Family Learning Adventure: Reading Our Way Around The World

We love books and love reading aloud as a family. Several years ago I started putting little sticky labels on the big maps we keep on the wall next to our dining room table. I casually put book titles on the places where the stories we were reading took place. At first it was:

Mary Poppins- England
Little House in the Big Woods-Wisconsin
Penderwicks-Massachusetts
Famer Boy and the Melendy Quartet- New York
A Long Way from Chicago - Illinois

What started out as labeling a couple books at first, has now turned into a family project of finding books from all over the world to read. We quickly saw that many of our books came from either the Northern and Eastern parts of the United States or England. We were missing the rest of the country and the world and we didn't even realize it. What started as an awareness has now turned into a challenge. There is nothing like a story to really learn about a culture and we are hooked. Here are the titles of those we have read and recommend (and for which we remembered to put a sticky label on the map). Some are chapter books and some are picture books, some are the whole Magic Treehouse series. Some are appropriate for all ages and some for older kids/young adults, use your own judgement.

I have also added in parentheses on the US list, the race of the main character as more and more of us are trying to audit our reading to make sure it is representing all people. There are many more exhaustive lists on this topic but this is just my way of representing racial diversity on this particular list for my own family's benefit. There is a further edit I am working on which will indicate whether the author of the books from around the world is (a) person living in that country/culture now, (b) an immigrant from that country, (c) someone who shares heritage with that country/culture or (d) someone who has lived in that country/culture, (e) someone who is writing about that country/culture from research. Again, we find this helpful in our family as we look at who is telling the story and what is their perspective. This edit is not yet complete but in process and I may not have gotten all the categories just as I want them but we're getting there.

Join us and let us know what you are reading so we can add that to our list as we explore cultures and people around the United States and around the world through books.

Dream Carver - Mexico (e)

Esperanza Rising - Mexico, California

Serefina's Promise - Haiti (e)

Love and Roast Chicken - Peru (d)

Secret of the Andes - Peru (d)

Late Lunch with Llamas - Peru (e)

Juan Bobo - Puerto Rico (b)

Rainbow Weaver - Guatemala (e)

Dancing Hands - Venezuela (e)

The Very Last First Time - Canada (Native) (a)

The Barren Grounds - Canada, Cree Nation (a)

Elijah of Buxton- Canada (e)

Polar Bears Past Bedtime - Canada (e)

Nory Ryan's Song - Ireland (c)

Viking Ships at Sunrise - Ireland (e)

Leprechaun in Late Winter - Ireland (e)

Wild Wings - Scotland

Katie Morag - Scotland

Swallows and Amazons - England (a)

Mary Poppins - England (a)

Padington - England (a)

Harry Potter - England (a)

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The BFG - England (a)

Fortunately the Milk - England (a)

The Secret Garden - England (a)

Wind in the Willows - England (a)

Stage Fright on a Summer Night - England (e)

Treasure Island - England/Caribbean (a,e)

Chico Chugg - England (a)

James Herriot Treasury for Children - England (a)

The Railway Series - England/Sodor (a)

Five Children and It - England (a)

Narnia Series - England/Narnia (a)

A Ghost Tale for Christmas Time - England (e)

Sweep - England (e)

Night of the New Magicians - France (e)

The Family Under the Bridge - France

Madeline- France

The Great Hibernation - Norway

Adventures with Waffles - Norway (a)

Children of Noisy Village - Sweden (a)

Pippi Longstocking - Sweden (a)

Finn Family Moomintroll - Finland

Number the Stars - Denmark (e)

The Winged Watchman - The Netherlands (a)

The Faithful Spy - Germany (e)

Echo - Germany, Pennsylvania, California, NY

Papa Piccalo - Italy (e)

Vacation Under the Volcano - Italy (e)

Carnival at Candlelight - Italy (e)

Monday with at Mad Genius - Italy (e)

Warriors in Winter - Roman Empire (e)

