1 . Books That Celebrate Diverse Holidays and Traditions

It’s important to remember there are a diverse set of holidays available to explore. Below are a few books that help introduce children to different holiday cultures and traditions.

Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto, illustrated by Ed Martinez

While helping her mother with Christmas celebration, Maria is tempted to try on her mother’s diamond ring. After getting caught up in the joy of the holiday and playing with her cousins, Maria realizes the ring is missing! That’s when she and her cousins come up with a plan to eat all of the tamales, in hopes of finding the ring.

Together for Kwanzaa by Juwanda G. Ford, illustrated by Shelly Hehenberger

This is a story about a little girl named Kayla who wants to see her older brother Khari come home so they can celebrate Kwanzaa together as a family. Khari is stuck at college when a snowstorm hits and his car breaks down. Will he make it home in time for Kwanzaa?

A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman

This book is a funny, nostalgic tale of Christmas Eve afternoon through Christmas night in Wales, and is full of unique imagery and poetic prose. It will arouse a sense of familiarity for some young readers while introducing them to different aspects of Christmas traditions.

We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Frane Lessac

The word otsaliheliga is used by members of the Cherokee Nation to express gratitude. This is an amazing story that describes a journey through the seasons with a modern-day Cherokee family. Cherokee history and traditions are also woven into the story in a very kid-friendly way.

Venice is in the northeast of Italy. It was built on small islands in saltwater lakes more than 1,500 years ago. It is a city with no cars and people travel by boat. There are 117 waterways and more than 400 bridges that can guide you to any place you want to go.

It was founded in 1781. It is now the second largest city in the United States. It is famous for Hollywood, which is the oldest film industry of the world. It is also the home of Disneyland.

The population of Budapest is about 1.7 million and the city is a very popular place for tourists. Visitors like to take boat rides along the Danube (多瑙河). Budapest is known for its exciting nightlife. The best time to visit Budapest is summer.

It is the capital of Singapore. For many tourists, the city is a wonderful place in Southeast Asia. It has a night zoo called “Night Safari”. People can watch lions, tigers and foxes there.

8 . It won’t sound like a big surprise when I tell you that kindness plays an important role in a person’s wellbeing. It can lead to changes like higher self-esteem(自尊心) and lower blood pressure. Even just witnessing acts of kindness can make us happier.

    1     “From giving away a cup of hot chocolate in a park to giving away a gift in the lab, those performing an act of kindness consistently underestimated how positive their receivers would feel, thinking their act was of less value than receivers perceived it to be,” states a study.

    2     Yet, why is there this difference between what we think someone will feel from an act of kindness versus what they do feel? Why do we underestimate the impact we have on others?

Many of us don’t have a real sense of our value. It’s been estimated that as many as 85 percent of people struggle with low self-esteem.     3     This “voice” tends to shift our focus inward assessing our every move, and having bad effect on our relationships.

Unlike a conscience(良心), this inner critic doesn’t motivate positive behavior.     4     It encourages us to hold back feeding us thoughts like, “Don’t stick your neck out”: “No one wants to hear from you”; and “You’re going to make a fool of yourself.”

One wonderful way to fight against our critical inner voice is through acts of being kind to others.     5     We must also try to see ourselves through the eyes of the people we affect. The degree to which we’re able to do that will help determine our own happiness along with the happiness we light up in others.

9 . Bangkok (曼谷) developed around the Chao Phraya River. Many of the city’s hotels sit along the river. The areas of Siam and Ratchaprasong are the core of tourist Bangkok. Sukhumvit Road is home to mall after mall filled with every kind of shop.

For the best value, luxury (奢华的) hotels in the Bang Rak and Sathorn Districts are great choices since the area is more popular for office buildings than tourists. The Sathorn Vista, Bangkok is a perfect example. There are several restaurants, a full gym, a beautiful pool and outdoor areas.

Traditionally, the Khao San Road area has been the center of Bangkok budget lodging (住宿) and this is still true today. The Dang Derm Hotel on Khao San Road has clean, large rooms and a really nice rooftop pool. If you’re on a budget but want to stay riverside, try the Ibis Bangkok Riverside, whose contents are always clean and well-managed. The riverside location is close to the ferry, and its location a bit south of the main tourist area gets you very low prices.

Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok is a great family hotel. The hotel, which has buildings on both sides of the Chao Phraya river, has been providing accommodation to travelers since 1876. For families there are a number of connecting room choices, and the hotel is also responsible for bringing in extra beds for children. There is a kids’ club on-site, and parents can even sign older kids up for cooking classes. Another good option for families is Ariyasomvilla. This downtown Bangkok small hotel also offers a pleasant place in the city. It is set inside a beautiful garden and is a lovely change from the disorder of the city.

10 . The flower doesn’t use verbs or adjectives to tell a pollinator (传粉昆虫) that it looks pretty when the pollinator flies by, at least not as far as we know. But plants do respond to the sound of bees buzzing through the air, greeting them with more sweet nectar (花蜜) in hopes of attracting them to land. It is a poetic and practical language that increases everyone’s chances of survival. Scientists increasingly believe that animals and plants communicate with each other. Thanks to a new study on “natural language”, now there’s additional evidence that measures how evening primroses (月见草) respond to sound.

The research team played sounds like that of bees’ wings beating to evening primroses. The flowers vibrated (振动) when they heard the sounds. It’s as if they were listening. Other sounds, played at different frequencies, didn’t lead to the same result. The flowers vibrated, but didn’t increase the sweetness of their nectar production. The average sugar concentration was 20% higher in flowers exposed to pollinator-like frequencies, but remained stable at the sound of higher frequency recordings and silence.

These findings led the researchers to argue that flowers function as a plant’s ears, informing the plant as a whole of what’s going on nearby and when it’s time to attract a pollinator. Plants have to be sensitive to the sound of pollinators because they have an interdependent relationship with one another. The plants rely on the pollinators for reproduction, so they produce a sweeter nectar as a kind of seduction. And the bees eat the nectar, which means they’ll be adjusted to what the flowers are doing and drawn to the sweeter food. It pays for flowers to be able to distinguish between the sound of bats as compared to bees, for example, and for the pollinators, it’s worthwhile to find the best food in the least amount of time.

While this study is just a first step in understanding how plants respond to sound, and studies on other species must be done next to better understand how flowers listen.