This past spring my kids and I took an imaginary trip around the world. Every couple of weeks, we chose a new continent and read books set in that continent. We had fun. I compiled booklists of the very best books I could find and posted booklists and reviews here at Delightful Children’s Books. I searched for stories that entertain as well as give children information about what it is like to live in a different part of the world today.
This summer, you are invited to take your own imaginary trip around the world! To participate, read one or more books from a new continent every couple of weeks. Consider signing up for a reading challenge. See For Parents and Teachers for information about two great reading challenges.
At Delightful Children’s Books, we will be visiting the continents and sharing resources about each continent in the following order:
Africa - early-June
Europe - late-June
Australia - early-July
The Arctic - late-July
South America - early-August
Asia - late-August
If you are interested in fun activities to teach kids about other countries, check out For Parents and Teachers. In addition, sign up to follow Delightful Children’s Books on Facebook or Twitter. I will be sharing book recommendations, recipes, crafts, and other neat things I discover all summer long via Facebook and Twitter.
Last but not least, be sure to head to your local public library to see what activities they have planned for the summer! The summer reading program theme for libraries across the United States this year is One World, Many Stories. Your local public library may have exciting activities planned to compliment your trip around the world.
Attn Bloggers:
Have you read a picture book set in Mexico, cooked a Vietnamese noodle salad, made Ukranian eggs, or tried another fun activity that exposed your children to life in another country? Share your picture book reviews, recipes, crafts, and stories here! I plan to share the most creative, inspiring posts with others this summer via Facebook, Twitter, and an end-of-the-summer post.
Click this link to view or add to the collection:
For more information:
Read Around the World — The Read Around the World booklists available in one place.
For Parents and Teachers — A collection of great educational resources for teaching kids about other countries, including a kids’ multicultural cookbook, a pretend passport template, the best source for free printable flags, and much more.
For Librarians — A resource for librarians planning One World Many Story summer reading programs.
Here’s a post on the Marsh Awards for Best Children’s Literature in translation. http://www.pragmaticmom.com/?p=14667
Sorry, I don’t know how to do the link up. I hope this is ok.
I’ve added a link to your post: http://www.inlinkz.com/wpview.php?id=55708 Thank you very much for contributing. I will look for The Squirrel’s Birthday and Other Parties by Toon Tellegen for my son.
I love the integration of literature and geography. Looking forward to exploring your blog.
Read Around the World is a wonderful idea. I added a link to a blog post that shares our experience reading books by Jane Kurtz set in Ethiopia. We also did some cooking, which my kids will never forget! Thanks for inviting me to this great event.
Great, Eric! Thanks for contributing this excellent introduction to Jane Kurtz (who I had not heard of) and story about cooking Ethiopian food with your kids.
great idea–I love how focused your reading is and how you’re making it a journey for your family!
I discovered your lovely blog through the Smart Summer Challenge. I’m a real lover of children’s books and LOVE what you’re doing! Great resources for a world travel unit study! I just added your post to http://livingmontessorinow.com/2011/06/09/resources-for-a-world-travel-unit-study/.
Randomly found your blog, think I know you in IRL (based on pics of your kids). Love the blog….off to subscribe.
This is so much fun! We’ve been studying world geography all this year in homeschool. Check out my blog to see what we have done.
Thanks, Leigh Ann! It looks like you have been doing some neat things with your kids. It would be great to have you link up your favorite posts here: http://www.inlinkz.com/wpview.php?id=55708. I am sharing the most inspiring posts in this link-up with others via Twitter, Facebook, and most likely an end-of-summer post.
Thanks for commenting on my blog! I love your Read Around the World idea so much I posted about it today! Check it out at http://www.toeuropewithkids.com/2011/06/read-around-world.html.
Thanks so much, Sonja! I’m glad to have discovered your blog! -Amy
Amy,
Next year, I’d like my pupils (11.12years old) to read a book, in English, and they would have to present it to their classmates, so I need interesting books but not too difficult either, what could you suggest ? I’ll try to get some this summer or my idea is to write to editors, to get free sample, is it a good idea? It would be an interesting experience, what do you think?thx michèle (
Hi, Michele. Are you looking for books set in countries around the world or simply good stories published in English? -Amy