full affiliate disclosure along with my statement of accountability.

Let’s reveal & reject all the shitty parts of Christmas-season consumerism & sexism

Every year, I’m like:

“YEAH! This is the year we’re gonna DO CHRISTMAS TO THE MAX! I’m gonna create so much friggin’ warm and joyous memories, the Earthquakes will be hardcore resilient for the rest of their lives!”

“THIS IS THE YEAR we will start sustainable family traditions. THIS IS THE YEAR I’m gonna start sending Christmas cards and deepen friendships! THIS IS THE YEAR we’re gonna PUMP UP THE GENEROSITY and schmaltz it up to 11!”

And then I pull together some shitty DIY cookies or whatever, run out of steam, and do a big online order of plastic garbage because I’m too tired to Christmas any farther.

But what I’ve figured out after trying to do a decade of CHRISTMAS TO THE MAX!!!!**, is that the less I scramble to keep up with ‘mom’ responsibilities for the holiday, the more fun we all have.

So over in Bumblebee Hollow, this upcoming Christmas will focus on our basic staples: thoughtful giving, receiving with appreciation, and keeping our heads above the snow.

When is it?

• 25th of December

Read:

• Tree of Cranes (ages 4+)
• The Tomtes’ Christmas Porridge (ages 4+)
• The King of Too Many Things (ages 4-8)
• Little Sid (ages 4-8)
• The Better Tree Fort (ages 4-8)
• The Table Where Rich People Sit (ages 6+)

Discuss: Invisible Labor & The Tomtes’ Christmas Porridge

The English translation of The Tomtes’ Christmas Porridge is a bit jarring, referencing the man of the house as ‘master’ – which has some nasty connotations in American English (re: slavery). Discuss with your kids!

Beyond that – this story creates an opportunity to talk about emotional and invisible labor. Specifically – how the mother tomte has to run herself ragged to protect her husband’s fragile ego.

The story also reinforces a gender binary and implies ridiculous magic powers that come as a part of pooping out a baby, suggesting  female tomtes have foresight magic that men lack. But with the right spin, we were able to discuss how this ‘like all mother tomtes’ situation reflects a cultural tendency to dump all of the invisible labor of orchestrating holidays on women – on mothers in particular – and how this ‘ability’ could be a skill developed by demand and survival in a sexist world, rather than biology.

• What does the porridge symbolize? (Recognition, appreciation, respect, reciprocity)
• Why is it important to Papa that we recognize his hard work?
• Who else in the Tomte family works hard?
• Who does NOT get recognition for their hard work?
• Why is it that only mother tomtes have the job of knowing what is important and urgent?
• Do women have a natural biological ability to pay more attention? Or are they nurtured and raised to pay attention?
• How does it feel when your hard work goes unrecognized and unappreciated?
• Why did Papa throw a fit & hold a grudge when he didn’t feel appreciated?
• Who did Papa take out his hurt on?
• How did Papa’s reaction force Mama to work harder to protect his feelings next time?
• Whose responsibility is it to manage our behavior when we are upset?
• Why do we assume men are too weak and fragile to work without recognition?
• What ‘invisible’ work is each member of our family expected to do? What are the consequences to them if they don’t keep up?

Resources to create a better Christmas:

• Christmas Stories for Secular Families
• Stories on Post-Consumerism for Kids
• Overcoming False Scarcity & Xenophobia with ‘Shelter’
• Appreciating hand-me-downs with ‘A Fire Truck Named Red’
• Santa Narratives & Origin Stories
• Comic for kids 9+ and adults: the Mental Load
• Raising Luminaries Podcast: How the Earthquakes Cancelled Christmas
• How to limit advertising influence on your kids
• Gathering with family causing holiday stress? Listen to the Come Back to Care podcast on How my Parents & I are breaking our family cycles together
• Teaching Kids To Share For The Holidays

**No judgement if you still love to do CHRISTMAS TO THE MAX!!!!! It’s not my thing, but if it brings you joy, BRING ALL THE CHRISTMAS.

