Around the World in 80 Books

When discussing the idea of this workshop with some fellow teachers, they strongly felt that what's needed isn't just another list of book titles, but ways to put those books into action in the classroom. It seems that multicultural book lists can be found all over the Internet, but what teachers really need are concrete ways to use the books. So with that in mind, I've started a list of ways to use globally-minded picture books. I got us half way there! With suggestions from you, the reader of this site, hopefully we can get this list to number 80.

For those teachers seeking print resources for incorporating multicultural books in the classroom, I highly recommend two books: Understanding Diversity Through Novels and Picture Books (pictured here) and Across Cultures: A Guide to Multicultural Literature for Children.

Picture Books can be used to focus on

1. universal themes such as freedom, cooperation, bravery, and compassion (see the section below);


2. holiday celebrations (how do Christmas celebrations differ in England, Mexico, and Poland?);


3. interpretations of nature through ancient myths (Native American vs. African myths about the Sun and Moon);


4. inventions of different cultures (Made in China: Ideas and Inventions from Ancient China, The Kid Who Invented the Popsicle: And Other Surprising Stories about Inventions, and A Native American Thought of It: Amazing Inventions and Innovations (see the trailer below) are great books with which to start);


5. economics in a child-friendly way (see the section below);


6. fairy tale interpretations;


7. famous women and their contributions (Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women and No Girls Allowed: Tales of Daring Women Dressed as Men for Love, Freedom and Adventure are two books I highly recommend for this exploration);


8. historical events;


9. world events through the eyes of different nationalities (for example, see book suggestions and teaching ideas for the Holocaust);


10. art and artists of different cultures;


11. travel around globe (Virtual Traveler allows students to hear about a visit to an exotic place. As they listen, students take notes which they use to later create a summary of the visit);


12. foods from around the globe;


13. manners and etiquette;


14. animals;


15. poetry forms;


16. schooling and education (a book like Little Leap Forward: A Boy in Beijing allows students to contrast their relatively carefree lives with the more difficult lives of children living in countries were freedoms are suppressed);


17. clothing;


18. proverbs (see Creative Proverbs for thousands of proverbs, sorted by country of origin or type; great for discussion starters or to be tied in with picture books);


19. transportation;


20. childhood;


21. music;


22. historical time periods in preparation for reading historical fiction novels;


23. villains (one interesting question to pursue is, "Is a villain really a villain if he/she is just an animal following what are natural, inborn traits?" For example, is Shere Khan from Kipling's The Jungle Book a villain if he hunts Mowgli, a natural act for a maneater?);


24. toys and games;


25. folklore;


26. alphabet books (see the recommended titles from Sleeping Bear Press below);


27. differing perspectives (Jane Yolen's Encounter, for example, examines Columbus' arrival in the New World through the eyes of its natives);


28. study of states in the Union or countries (Discover America is a great place to start);


29. science and nature topics (rain forests, human interactions with natural resources);


30. heroes and heroism (see a recent post at my picture book blog for titles and ideas);


31. critical thinking skills (cause and effect, prediction, comparison and contrast, sequencing, inference);


32. current events (tsunamis, 9/11, droughts, homelessness);


33. family trees;


34. word origins (including the origin of slang, which is covered nicely in Gillian O'Reilly's Slangalicious: Where We Got that Crazy Lingo;


35. heritage days;


36. work;


37. architecture;


38. fables (see really neat, animated fables online at Fables from Aesop, a site created in conjunction with Tom Lynch's Fables from Aesop storybook);


39. monsters;


40. sports (check out these great ideas and titles for baseball, or these ideas for teaching about the world through soccer, with links for the World Cup).

So, half way to eighty and I'm sure you've got an idea I hadn't considered! If so, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the site!

For a picture book to be compelling, it most work at a thematic level. That is, it must address a universal concept to which students can relate. The picture book The Empty Pot, for example, addresses the theme of integrity, of being true to one's own self (check out some teaching activities for The Empty Pot).

In order to make literature meaningful, teachers must find a way to help students connect it to their own lives. Universal Themes are one way of doing this. Regardless of the picture book you choose and its innate merits, you must ask yourself, "What makes this story accessible to everyone?" That's getting to the theme, or the universality, of the story.

But which comes first, the book or the theme? That's entirely up to you. Many teachers have strong allegiances to certain books, so they let the books "lead" the curriculum. Other teachers prefer to select several themes for the year (often one per month or marking period) and then build a collection of picture books, poetry, drama, and accompanying activities around that theme. Another consideration is how far a theme will extend into other curriculum areas. This is where universal themes (Balance, Change, Patterns, Relationships) prove to be somewhat more authentic than topics (Spiders, Autumn, Tall Tales). Themes more naturally tie disciplines together.

As we begin to focus on 21st Century learning skills, it should be noted that life and career skills such as initiative, accountability, leadership, and responsibility can best be expressed and drawn from picture books as themes. Without specific, concrete models of these skills in action, they're nothing but words. The characters and story lines withing picture books embody these life and career skills.

In pairing a book to The Empty Pot, I would choose one that varies dramatically in illustration, tone, and culture. A terrific companion book might be The Secret Olivia Told Me (see a summary and teaching ideas).

