'Shanté Keys and the New Year's Peas' - Read and Rise December 2020

This has been one crazy roller coaster of a year but I still can't believe it's just about over! Tomorrow is New Year's Eve and I have the perfect multicultural New Year's book to share with you all. It's about a little girl named Shanté who is asking all her neighbors if they have black-eyed peas because her family needs to eat them on New Year's for good luck, but they forgot to pick some up at the store! Each person she talks to comes from a different cultural background and celebrates the new year at different times of the year and in different ways. It is the perfect introduction to all the various new year celebrations around the world!

Featured story: "Shanté Keys and the New Year's Peas" by Gail Piernas-Davenport

Activity: Plan your New Year's celebration! You can incorporate some of the different foods we learned about in the story or choose foods that are traditional in your family or just foods that you really like! For more New Year's ideas and inspiration, check out New Year's Traditions from Around the World.