The true meaning of Christmas had eluded Nick Saint until he received a letter meant for Saint Nick. In the Nick of Time by Deirdre “Deedee” Cummings is a book that teaches children the power of the old adage, “It’s better to give than to receive.”
Nick had the choice to take action or to ignore the letter meant for Santa Claus, but with some prompting from his mom, he took action. However, filling St. Nick’s shoes was not easy. As Nick pressed on to fulfill the requests in the letter to Santa, he gained a greater perspective of what life is like for others and a greater appreciation for his own life.
Cummings partnered with illustrator Charlene Mosley, the same illustrator who brought to life her book This is the Earth. The inviting illustrations brings the holiday spirit alive throughout the book.
Most importantly, this book shines a positive light on the black family. The text stated that Nick’s parents had their own company. They were instilling good values him; their love and support was clear. There are not many holiday books with black male protagonists. Hopefully, this book will be one of many.
Also, In the Nick of Time was recently featured in the Louisville Courier Journal.
This book would be a great addition to a home, classroom, or library!
Rating: 5/5
| Suggested Grades | 1-3 |
| Scholastic Book Wizard | Not Available |
| Guided Reading Level | Not Available |
| Accelerated Reader Level | Not Available |
*I received a copy of In the Nick of Time free in exchange for offering an honest review for the Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020.*
Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020 (1/31/20) is in its 7th 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.
Seven 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.
MCBD 2020 is honored to have the following Medallion Sponsors on board
Super Platinum
Make A Way Media/ Deirdre “DeeDee” Cummings,
Platinum
Language Lizard, Pack-N-Go Girls,
Gold
Audrey Press, Lerner Publishing Group, KidLit TV, ABDO BOOKS : A Family of Educational Publishers, PragmaticMom & Sumo Jo, Candlewick Press,
Silver
Author Charlotte Riggle, Capstone Publishing, Guba Publishing, Melissa Munro Boyd & B is for Breathe,
Bronze
Author Carole P. Roman, Snowflake Stories/Jill Barletti, Vivian Kirkfield & Making Their Voices Heard. Barnes Brothers Books, TimTimTom, Wisdom Tales Press, Lee & Low Books, Charlesbridge Publishing, Barefoot Books Talegari Tales
Author Sponsor Link Cloud
Jerry Craft, A.R. Bey and Adventures in Boogieland, Eugina Chu & Brandon goes to Beijing, Kenneth Braswell & Fathers Incorporated, Maritza M. Mejia & Luz del mes_Mejia, Kathleen Burkinshaw & The Last Cherry Blossom, SISSY GOES TINY by Rebecca Flansburg and B.A. Norrgard, Josh Funk and HOW TO CODE A ROLLERCOASTER, Maya/Neel Adventures with Culture Groove, Lauren Ranalli, The Little Green Monster: Cancer Magic! By Dr. Sharon Chappell, Phe Lang and Me On The Page, Afsaneh Moradian and Jamie is Jamie, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, TUMBLE CREEK PRESS, Nancy Tupper Ling, Author Gwen Jackson, Angeliki Pedersen & The Secrets Hidden Beneath the Palm Tree, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, BEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN’S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 by Mia Wenjen, Susan Schaefer Bernardo & Illustrator Courtenay Fletcher (Founders of Inner Flower Child Books), Ann Morris & Do It Again!/¡Otra Vez!, Janet Balletta and Mermaids on a Mission to Save the Ocean, Evelyn Sanchez-Toledo & Bruna Bailando por el Mundo Dancing Around the World, Shoumi Sen & From The Toddler Diaries, Sarah Jamila Stevenson, Tonya Duncan and the Sophie Washington Book Series, Teresa Robeson & The Queen of Physics, Nadishka Aloysius and Roo The Little Red TukTuk, Girlfriends Book Club Baltimore & Stories by the Girlfriends Book Club, Finding My Way Books, Diana Huang & Intrepids, Five Enchanted Mermaids, Elizabeth Godley and Ribbon’s Traveling Castle, Anna Olswanger and Greenhorn, Danielle Wallace & My Big Brother Troy, Jocelyn Francisco and Little Yellow Jeepney, Mariana Llanos & Kutu, the Tiny Inca Princess/La Ñusta Diminuta, Sara Arnold & The Big Buna Bash, Roddie Simmons & Race 2 Rio, DuEwa Frazier & Alice’s Musical Debut, Veronica Appleton & the Journey to Appleville book series Green Kids Club, Inc.
We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost 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 CoHosts HERE.
Co-Hosts and Global Co-Hosts
A Crafty Arab, Afsaneh Moradian, Agatha Rodi Books, All Done Monkey, Barefoot Mommy, Bethany Edward & Biracial Bookworms, Michelle Goetzl & Books My Kids Read, Crafty Moms Share, Colours of Us, Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes, Educators Spin on it, Shauna Hibbitts-creator of eNannylink, Growing Book by Book, Here Wee Read, Joel Leonidas & Descendant of Poseidon Reads {Philippines}, Imagination Soup, Kid World Citizen, Kristi’s Book Nook, The Logonauts, Mama Smiles, Miss Panda Chinese, Multicultural Kid Blogs, Serge Smagarinsky {Australia}, Shoumi Sen, Jennifer Brunk & Spanish Playground, Katie Meadows and Youth Lit Reviews
FREE RESOURCES from Multicultural Children’s Book Day
- Free Multicultural Books for Teachers
- Our New FREE Teacher Classroom Physical and Developmental Challenges Kit http://ow.ly/kcbZ30p3QWz
- Free Empathy Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians, and Educators
- Free Understanding Developmental & Physical Challenges Classroom Kit
TWITTER PARTY! Register here!
Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.
These diversity books depicting brown boys doing what white boys usually do such as saving Santa are really important role models for all kids but especially POC kids! Thanks for your wonderful review and for your support of Multicultural Children’s Book Day!
It is so important. When a teacher bought my son’s book My Family’s Great Smoky Mountains Adventure, she said one of the main reasons she wanted it was because it showed a black family going on vacation, and she hadn’t found any books that she liked that showed a black family going on vacation.