Give Your Child the World

Jamie has done it! Her book is finally in my hands, and it’s beautiful.

Jaime Martin of Simple Homeschool has given us guidebook—a way to tour the world with our children, to savor the flavors and explore the riches of the people and places on earth, without leaving our couches! Give Your Child the World: Raising Globally Minded Kids One Book at a Time belongs on the shelf with other excellent book lists such as Honey for a Child’s Heart.

In Part I, Jaime shares with us the story of her own global family, coming together from four different continents. She gives us many simple but effective ways to invite the world into our own homes. And she challenges us to embrace a good story as a powerful way to enlarge our hearts and minds.

In a lengthy Part II, Jaime shares a feast of stories. The generous book list is conveniently sorted by region (Multicultural, Africa, Europe, Asia, Middle East, North America, Latin America, and finally Australia, Oceania, and the Polar Regions). Within the regional lists, she further sorts the books into target age ranges (4-6, 6-8, 8-10, and 10-12). A quick review accompanies each book selection.

The Index section is particularly helpful with an index each for authors, country/region, and titles, as well as a historical index with books sorted chronologically!

As I perused the book lists, I spied many favorite titles but also many that are new to me. I look forward to discovering new family favorites.

Jaime and Sarah Mackenzie of Read-Aloud Revival have teamed up to create the Read the World Summer Book Club for those of us interested in joining others on the journey. Kids and parents are encouraged to read one book a week, one region a week. The book club is in its second week, so don’t delay! Enjoy weekly themed recipes and videos at Simple Homeschool and enter to win prizes!

31 Days of Book Detectives ~ Day 18: How I Learned Geography

[Click here to read other posts in the series.]

Yesterday I shared a book illustrated by Uri Shulevitz. Today’s Book Detectives selection, How I Learned Geography, is illustrated and written by Shulevitz.

I love this one. I really do.

It’s brightly-colored. It’s short.

It’s profound and inspiring.

And it’s a true story of a little boy torn from his home by the devastation of war—a true story about a hunger that bread cannot satisfy.

The best part is the final page of the book where the author tells his history, of fleeing Poland in 1939 and moving all over the world. He tells us that the story takes place when he is four or five years old and living in Turkestan. He also shares a picture of himself in Turkestan at the age of seven, a beautiful map of Africa that he drew at the age of ten, and a drawing of the marketplace in Turkestan that he drew from memory at the age of thirteen (while living in Paris).

Readers discover that Uri knows, from personal experience, that knowledge feeds the imagination for a lifetime. He grew up to become an award-winning author and artist.

Few picture books are written in 1st person, so this may be a good book to use for a point of view discussion.

Crime Scene [Setting]

Where?

“Far, far east, where summers were hot and winters were cold, to a city of houses made of clay, straw, and camel dung, surrounded by dusty steppes, burned by the sun.”

(City of Turkestan, in what is now Kazakhstan)

Small room, dirt floor, with strangers and no toys or books.

Marketplace/Bazaar

Real world

Imagination—burning deserts, sandy beaches, snowy mountains, wondrous temples, fruit groves, cities)

When?

1939, after Hitler invaded Poland (the Warsaw blitz), at the beginning of WWII before the U.S. entered the war.

Suspects [Characters]

Who?

Father—Wise

Mother—Hungry, worried, bitter about the map

Uri—Hungry, curious, imaginative, artistic

 

Advent ~ Day 21

Reindeer People, Scandinavia

The Christmas Wish by Lori Evert, photography by Per Breiehagen (gorgeousness!!!)

Ollie's Ski Trip (I adore Elsa Beskow’s vintage Swedish books!)

Snipp, Snapp, Snurr and the Reindeer by Maj Lindman (Speaking of vintage Swedish books… The Snipp, Snapp, Snurr and Flicka, Ricka, Dicka books are great for early readers.)

If you are searching for more vintage Swedish goodness, try a few books by Astrid Lindgren (author of Pippi Longstocking): The Tomten, The Tomten and the Fox, and Christmas in Noisy Village.

Favorite Christmas Books ~ Around the World Edition

1. The Night of Las Posadas by Tomie dePaola

Set in a village in Santa Fe, New Mexico, The Night of Las Posadas tells of the Spanish custom which celebrates Mary and Joseph seeking shelter in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve.

 

2. The Legend of the Poinsettia retold and illustrated by Tomie dePaola

“When I first heard the Mexican legend of the poinsettia, about a little girl who offers weeds to the Christ Child as her gift for Christmas, I was touched by it as only Christmas can touch me. I knew that one day I wanted to create the story in pictures for children.” ~Tomie dePaola, The Legend of the Poinsettia

 

3. Brigid’s Cloak: An Ancient Irish Story by Bryce Milligan, illustrated by Helen Cann

Brigid's Cloak is a beautifully illustrated story about the fifth-century Irish saint, who travels back in time to visit the stable in Bethlehem. As a word of caution, there is a Druid in this story, which may be off-putting to some families. (ETA: I just read the story of Balaam in the Old Testament and it is very similar. God speaks through a fortune-teller to bless God’s people.)