For an exhaustive listing of universal themes, email me.

When most of us think of the word economy we either think of present dire circumstances, or we think of world financial issues far beyond the understanding of our students. But the fact is, a number of variables from economics (supply, demand, surplus, profit) are important components of a simple financial literacy which our students, comprising one of the largest groups of consumers in the world, need to understand.

A simple picture book such as One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference concisely illustrates how planning, hard work, and determination can equal success. Similarly, Cycle of Rice, Cycle of Life: A Story of Sustainable Farming shows how people can interact with the environment, providing their own needs while respecting natural resources. Both of these books present just a microcosm of world economy, perfect for a class study.

In looking at history through the eyes of economics, both The Silk Route: 7,000 Miles of History and We're Riding on a Caravan present child-friendly views of the complex economy of the Silk Road, which not only accounted for the livelihood of thousands in the Far and Middle East, but also largely drove European exploration efforts of the 1500s. If you're reading about Columbus or any of the other explorers seeking shorter routes to the Indies, it's important that students have perspectives from both sides. (It should also be noted that the latter book provides many wonderful details of Chinese cities through maps and descriptions. Now that China has pretty soundly reestablished itself as a giant in the world of commerce, this book couldn't be more meaningful).

Looking for an idea that involves more math and less history? Be sure to check out the link for One Grain Of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale in the Math section below.

ABC books provide nice models for extending topic knowledge. Sleeping Bear Press, for example, has several excellent ABC titles such as A Is for Anaconda: A Rainforest Alphabet and B Is for Battle Cry: A Civil War Alphabet. Using these picture books as models, your students could create similar ABC books for any topic you're presently studying. A graphic organizer, such as an ABC Brainstorm or this Alpha Blocks Chart (both found at Readingquest.org), makes the prewriting part of the lesson simple; students can then individually be assigned one letter of the content-area alphabet to illustrate for a classroom-created book.

(By the way, Sleeping Bear press provides free teaching guides for most of their beautifully illustrated ABC picture books, such as A is for Anaconda: A Rainforest Alphabet).

Also from that publisher comes the Children of the World Series, featuring such titles as Asha: A Child of the Himalayas. In referencing this series, School Library Journal said,

"These attractive titles have immediate "pick-me-up" appeal. The covers feature a full-color photo of a child from the featured country. Inside, readers find a political map of the world with the area in focus outlined and a few basic facts about it. The books function like photo albums with good-quality, well-captioned color photographs being the most prominent feature of each spread. The brief accompanying texts offer information about the child's home life and culture."

One terrific and authentic way to explore cultures around the globe (including our very small part of it!) is through holidays and celebrations. Some, like Juneteenth Jamboree, will really spark students' curiousity since most have probably never heard of this observation (see the free teaching guide at the publisher's site).

Some holidays, rather than being celebrated, are to be observed with solemnity, and picture books serve a place there as well. Veterans' Day, for example, becomes more meaningful when students are presented with a book such as Ken Mochizuki's Heroes or Margot Theis Raven's America's White Table.

One way to get started is to search for a calendar of multicultural events to discover what's being celebrated, and how you might incorporate related ideas into your curriculum.

You'll find a number of articles, as well as a pretty complete list of Cinderella variations, at the Cinderella Stories site. One great resource is Cinderella Tales From Around The World, although you can of course collect individual versions of the tale in picture book format, such as the Native American retelling The Rough-Face Girl. Even more fascinating to students are anti-Cinderella tales such as Fanny's Dream, wherein strong-willed and sensibly-minded women discard the fantasy for what choices they feel are more important.

Check out my blog post on The Cinderella Tale: A Mirror of Culture for lots of great book suggestions plus some excellent activities.

By searching Google you can find lots of ideas for teaching fairy tales around the world. Try enclosing the actual fairy tale name in quotation marks, and then adding "around the world" or "variations" or "multicultural" after the title in the Google search bar.

Publishers such as Lee and Low have strong roots in telling the tales of unsung heroes and events of history. There was a time when picture books would only present the most mainstream, traditional look at historical events, but books such as Jane Yolen's Encounter have proven that the days are largely behind us now.

The fact is, almost any topic that can be found through the Dewey Decimal System on the shelves of the adult history section can likewise be found (with the same call number) on the shelves of the juvenile section. Ancient Rome, for example, returned 163 titles in the children's department. The lesser known Children's Crusade returned just three, but Picasso returned 47. So by ratio, we can expect to find equivalent offerings in children's historical (and other nonfiction) titles in almost every category.

One key use of historical picture books (as mentioned in the List of 40 above) is to establish a common historical background, or foundation, for historically themed chapter books. In my opinion, no better example exists of this being used in a more powerful way than through the use of Holocaust picture books. Before preparing to read any number of Holocaust novels, teachers can better prepare their students for the experience by sharing a number of appropriate picture books (see my post at Teach with Picture Books for more information).

