Aru Shah and Hindu mythology

It's here, it's here! The latest Rick Riordan Presents book, Aru Shah and the Song of Death by Roshani Chokshi.



I love these books. In Riordan's own words, Non Western writers need to be allowed to tell their own stories, and these books are a great way to introduce a YA reader to different cultures and stories from around the world.

So, I couldn't help myself, and I made it into a teaching moment. Because that's kind of what I do.

Kids who read books about modern kids immersed in mythical stories then become interested in those origin stories, and so I gathered some resources about Hindu religion and mythology to give kids a way to look deeper into it.

This website contains a nice, kid friendly summary of various aspects of Hindu culture, the gods, and the more famous story.



This youtube video on Shiva the God of Destruction and the rest of this list of Hindu gods.


For more fun, check out these books:


Hindu stories book



More Hindu stories from Sanskrit




A guide to the various Hindu gods.

(All amazon links are affiliate links, and if you buy through them, I will get a few pennies. Thank you for the pennies.)

American Revolution Girl Squad edition

I have two daughters, 6 and 8 years old, both of whom are super into girl power. They are also really into history, and we've done a few deep dives into the American revolution before, but that history is always more exciting to them when it's about women.

And so, one day we saw this.



This Liberty's Kids video (you watch Liberty's Kids, right? Right??) is about Sybil Ludington, a young girl who rode by night to gather her father's troops to prepare for a British attack. Paul Revere who? Give it up for our girl, Sybil.

So, I logged onto our library website and requested this book: (Amazon link is a referral link)



Then, I thought about who else we could cover, and Abigail Adams of "Remember the Ladies" fame came to mind. Abigail was awesome, and this book was great:



Then, the next time I was at the library, I saw this book on display. Fate, and my amazing librarian, were on my side. Each page of this book highlights a different woman from the American revolution, many of whom I'd never heard of.



And last but not least, my new favorite American revolution hero, Deborah Sampson, who dressed as a man to fight in the war.


Happy Independence Day! And go girls!