“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go...”

— Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!

child reading a book — Photo by @laviperchik

I loved Friday night like most New Yorkers who just got paid, except I wasn’t paid: definitely NOT party hunting, but waiting. I was 6 years old, with a slight afro and a part down the middle to give balance to my long face on a mini body. Actually, it was more like Friday afternoon, between 3:30pm and 3:45pm. My sister and I were waiting for our dad to come home. We knew every day what time Dad would come home and…he would come home. Today, as I write, I reflect on and realize what a blessing and a privilege that was. Dad was a 5th grade teacher for the New York City Board of Education for 35 years and every couple of Fridays we knew he was coming home with BOOKS hidden in his bag. Like a child uncontrollably drooling and looking, anticipating a lollipop, our eyes and brains would get all giddy and shake in anticipation of a new, fresh, colorful cover, uncracked, printing press scented book. Politeness and formality were dispensed. “Hi Daddy!” but the end game was to cut the chase and see what was in Dad’s briefcase via the Scholastic book of the month.

Sure, in the 80s there were Hubba-Bubba bubblegum, Bubblicious, Bazooka with the comics, Triptik maps, payphones, and televisions without remote controls. Whitney Houston wanted to dance with somebody, but every breath I took on Friday was waiting for a book. I raised a litter of Irish Setters in the Big Red series by Jim Kjellgard. I spelunked underground to understand the inner workings of a Miss Frisbee and the rats of Nimh. I rode a powerful Arabian Black Stallion in the Rub al Khali, the empty quarter in Saudi Arabia, and I sledded in the cold Yukon with courageous dogs outrunning winter storms, hungry wolves, and deathly cold. I struggled to light a match in the Artic Tundra to keep my fire going while the haunting howls of Timber wolves shivered me timbers. Then I was a buccaneer in the Caribbean chanting pirate chants, “15 men on a dead man’s chest, yo ho ho ho and a bottle of…” kombucha.

Yesterday, April 23, is a special day around the world. Why?

WHAT HAPPENED ON APRIL 23 in History?

· 1635 - The first public school in what would become the United States was established in Boston, Massachusetts. It was a boys-only public secondary school called the Boston Latin School. It was led by a schoolmaster named Philemon Pormont, a Puritan settler. It was open to all boys regardless of social class and it set a precedent for tax-supported public education.

· 2005 - "Me at the zoo", the first ever video uploaded to YouTube, at 8:31:52 p.m. YouTube cofounder Jawed Karim visited the San Diego Zoo and one year later the site had some 100 million videos.

· 1900 - 1st know occurrence of word "hillbillie" (NY Journal)

· 1954 - Hammerin' Hank Aaron hits 1st of his 755 homers

· 1977 - Dr Allen Bussey completes 20,302 yo-yo loops.

· 1989 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scores 10 points in his last game as a Laker in a 121-117 win over Seattle SuperSonics at the LA Forum

· 1989 - Wine merchant William Sokolin breaks a bottle of 1787 Château Margaux, possibly belonging to Thomas Jefferson, worth $500,000 at the Four Seasons restaurant in New York

· 1516 - Reinheitsgebot (purity ordinance) Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria issues a decree that limits the ingredients used in brewing beer to barley, water and hops. The word Reinheitsgebot is the decree that has is known as a beer-purity law that was intended to keep undesirable or unhealthy ingredients out of beer.

· 1616 – William Shakespeare, the Bard dies.

Which one of these events above do you think connects to the theme of this blog today?

little girl writing text on a blackboard — Photo by Nikhita S @kryptonitenicky

If you answered William Shakespeare, you are correct. In addition to William Shakespeare, Miguel de Cervantes, and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all passed away on the world scene. This date was chosen by a collection of nations to pay a world-wide tribute to books and authors on this date and is known as World Book Day. The theme for World book Day 2023 is “Indigenous Languages.” According to the United Nations, 96 per cent of the world’s approximately 6,700 languages are spoken by only 3 per cent of the world’s population. Although indigenous peoples make up less than 6% of the global population, they speak more than 4,000 of the world’s languages. Experts estimate that more than half of the world’s languages will become extinct by 2100. Others predict, according to their calculations, that up to 95 percent of the world’s languages may become extinct or seriously endangered by the end of this century. It is estimated that one indigenous language dies every two weeks.

“Our doubts are traitors, And make us lose the good we oft might win, By fearing to attempt.”

— Measure for Measure - Shakespeare

“It does not require many words to speak the truth.” – Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce | Photo of a Native American Elder by Boston Public Library

“He who stands lives; he who sits perishes.” – Māori proverb | Young Maori man performing in a kapahaka group. | Photo by Andrew Turner

“Things which do not grow and change are dead things.” – Louise Erdrich, Pulitzer prize winner, author of fiction, non fiction, poetry and children’ books. Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians | Photo of an Native North American woman by Boston Public Library

“The course of true love never did run smooth.”

— Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act I, Scene I

"When you are in doubt, be still, and wait; when doubt no longer exists for you, then go forward with courage. So long as mists envelop you, be still; be still until the sunlight pours through and dispels the mists-- as it surely will. Then act with courage." *- Chief White Eagle,* | Photo of a first nation soul by @bostonpubliclibrary

“Even the ostrich, with its long neck and sharp eyes, cannot see what will happen in the future.” - Masai Proverb | Photo by Gavin poh @besubmerged

“Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice.”

— Shakespeare

You take a bull by the horns and a man by his words. Bantu Proverb - Photo by Oladimeji Odunsi on Unsplash

***“May as well be here, we are as where we are.”*** – Australian Aboriginal Saying | Photo by Zakaria HANIF

Wolves come during rain (Чоно борооноор) Mongolian Proverb | Photo by Julia Volk

***“Diligence is the beginning of brilliance.”*** – Indonesian Proverb | Photo by Faris Munandar

Language is central to the identity of indigenous peoples. The preservation of their cultures, world views, visions, and expressions are part of the world treasure of the human family. When indigenous languages are under threat, so too are indigenous peoples themselves.

What was one of your favorite read(s) growing up? Comment below.

The theme for World Book Day 2023 is “Indigenous Languages.” The theme is focused on the native languages of a country. Can you find an indigenous author and expose your family to a different perspective?

What to do on World Book Day

Find a bookshop
Please support your nearest participating bookseller and broaden horizons.
For books to borrow for free, reading recommendations, and family reading events, view your local bookstore and library services.
Tour this website to view people of Indigenous origins.

Talk About The Monster by Mistofer Christopher

The week of April 23, 2023, on World Book Day, I will give away a signed, autographed copy of my children’s book: “Talk About the Monster” (for ages 5-11 and beyond) to the first 5 people who respond by doing the following.

Comment on this blog below, tell me your favorite book(s) growing up, and say: “Mistofer Christopher, I want my book.” (For free gift - shipping only to US and Canada for now)
Follow my IG account Mistofer_Christopher.
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