 

4. Tree of Cranes by Allen Say

Allen Say’s books have a magical quality to them. So spare and peaceful. Tree of Cranes is a story of a Japanese boy who celebrates his first Christmas. His mother tells him of her childhood in California where Christmas was celebrated with a decorated tree and gifts. Together they decorate a tree with silver cranes and candles. (No mention of the birth of Christ, however.) My boys and I enjoy folding paper cranes to decorate our own Christmas tree after reading this story!

 

5. The Miracle of St. Nicholas by Gloria Whelan

I love to add books to our Christmas collection each year. Because we traditionally celebrate St. Nicholas Day with close friends, one of the books I’ve chosen this year is The Miracle of St. Nicholas.  This story tells of a Russian village's return to church after years of persecution.

 

 

6. Baboushka and the Three Kings by Ruth Robbins, illustrated by Nicolas Sidjakov

Baboushka and the Three Kings tells the Russian folktale about the old woman who declines to journey with the Three Kings as they search for baby Jesus. She is unable to find him on her own and resumes her search each Christmas.

 

7. The Legend of Old Befana by Tomie dePaola

As delightful as I find Tomie dePaola’s books, we are adding The Legend of Old Befana to our collection this year, as well. Italy has a similar folk tale of an old woman who turns down a journey with the Three Kings.

 

8. Annika’s Secret Wish by Beverly Lewis

Given my Swedish heritage, I love books and traditions from Sweden. Annika's Secret Wish is a story about the Swedish tradition of finding an almond hidden in the rice pudding Christmas Eve. This is a beautiful story of sacrificial love.

 

9. The Tomten by Astrid Lindgren

The Tomten is a gnome-like creature who comes out at night in Sweden when human beings are asleep. In this story, he goes about to the farm animals and talks to them ‘in tomten language, a silent little language a horse can understand.”

You may also enjoy The Tomten and the Fox.

Christmas in Noisy Village is another one of our Christmas favorites by Astrid Lindgren (author of Pippi Longstocking).

 

10. Christmas Around the World Coloring Book by Joan O’Brien

For an inexpensive taste of traditions all over the world in one book, Christmas Around the World Coloring Book is the perfect thing. Each page has a detailed picture to color accompanied by a short paragraph explaining the traditions. Australia, Austria, Belgium, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Iraq, Italy, Mexico, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Puerto Rico, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and the United States are all represented!

 

Do you have favorite Christmas books that tell of stories or traditions from other countries or cultures?

Christmas Around the World

Christmas is a beautiful season of celebration. I love the comfort of familiar traditions, but I also enjoy discovering new ways to share the delights of the season with my children while learning about the world around us.

We read stories, listen to music, and research online to discover how families in other countries celebrate Christmas. Often, we are inspired to go a little further, such as learning how to fold origami cranes with which to decorate our tree.

While we’ve enjoyed our brief ‘visits’ to other countries, three celebrations in particular have become family traditions that we look forward to every year.


I'm over at Simple Homeschool, uh, last week. Head on over to read the rest.

St. Martin's Day

We love celebrating holiday traditions from around the world. In the past few years, Green Friday has been the kick-off for our celebrations. This year, we've been introduced to St. Martin.

St. Martin was a Roman soldier around 300 A.D. Legend has it that he shared half of his cloak with a beggar in a snow storm. He later had a dream in which Christ appeared as the beggar and Martin converted to Christianity. He became a missionary and was eventually made a Bishop in France.

German children celebrate St. Martin's Day by walking in a procession with handmade lanterns on November 11th. You can read more about St. Martin and the German tradition here.

We tried our hand at making our own 'stained-glass' lanterns:

Around the World: One Picture Book at a Time

Reading books about other places and cultures opens up a previously unknown world for children and adults alike.

Picture books have an added dimension: a visual feast within their illustrations.

Sunny, colorful worlds. Quiet, dramatic worlds. Peaceful worlds. Chaotic worlds.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Giving Our Children the World, I want my children to be world travelers, even when we don’t have the ability to go far from home.

Travel is available to anyone with a library card.

The following is a list of beautiful picture books to help you get started on your journey.

I'm over at Simple Homeschool, today. Head on over to read the rest.

Dutch Blitz

Hana in the Time of the Tulips by Deborah Noyes
Beautiful picture book about seventeenth-century Holland, tulips, and Rembrant.

The Boy Who Held Back the Sea by Thomas Locker
(Another lovely picture book with oil painting illustrations in the style of the Dutch masters.)



