Read Your World 2025 (1/30/25) is in its 13th year! Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen founded this non-profit children’s literacy initiative; they are two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural diverse books and authors on the market while also working to get those books into the hands of young readers and educators.
Read Your World’s mission is to raise awareness of the need to include kids’ books celebrating diversity in homes and school bookshelves. Read about our Mission and history HERE.
Young Adult - Jewish
The Prophetess (Evonne Marzouk)
Rachel never understood her grandfather's blessing, but as she begins her senior year in high school, she's not giving it much thought. Her plans are challenged by meeting Yonatan, a mysterious stranger still reeling from his own losses. Yonatan says Rachel has a calling―and his message leads Rachel to see her Jewish heritage in an entirely new light.
The world needs Rachel more than she could have ever imagined. But as her life and relationships are changed in new and unexpected ways, Rachel is torn between her higher purpose and her daily life. Her calling may be a gift, but does it offer her a choice?
An inspiring and uplifting read, The Prophetess is perfect for women of all ages and everyone looking for a bit of inspiration in today's challenging times.
Thoughts
The characters are likeable and memorable, and deal with real-life challenges (the fantastical element is just a few steps away from real dilemmas in spiritual seeking, especially by young people). Relationships are complicated and are centered in the story. I can also verify that the Jewish traditions presented are accurate (despite a minor grammatical error in one of the fantastical terms that the author coined). The story takes place in the United States and Israel. The timeline for this story is the present and goes to the past, with glimpses of the future when it pertains to the characters or events. The feeling the heroine has of not being understood and of being ready for more than others want to show her, seem like they might be universal, and certainly made me feel connected with the character and drawn in to the story! This novel seamlessly blends the ordinary with the extraordinary, telling the story of a high school girl finding her role in the world- grieving her grandfather, balancing love and friendship and family. Added to this is her journey into her faith, a beautiful, frightening, life-affirming journey into her calling in the Jewish world Parents and educators should be aware there is a wide range of topics discussed throughout the book, including the Holocaust, addiction, eating disorders, and terrorism.
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Pick up eight unit studies for your tween/teen readers in the Diversity Literature Unit Study Bundle!
Bring modern history to life with living literature that represents several different groups! Includes eight unit studies covering cultural stories from around the world. Each unit addresses a historic era from a new perspective, and these are told in living history format. Each unit has introductory text, which will give the student basic background information about the topic at hand.Product sample: The Button Box
Includes:
- The Year of the Panda
- The Button Box
- Men of the 65th: Borinqueneers of the Korean War
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- Indigenous People insert
- Genius Under the Table
- Anna Strong & the Culper Spies
- Inoyo of the Congo Forest
- The Forgotten Finca
Read Your World is honored to be Supported by these Medallion:
FOUNDER’S CIRCLE: Mia Wenjen (Pragmaticmom) and Valarie Budayr (Audreypress.com)
🏅 Super Platinum Sponsor: Author Deedee Cummings and Make A Way Media
🏅 Platinum Sponsors: Publisher Spotlight and Language Lizard Bilingual Books in 60 Languages
🏅 Gold Sponsors: Third State Books
🏅 Silver Sponsors: The Quarto Group, Red Comet Press and Lerner Books
🏅 Silver Corporate Sponsor: Scholastic Books
🏅 Bronze Sponsors: Lee and Low and Star Bright Books
🏅 Bronze Corporate Sponsor: Crayola Education
🏅 Ruby Corporate Sponsor: MagicBlox
Read Your World is honored to be Supported by these Author Sponsors!
Authors: Stephanie M. Wildman, Martha Seif Simpson, Anna Jennings, Gwen Jackson, Afsaneh Moradian, Joaquín Camp, Rahana Dariah, Ziggy Hanaor, Josh Funk, Nancy Tupper Ling, Kathleen Burkinshaw, Gea Meijering, Eugenia Chu, Dorktales Story Time, Amanda Hsiung-Blodgett, Authors J.C. Kato and J.C.², Cynthia Levinson, Diana Huang, Rochelle Melander, Lisa Chong, Lisa Stringfellow, Brunella Costaglioga, Lindsey Rowe Parker, Rachel C. Katz, Tonya Duncan Ellis, Shifa Safadi, Lisa Rogers, Sylvia Liu, Eva Clarke, Crystal Murakami, Teddi Ahrens
Read Your World is Honored to be Supported by our CoHosts and Global CoHosts and by our Partner Organizations!
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📌 FREE RESOURCES from Read Your World Day
📌 Register for the Read Your World Virtual Party: https://readyourworld.org/virtualparty
Join us on Thursday, January 30, 2025, at 9 pm EST celebrating 13 years of Read Your World Day Virtual Party! Register here.
This epically fun and fast-paced hour includes multicultural book discussions, addressing timely issues, diverse book recommendations, & reading ideas.
We will be giving away a 10-Book Bundle during the virtual party plus Bonus Prizes as well! *** US and Global participants are welcome. **
Follow the hashtag #ReadYourWorld to join the conversation, and connect with like-minded parts, authors, publishers, educators, organizations, and librarians. We look forward to seeing you all on January 30, 2025, at our virtual party!