One of my first forays into math using picture books was an accidental one. I chose One Grain Of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale by Demi, having been a fan of that author ever since reading The Empty Pot (see the Universal Themes section above for more on this book). One Grain Of Rice tells how a simple villager uses her knowledge of mathematics to best a despotic ruler. You've got to love it when math wins! For further details on this book, plus some related lessons and links, check this post at my Teach with Picture Books blog. The King's Chessboard, pictured to the right, is another retelling of that same mathematic idea.

The variety of math related picture books is just staggering. Another favorite is Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi, a tale based upon sound yet uncomplicated geometry. Author Cindy Neuschwander has several others in this series, and they're a must if you want students to get excited about math! For some reason story makes it all more interesting.

A last favorite of mine is the little known What's Your Angle, Pythagoras?, a clever retelling of Pythagoras and the invention of his famous theorem. The illustrations alone make many adults exclaim, "Oh! Now I get it!"

If you're looking for a site with more teaching ideas for math picture books, try Mathwire. Mathwire is an awesome alphabetically organized site of Math activities, and by clicking on link you'll see a nice sampling of how Mathwire incorporates picture books into mathematics.

Modern retellings such as The Adventures of Odysseus and Goddesses: A World of Myth and Magic bring mythology to life for modern young readers. Says one critic of Godesses:

This beautifully illustrated book is like an encyclopedia of goddesses. It has a diverse selection of goddesses, well-known and not, from cultures around the world. Here you'll find goddesses from Aataentsic to The Zorya, with many in between. Each entry includes the goddess' name (and pronunciation), location, and some of her story. (There is also a list of the goddesses by country/culture/domain for quick reference.) A wonderful book that appeals to children and adults alike (many adults buy this title as a gift for friends or themselves). It is enthralling; refreshingly informative and utterly beautiful at the same time!

Candlewick Press offers its new Mythology (Ologies), which is fully supported with a downloadable mythology kit and a fantastic new web site called Ology World (not just Mythology, but also Pirateology, Dragonology, Egyptology, and more).

But let's not forget that mythology isn't just a Greek and Roman tradition; almost all cultures around the world have their own myths of creation and natural phenomenon. Sylvan Dell's How The Moon Regained Her Shape is one example of a retelling of a Native American myth (be sure to see the Creative Minds Teaching Guide that supplements the book; that alone may convince you to check out the book!).

Unless you're a sci fi fan, you might wrinkle your nose at the idea of time travel. To many it seems gimmicky and contrived. But noted children's author Jane Yolen (author of time travel/historical fiction novel The Devil's Arithmetic) feels that time travel is an authentic, valuable tool for children's fiction. At a recent Holocaust conference she stated:

"Time travel is easier than asking children to memorize rote facts. Answers from a character who is experiencing the history first hand make more sense. The question has to be asked, "How can children believe history when they themselves can't experience it? Time travel lends distance but paradoxically lets us get up close and personal; it makes history an experiential act."

One series of books that I personally love (and students feel the same) is the "You Wouldn't Want To series..." published by Scholastic. I go into this series at great length in one of my blog posts, where I also mention a couple other superb time travel series including the Good Times Travel Agency, recently released by Kids Can Press. The Good Times Travel Agency series features the adventures of Josh, Emma, and Libby Binkerton in Adventures in Ancient Greece, Adventures in Ancient Egypt, Adventures in Ancient China, and Adventures in the Middle Ages. These books are a clever balance of traditional comic strip narrative and background information provided via the pages of Julian T. Pettigrew's Personal Travel Guides. For readers who have outgrown The Magic Tree House, this is the next step in their reading journey! An excellent introduction to any of these cultures.

If you're seeking a good general list of picture books sorted by topics and themes, check out the 39 page pdf document titled PICTURE THIS! Using Picture Books To Introduce or Teach Skills.

Or check out this shorter pdf list from The Reading Lady aimed at intermediate grades.

Another great list, nicely categorized, comes from Linda Hoyt, who publishes many materials with Heinemann publishing. Check out her additional samples and her resources for purchase.

Simple Plot Structures is a terrific resource from Shutta Crum that graphically illustrates basic story structures. Related to this is her Story Skeletons article, with lots of picture book examples. Be sure to check out her site!

Keith Schoch (shoke) is a 6th grade Reading and Language Arts teacher in Bedminster, New Jersey. During his 20+ years in teaching he earned a Masters in Instruction and Curriculum, served on the New Jersey Department of Education ESPA Mathematics Item Review Committee, piloted tests for Educational Testing Service, assessed candidates for The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and was named a Governor's Teacher of the Year.

In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Keith specializes in professional development for organizations such as the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), the New Jersey Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (NJASCD), the New York State Reading Association (NYSRA), The New England League of Middle Schools (NELMS), and the American Camping Association (ACA). He also shares his expertise with colleagues through three highly acclaimed blogs: Teaching that Sticks, Teach with Picture Books, and How to Teach a Novel.

As a kid, Keith spent a dozen summers at camps where his parents were camp directors. It was there that he developed his unique sense of style, such as the popular summer of '70 "one button, one suspender" look (see photo above). Keith continues to enjoy summer camp by serving on the leadership staff of LakeView Day Camp in East Brunswick, NJ.

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