The Vermeer Interviews: Conversations With Seven Works of Art by Bob Raczka
In a very entertaining introduction to seven of Johannes Vermeer's masterpieces, the author brings the subjects to life through imagined interviews.



The Wheel on the School

Journey from Peppermint Street

and Dirk's Dog, Bello (a favorite from my childhood)

by storytelling master, Meindert De Jong


Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge



Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates (on DVD, Classic Disney, 1962)



Dutch Color by Douglas M. Jones III
A mystery revolving around tulips and mixing paints, set in the golden era of Dutch art.

And, of course, Countries Around the World: Netherlands (DVD)

Around the World: A Chapter at a Time

I've been busy compiling a list of books (chapter books, not picture books) that help capture the history, culture, or atmosphere of places around the world. These books range from very simple chapter books to books more appropriate for the young adult level. Fiction and non-fiction titles are represented, as well as a variety of historical eras.

I still have a list of books to research and add, so I'll let you know if I update this list.

Do you have favorites not on this list? Please leave recommendations in the comments! Do you have any cautions for books on this list? (I have not read them all.) Please let us know in the comments, as well.

North America:

Canada:
Owls in the Family (Farley Mowat), 1930

Alaska:
The Year of Miss Agnes (Kirkpatrick Hill), remote fishing village
Water Sky (Jean Craighead George)

Utah:
The Great Brain (John D. Fitzgerald), Catholic boys growing up in a Mormon community, 1890s

Montana/North Dakota:
Naya Nuki: Shoshoni Girl Who Ran (Kenneth Thomasma), Native American girl in 1800

Missouri:
The Great Turkey Walk (Kathleen Karr), Missouri to Colorado humorous Wild West, 1860

New York:
All of a Kind Family (Sydney Taylor), Jewish family in New York City, 1900
The Pushcart War (Jean Merrill), humor, 1960s

California:
Dragon’s Gate (Laurence Yep), Chinese railroad workers, 1860s
Bandit’s Moon (Sid Fleischman), gold rush
Esperanza Rising (Pam Munoz Ryan), Mexico/California, 1930s


Central America:

Guatemala:
The Most Beautiful Place in the World (Ann Cameron)

South America:

Argentina:
Chucaro: Wild Pony of the Pampa (Francis Calnay)

Peru:
Secret of the Andes (Ann Nolan Clark), modern Inca boy in the mountains


Europe:

Netherlands/Holland:
Hans Brinker/The Silver Skates (Mary Mapes Dodge), 1860s
Dirk’s Dog, Bello (Meindert DeJong)
The Wheel on the School (Meindert DeJong)
Dutch Color (Douglas M. Jones III), golden era of Dutch art 1600s

Sweden:
The Children of Noisy Village (Astrid Lindgren)

England:
The Shakespeare Stealer (Gary Blackwood), Shakespeare’s London, 1600
The Railway Children (Edith Nesbit), early 1900s
The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)

Ireland:
Nory Ryan’s Song (Patricia Reilly Giff), potato famine, 1840s

Spain:
The Shadow of a Bull (Maia Wojciechowska), bullfighting
I, Juan de Pareja (Elizabeth Borton de Trevino), art and slavery in 1600s

Switzerland:
Heidi (Johanna Spyri)
Treasures of the Snow (Patricia St. John)

France:
The Family Under the Bridge (Natalie Savage Carlson)
All Alone (Claire Huchet Bishop), French Alps
Twenty and Ten (Claire Huchet Bishop), WWII
Secret Letters From 0 to 10 (Susie Morgenstern), modern France
The Orange Trees of Versailles (Annie Pietri), late 17th century court of Louis XIV
The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Brian Selznick), Paris in the 1930s

Poland:
The Trumpeter of Krakow (Eric P. Kelly), 1400s

Hungary:
The Good Master (Kate Seredy)

Austria/Germany:
The Star of Kazan (Eva Ibbotson)

Russia:
The Night Journey (Kathryn Lasky), Jews escape Czarist Russia turn of century
Angel on the Square (Gloria Whelan), fall of Czar Nikolai 1913-18
The Impossible Journey (Gloria Whelan), Stalinist Russia circa 1934
Burying the Sun (Gloria Whelan), 1941, WWII
The Turning (Gloria Whelan), 1991/Yeltsin/Gorbachev
The Endless Steppe (Esther Hautzig)

Asia:

Japan:
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes (Eleanor Coerr), WWI,I 1950s
Born in the Year of Courage (Emily Crofford), Japan/US, 1800s
The Samurai’s Tale (Erik Christian Haugaard), 1500s

Korea:
A Single Shard (Linda Sue Park), potters’ village, 1100s
The Kite Fighters (Linda Sue Park), Seoul, 1470s