The Toymaker's Apprentice - Eastern Europe

Moonlight on the Magic Flute - Austria (e)

The Sound of Music - Austria

Dogs in the Dead of Night - Switzerland (e)

A Midsummer Night's Dream - Greece (e)

Hour of the Olympics - Greece (e)

Another Celebrated Dancing Bear - Russia

Angel on the Square - Russia

Fiddler on the Roof - Russia

Where the Streets Had and Name - Palestine (c)

Season of the Sandstorms - Iraq (e)

The Turtle of Oman - Oman (c)

Mummies in the Morning - Egypt (e)

Anna Hibiscus - Africa (b)

A Long Walk to Water - Southern Sudan (e)

Good Morning Gorillas - Uganda/DRC (e)

When Stars are Scattered - Somalia/Kenya (a)

Planting the Trees of Kenya - Kenya

Sulwe - Kenya (b)

The Elephant Keeper - Zambia

It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime - South Africa (b)
Shooting Kabul - Afghanistan/California

The Night Diary - India/Pakistan (c)

Tigers at Twilight - India (e)

A Crazy Day with Cobras - India (e)

Stand on the Sky - Kazakh Nomads in Mongolia (e with a)

A Single Shard - Korea (c)

When My Name Was Keoko - Korea

Grass Sandals - Japan

Night of the Ninjas - Japan (e)

Dragon of the Red Dawn - Japan (e)

Soul Lanterns - Japan

A Story About Ping - China

Day of the Dragon King - China (e)

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon - China (b)

House of Sixty Fathers - China

Tua and the Elephant - Thailand (e)

Inside Out and Back Again-Vietnam (b)

Dawn Raid - New Zealand

The Pumpkin Runner - Australia

Dingoes at Dinnertime - Australia (e)

Eve of the Emperor Penguin - Antarctica (e)

Sign of the Beaver - Maine (White/Native/Penobscot)
One Morning in Maine - Maine (White)
Blueberries for Sal - Maine (White)
Charlotte's Web - Maine (White)

The Enormous Egg - New Hampshire (White)

Return to Sender - Vermont (Latina/White)

Tia Lola - Vermont/Puerto Rico (Latina)

Amos Fortune, Free Man - Massachusetts/New Hampshire (Black)
Make Way for Ducklings - Massachusetts (White)

Johnny Tremain - Massachusetts (White)

The Penderwicks (series) - Massachusetts (White)

Little Women (series) - Massachusetts (White)

Dumpling Dreams - Massachusetts/China (Asian/Chinese)

Show Me A Sign - Massachusetts, Martha's Vineyard (Deaf Community)

Boxcar Children (series) - Connecticut (White)
The Moffats Series - Connecticut (White)
Ginger Pye - Connecticut (White)

Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing Fudge Series - New York City/New Jersey/Maine (White)
My Side of the Mountain Series - New York (White)
Stuart Little - New York (White)

Gone Away Lake - New York (White)

Farmer Boy - New York (White)

Same Sun Here - New York City/Kentucky (Indian Immigrant/White)

Four Story Mistake (Melendy Quartet) - New York (White)
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street (series) - New York City (Black/Biracial)
Wonder - New York City (White)

Blizzard of the Blue Moon - New York City (White)

Children of the Longhouse - Mohawk Tribe Iroquois Confederacy (Native)

Hoboken Chicken Emergency - New Jersey (White)

Ben and Me - Pennsylvania (White)
Pie - Pennsylvania (White)

The Rag Coat - West Virginia (White)

Bridge to Terebithia - Virginia (White)

We Are Grateful : Otsaliheliga (Cherokee/Native)

Warm as Wool - Ohio (White)
Homer Price - Ohio (White)

The Perilous Road - Tennessee (White)

A Tugging String - Alabama/New York (Black/White/Jewish)

Preaching to the Chickens - Alabama (Black)

Because of Winn Dixie - Florida (White)