I love to travel, experience new cultures, different tastes and open mine and now my daughters eyes to places new. As well as visiting places book can also take you on a journey of wonderful discovery. Not only through a fictional read but non-fiction also.
These books do just that. Readers witness a day in the life of children who might be thousands and thousands of miles away but whose routine and culture shares similarities.
Now on to these super reads.
Little Traveller Board Book Set created by Mud Puppy and illustrated by Erica Harrison.
The youngest of readers needn’t miss out on informative reads, embracing different countries and cultures with these fabulous board books. The four books are part of a set that come in a handy slipcase box.
The four titles are great for mini travellers with bold pictures, large text and the thick board book format is perfect for ickle hands to manoeuvre through the book with ease.
The books are colourful and inviting exploring animals, food, landmarks and vehicles found in different parts of the worlds.
Such a brilliant set and a great one for giving as a gift too.
Home Sweet home by Moira Butterfield and illustrated by Clair Rossiter.
This is a brilliant non-fiction read exploring homes from many different countries as well as how homes used to be in the past.
The text is engaging and informative scattered across double page spreads which are wonderfully illustrated. The book explores things such as the design of homes, from walls used to divide rooms to designs of front doors. It looks at the cultural differences in how famalies eat dinner together, the thinking of different countries behind the layout of different bedrooms and much more. The book encourages readers to engage with the text, asking questions along the way such as, If you could design a garden what would you put in it? And where do you like to munch your meals?
It’s also great to see how the book touches on how homes were in the past including facts such as the oldest homes being built 9000 years ago in Catalhoyuk, Turkey where the homes didn’t have doors and people walked around their flat rooftops.
Absolutely brilliant! What a fantastic book this would be in all libraries.
This Is How We Do It: One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids from around the World
Inspired by his travels Matt Lamothe completed this wonderful book which was published in 2017 by Chronicle Books. It can be easy to assume that we don’t have much in common with someone because of the way they look, how they dress or because they speak another language, but actually we do share a similairty, perhaps more then is first perceived.
Readers are introduced to seven real children from different parts of the world, including Iran, Japan and Italy. We are able to see what their routine is for one day and much of it will be very relatable to children reading this book. Attending school, playtime, after school activities it is all shared in this inspiring read.
Throughout the book wonderful illustrations are used for each of the seven children’s day but at the end of the book a photo is shared of each of the children with their family.
I appreciate the glossary at the end of the book and it was also lovely to read a note from the author.
This book is brilliant and I am delighted to have this in our home library.
This Is How I Do It by Matt Lamothe
Now there is an activity book available based on the picture book This is How We do It. It’s absolutely brilliant, giving readers an opportunity to meet more children from different parts of the world and be introduced to different cultures.
Readers also get to document their lives, completing activities such as what their view is outside their home, sharing what their favourite book is, what they ate for lunch and more. There are also postcards to pull out and stickers too.
The activity book would be a fab gift but also perhaps one to pop in a time capsule.
One Day, So Many Ways
One Day So Many Ways written by Laura Hall and illustrated by Loris Lora. Published by Quarto Kids.
Author Laura Hall is no stranger to travelling and she’s put her experience of travel writing into a delightful read for children. This brilliant read celebrates children from all around the world, over forty countries in fact are included in this book which is a must have for all learning settings.
Readers have the opportunity to see the routines of children from across the globe, from morning through to bedtime. It is such an informative read with illustrations that have all the retro feels.
Unique to the other books included, this has a section at the end of the book where you can learn more about the countries mentioned in the book. Pictures of flags alongside facts including the population of the country and the languages spoken, allow another learning point being included. Fantastic.
Welcome to Our World: A Celebration of Children Everywhere!
The front cover of this book alone speaks volumes and isn’t it just the cutest? There is so much we can learn from each other. This book takes you on a brilliant journey of discovery. It positively informs of different traditions country to country, from meal times to birthday traditions, to teaching you how to say “My name is” in different languages. It does well to explain that we all may eat different foods but it’s to satisfy our hunger, we may dress differently but it’s so we stay warm and we may speak different languages so that we can communicate. Our world is large but we are more alike then different and we are all welcome.
This book is longer then the other books mentioned so far and the amount of text, though varies on each page (see an example below) it tends to be more text heavy then the other books shared. It’s a book that you can dip in and out of and would be a brilliant resource in a learning setting, also suited to older readers in Key Stage 2 or children above the age of 7.
The illustrations throughout the book are wonderful and I’m sure you will agree they are rather adorable too.
These books would be wonderful gifts not only to give to an individual but also to gift to libraries and schools.
The books are available to buy from Amazon. For further details, click on an image below.
Disclaimer: I received these books from the publishers. All words and opinions are entirely my own. This post contains affiliate links.
One thought