China:
Li Lun, Lad of Courage (Carolyn Treffinger), fishing village
Little Pear (Eleanor Frances Lattimore), 1800s
The Kite Rider (Geraldine McCaughrean), Mongol-ruled China, 1200s
The House of Sixty Fathers (Meindert DeJong), China during the Japanese invasion, 1930s
Chu Ju’s House (Gloria Whelan), contemporary rural China

Vietnam:
The Land I Lost: Adventures of a Boy in Vietnam (Quang Nhuong Huynh)
Water Buffalo Days: Growing Up in Vietnam (Quang Nhuong Huynh)
Goodbye, Vietnam (Gloria Whelan), contemporary Vietnam/Hong Kong

India:
Daughter of the Mountains (Louise Rankin), Tibet to Calcutta, 1900s
Gay Neck: The Story of a Pigeon (Dhan Gopal Mukerji)

Australia/Oceania:

Australia:
So Far From Skye (Judith O’Neill)

Polynesia:
Call it Courage (Armstrong Sperry)

Africa:

Akimbo and the Lions (and others) (Alexander McCall Smith)
Listening for Lions (Gloria Whelan), East Africa 1919/England

Morocco:
Star of Light (Patricia M. St. John)
King of the Wind (Maguerite Henry)

South Africa:
Journey to Jo’burg: A South African Story (Beverley Naidoo)

Kenya:
Facing the Lion: Growing up Maasai on the African Savanna (Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton)

Samurai Saturation

The Samurai's Tale by Erik C. Haugaard

Levi gives it a thumbs up.

Sword of the Samurai: Adventure Stories from Japan by Eric A. Kimmel
A collection of short stories.

The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn by Hoobler

Levi loved this one: two thumbs up! I'm looking at getting the others in the series.

How to be a Samurai Warrior by Fiona Macdonald

This selection is an informative picture book with entertaining illustrations. The boys loved it!

Peachboy (Rabbit Ears Storybook Collection)

We watch many of the Rabbit Ears Storybook Collection on DVD. Our library carries a huge selection, and I love the narration and non-animated illustrations. It is as if my boys are attending story time at the library.

Chieko and the Pine: A Japanese Folktale

In addition to the beautiful Japanese Folktale retelling (illustrated using Japanese sumi-e brush painting), children are treated to a live performance by a Japanese koto player, an interview with a bonsai expert, an example of Japanese traditional dance, and a discussion/demonstration of Japanese sumi-e brush painting (incredible!).

Countries Around the World: Japan

I've said it before, but I am so pleased that our library carries this series of DVDs. We watch one or two almost weekly!

As You Like It
Shakespeare set in feudal Japan ~ absolutely GORGEOUS! From our own favorites collection.

Samurai - The Last Warrior. The Path of Honor, the Sword of Revenge (Documentary)

Netflix Instant Streaming, oh, how I love thee.

NOVA: Secrets of the Samurai Sword (Documentary)

Netflix, oh, how I love thee....but not quite as much as Instant Streaming.


Scooby-Doo and the Samurai Sword

Please don't judge me.

The Last Samurai

(For teacher research only, of course.)

Giving Our Children the World: Education Through Geography

As a child, I would sit in a chair and look at my grandfather’s world globe for what seemed like hours at a time. Feeling the bumps of mountains. Reading the names of each country. Plotting a course across the ocean.

What is it like to live there? How does it feel to swim in those waters? Would the sky look the same if I lay on my back and looked up from another continent? How long would it take to get from here to there?

As soon as I had children of my own, I knew that I wanted to impart to them this same curiosity about the wide world around us. Architecture, food, folktales and stories, history, art, music, languages, and scenery-it is all fascinating to me.

I want my children to be world travelers, even when we don’t have the ability to go far from home.

There are many simple ways to incorporate geography into daily life and
education.

I'm over at Simple Homeschool, today. Head on over to read the rest!

Field Trip # 12 ~ Music of Africa

Today, we were back at our local Children's Performing Arts Series.

Fools In Paradise ~ Music of Africa

Anyone at this concert who didn't feel like dancing should have their vital signs taken.

The boys LOVED it, and I'll have a smile on my face for the rest of the day.

Let's Finish Up the Tour

Shall we? The Bellagio water fountain show is spectacular at night.

A view at Caesar's Palace on the walk back to our hotel:

The same view the next morning:

Finally, we visit Rome. Well, Caesar's Palace.

I was ecstatic to meet up with my favorite sculpture!!

Maybe not quite as stunning as she is at the top of a lonely, magnificent staircase at the Louvre, but gorgeous, all the same.

A mosaic masterpiece inside the casino:

Heading next door to the Bellagio to watch the fountains in daylight:

Blue skies and bright sunlight. What a way to end our romantic get-away!

This concludes our Around the World tour. Thanks for joining me!