Unless your family has reached a state of enlightenment or you’ve managed to extricate yourself from a community saturated in capitalism and reciprocity, you’re probably going to have to participate in the whole gift-giving ordeal just to lubricate your social life for the next 12 months. So here we go, our old comprehensive list of gifts:  The Books For Littles Gift guide.

Raising Luminaries & Books for Littles are free and accessible for readers who can’t afford a paywall. Posts may contain affiliate links, which allow me to earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Check out the full affiliate disclosure along with my statement of accountability.

Let’s Learn About Hanukkah

Hanukkah is not as big of a deal as Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur, but it feels weird to leave this holiday out (especially since we’re celebrating frivolous stuff like Danny DeVito Day). Also there are so many children’s books about Hanukkah. But more importantly – seeing how, why, and the meaning behind these observances help us understand the shared values and practices we have in common with our Jewish friends and family.

The only spectacular Hanukkah books I can find feature white Jewish characters, including Queen of the Hanukkah Dosas (a multiracial South Asian non-Jewish parent paired with a white Jewish parent). Add your favorite book suggestions below if you know good suggestions to de-whitewash Hanukkah.

When is it?

• The 25th day of Kislev in the Hebrew calendar, continuing for eight days and nights. Usually falls on November or December.

Read:

• Oskar and the Eight Blessings (ages 4.5+)
• Simon and the Bear (ages 5-9)
• Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins (ages 4+)
• Queen of the Hanukkah Dosas (ages 3.5-7)

Take Action:

• Grownups: Register for free virtual bystander training: Bystander Intervention to Stop Antisemitic Harassment. November 2nd, 14th & 29th, 2023
• Jewish-American youth: Join a campaign or local chapter of IfNotNow, a movement of American Jews organizing our community for equality, justice, and a thriving future for all.

Additional resources to dig deeper into this topic:

• Helping Kids See The Good In Folks with ‘Oskar And The Eight Blessings’
• How Kids Find Hope In Hard Times With ‘Simon And the Bear’
• Hanukkah Stories for Gentiles & Interfaith Families
• Gathering with family causing holiday stress? Listen to the Come Back to Care podcast on How my Parents & I are breaking our family cycles together

Raising Luminaries & Books for Littles are free and accessible for readers who can’t afford a paywall. Posts may contain affiliate links, which allow me to earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Check out the full affiliate disclosure along with my statement of accountability.

Let’s Learn How the Winter Solstice Connects Us

Learning about traditional stories, faith traditions, and world festivals surrounding light and the scarcity of it during the solstice, kids get a sense of our shared humanity across cultural divides.

The solstice is a poignant time to explore world faiths and religions, particularly because most faith practices have at least one celebration of light, particularly in the winter when the sun and the moon are the only changing thing in a frosty landscape.

Understanding our shared values, our common needs, aspirations, and ancestors inspires kids to be more generous, more compassionate, and more curious about how to connect with people we might otherwise feel have nothing in common with us.

When is it?

• Around December 21 or 22 in the Northern hemisphere
• Around June 20 or 21 in the Southern hemisphere

Read:

• Lucia and the light (ages 3-8), content warning for close death of a family due to starvation/cold
• Raven Brings the Light (ages 4+)
• Sun Bread (ages 3-5)

Discuss

• Choose one set of the family guided discussion questions in our post about How We Are All Connected – Interfaith Kids Books for the Winter Solstice, especially the one about appreciating our resources more when they’re scarce 😉
• Are there any winter holiday traditions we’re participating in that no longer align with our values?
  (Example: gross holiday consumerism supporting evil corporations, trampling retail workers.)

Take Action

• Identify one change we can make to our family winter holiday observances that reaffirms a family value.
• Identify one winter holiday we don’t celebrate, that we can learn more about.

More Resources to Dig Deeper

• How We Are All Connected – Interfaith Kids Books for the Winter Solstice
• Acknowledging the winter solstice as an act of decolonization
• 5 Indigenous Winter solstice celebrations that honor the shortest day of the year