Books That Teach About the World/Geography/Cultures?

[ABC]

We own the Children Just Like Me book, and also own its accompanying Celebrations book.

I was looking at "This is..." series but was wondering if it is old-fashioned.

Also looking at the Good Night series ("Good Night World", "Good Night America", etc.)

Any favorites?

[Eastofoz]

Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions from Around the World is a really good one about how different cultures view the tooth fairy. Interesting and fun for kids with nice pictures.

[ABC]

I got that Celebrations book at Borders right after Christmas for 50% off. :-) It inspired me to get the Children Just Like Me one.

Chandra, I think if I were in the States, I'd get this: Faces http://www.amazon.com/Faces/dp/B00006... Me want, Me want.

Although, I do want to add that a part of me HATES our kids' magazines because while I feel I can't throw them away, they are flimsy and take up room.

But with the right magazine, you do get a lot for your money.

[Mir]

This also quite old, but when I was little I had a series of Twins books by Lucy Fitch Perkins. Each one had a brother and sister in a different place (Ireland, the Netherlands, etc) and included a lot of cultural background. They weren't always set in modern times, though.

[Donna-Lee]

Barefoot Books has a wonderful selection of books that offer children the opportunity to discover and celebrate the diversity in the world.

[Donna-Lee]

It is hard to make a specific recommendation without knowing the age of the child and the country of interest.

My husband is Indian so our family has really enjoyed Elephant Dance - A Journey to India.
We're Sailing to Galapagos is another favorite. We have some miniature Galapagos animals that we like to bring out and explore when we read the book.
My three year old daughter is a fan of the picture books with singalong CDs.

I have linked the Barefoot Books section on world cultures to the icon in my previous post.

[Donna-Lee]

Many years ago I gave this book to my nephew. At the time, it was the only children's book that I could find that had a description of Sikhism.
What I Believe

[Donna-Lee]

I was not familiar with this until today. It looks like a wonderful selection of books. One of their goals is to promote multicultural and cross-cultural books.

Spirit of PaperTigers Project - 2010 Book Set

http://www.papertigers.org/ptOutreach...

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Thanks for the great link, Donna-Lee. I see that one of their books Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai is part of our Picture Book Club Read for March! ;-) I have also heard really good things about Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Just came across I Is for India but haven't read it. It's part of a series called "World Alphabets" so I presume there are many other titles.

[Svetlana]

Barefoot Books are always an excellent choice. Has anyone considered Girls of many Lands series Cecile: Gates of Gold Neela: Victory Song Spring Pearl: The Last Flower Leyla: The Black Tulip Isabel: Taking Wing Kathleen: The Celtic Knot There are several more books in the series, all are well written and well researched, target reader girls ages 8-12. Also, Jules Verne has always been considered by me as a great introduction to geography through adventure.

[Lisa]

I've read so many of the above books and loved them. One excellent book I read today that belongs in this thread is Wonderful Houses Around the World. It shows unusual (for many of us from other cultures) houses (and their inhabitants, possessions, etc.) from the sub--cultures of 10 different countries. There are photos and drawings and information for each house and the people who live in them.

[Lisa]

Abigail wrote: "That houses book looks really interesting, Lisa! Your review of it reminds me of the adult book, Material World: A Global Family Portrait, a little bit."

Yes, it is kind of similar but nowhere near as comprehensive, although this children's book also has the drawings, not just the photographs. And Material World focuses on possessions; this one focusses on the actual houses/dwellings/architecture.

[Lisa]

I just read a great book today that fits this theme perfectly!:

If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World's People

He's also written one about the U.S., with the same illustrator, that I've put on hold at the library, and I'm hoping will show the diversity within America:

If America Were a Village: A Book about the People of the United States

[Lisa]

The first one, the one that I've read, was really terrific!

[Lisa]

Thanks for posting about this book, Abigail! It's perfect for this theme. And it was a fabulous book.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Yes, Thank You, World is wonderful! :-)

Another book along these lines, which unfortunately I have not yet been able to read is, One World, One Day which compares the days of children around the world. This one uses photographs as illustratons.

[[deleted user]]

Kathryn wrote: "Yes, Thank You, World is wonderful! :-)

Another book along these lines, which unfortunately I have not yet been able to read is, One World, One Day which compares the..."


One World, One Day is a nice books with beautiful photos and well chosen words showing kids around the world engaging in the same activities.

To Be a Kid is very similar. I like the board book edition of To Be a Kid a lot for younger children. I think One World, One Day is slightly better (more visually striking & more poetic) than the full version of To Be a Kid, but both are great!

[Philip]

I recently wrote a book called “Roaming the Globe in Rhyme and Prose” that uses pictures, poetry and pop-up messages to help a child remember trivia and intriguing facts about popular cities throughout the world and the USA. It may be just the thing to get your child started on a life long adventure of learning about world geography on a deeper level. It is available through Amazon.com and on eKindle.

http://Roaming-Globe-Rhyme-Prose-illu...