Bur Bur visited children and teachers at the Richard R. Green Central Park Elementary School this past month, making many new friends!  He brought with author JoAnne Pastel, and his buddy William—the “real” Bur Bur!  The children were so excited to meet all of them, and to learn more about writing stories.  They learned [...]

Last night Jimmy Fallon showed this video of his visit to the White House to help Michelle Obama promote her new health initiative to get kids and families active. The program is called; "Let's Move" and is serious business. Since Bur Bur and Friends educates kids about friendship, diversity, sports and active living, it should be no surprise [...]

Just when your world shifts with a life-changing diagnosis for your child, you may also be told to get support as a couple – because according to some stats, the divorce rate for couples with special needs kids hovers around 80 percent.   Okay … so along with significant stress, more monthly appointments than many [...]

Rivalry, fighting, tattling … probably sounds pretty typical of siblings. But what about the added challenges for the siblings of a special needs child? The makers of Bur Bur and Friends multicultural education materials not only support diversity in the classroom but also recognize the added challenges when diversity is present within your home – [...]

In last week’s blog post, your friends at Bur Bur and Friends multicultural children books pointed out why letter writing is a good way to advocate for your child with special needs within the school environment. (By the way, Bur Bur has been going to school as well – our multicultural education materials are being [...]

While Bur Bur’s multicultural books for children are being utilized to teach diversity in schools and provide positive affirmations for kids, our diverse group of children with unique health challenges also strives to empower families with special needs. The creators of Bur Bur’s multicultural education materials fully recognize the many additional hats a special needs [...]

Tell me the facts and I’ll learn. Tell me the truth and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.  ~ An old Native American proverb   Through the stories within the Bur Bur and Friends popular childrens book series, children are encouraged, motivated and inspired. These multicultural [...]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=daTSYbGWLDY Thanks for helping us get the message out about the good work we are doing. Our multicultural characters and products continue to fill the need of teaching kids about friendship, diversity, sports and self esteem. We are humbled and grateful for your continued support!  

The Bur Bur and Friends multicultural children book creators want to let you know about a way to build community and give through books that’s gaining a lot of momentum. They’re called Little Free Library’s. The concept started up within the Midwest and they’re a great way to promote literacy, communitarianism and sustainability. Anyone can [...]

Hopefully your Thanksgiving cravings were met by those once-a-year indulgences! I have to admit that there are a couple of recipes that I simply refuse to make more than annually – just so they set the day apart and add to a sense of occasion.   Well, on with some fun news! Bur Bur and [...]

Did you know that being thankful is really good for you?   Psychologists asked a group of people to spend just a few minutes a day for 13 days in a row thinking about and listing the things for which they were thankful. Compared to other control participants, these gratitude-focused folks experienced:         Greater optimism [...]

  This blue circle is the global symbol for diabetes – developed as part of the Unite for Diabetes awareness campaign. The significance of this blue circle is positive and hopeful. Cross-culturally, the circle symbolizes life and health, with the color blue reflecting the sky that unites all nations and is the color of the [...]

While my kids were little, my mom had a medical condition that required her to spend quite a bit of time within a convalescent center. Every week I’d pack up my three little ones and we’d spend the day with Grandma along with other patients within this convalescent setting – visiting, playing games, watching movies [...]

“The illiterates of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” ~ Alvin Toffler Every parent and teacher wants to inspire kids to be motivated learners – have that wonderful and healthy excitement for new experiences and information that broadens their perception of [...]

"Nap-Nap, Quack-Quack" is a new children's book that will delight parents and kids everywhere. The story is about Maggie, a little duckling who becomes frustrated because nap-time is interrupting her play time. Her parents try to find the perfect routine so she will sleep. We recently had the pleasure is interrupting her play time. Her parents [...]

With the ever-widening scope of responsibility for parents and teachers, it’s easy to overlook the unique aspects of teaching proper etiquette in interacting with individuals who have disabilities. But considering that it’s estimated that 54 million Americans are disabled, it’s very important to provide kids with some basic etiquette guidelines as well as an overall [...]

As teachers dig into how to teach diversity, our Bur Bur and Friends multicultural children books are being praised as a supportive way to promote cultural diversity in education and within family settings.   Along with reading Bur Bur multicultural books for children, here are a couple of fun diversity activities to try:   Multicultural [...]

Kindness speaks the words, Your heart could never speak. Your wings hold me up, And give me strength when I am weak. The warmth of your protection, Brings music to my heart. You open up the doors, You show me where to start. ~ Anne Marie Cline In last week’s Bur Bur and Friends multicultural [...]

“Everyone is born an original but sadly most people die a copy.” ~ Abraham Lincoln   It’s unfortunate that the uniquely wonderful aspects of ourselves – that one-of-a-kind mix of talents, strengths and personality traits that make up the vibrantly beautiful colors of who we are – often becomes dulled over time as the strokes [...]

In our last Bur Bur and Friends multicultural children books blog post, we quoted Abraham Lincoln in his insightful and wise words, “Everyone is born an original but sadly most people die a copy. Expanding appreciation for children and diversity through the multicultural friends within our iParenting Media Award and Parent Choice Award winning books, [...]

"That's what it takes to be a hero, a little gem of innocence inside you that makes you want to believe that there still exists a right and wrong. That decency will somehow triumph in the end."  -Lisa Hand Those who know me well know since my son was a baby I have kept journals [...]

The calendar has flipped to September and the schedule for families has ramped up! Alarm clocks are set earlier for kid’s school schedules, after school sports are scheduled along with scouting, church and extracurricular activities, time for homework needs to find a place in the day and the weather is awesome so kids still want [...]

Fall offers so many great, comforting tradeoffs as its shorter and cooler days make us pry our once sweaty and tanned hands open and let the last of summer slip through our fingers. The brisk, cooler air is just right for more time outdoors with no worries of slathering on sun screen and heat index [...]

Dystopian novels are extremely popular with middle school kids. A dystopia is defined as, “An imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one.”   In response to the huge popularity of these grim and seemingly hopeless backdrops within youth literature, a writer for School Library [...]

There’s been a lot of press lately about anti-bullying legislation and school policies. For good reason considering that statistics reflect that each day 160,000 students miss school because they’re afraid of being bullied and that every seven minutes a child is bullied – with adult intervention happening 4% of the time, peer intervention 11% of [...]