By Kristin Littrell, CFCA freelancer
This is the second installment in our series about helping kids develop a global worldview. View part one here.
Like many young families, we read a lot in our house.
Kristin Littrell and family
Some books are just silly, others teach subtle life lessons. Slowly, we’re adding books to our collection that purposefully introduce a global worldview.
Interestingly enough, these are some of our preschooler’s favorite books in her library.
They’re the books she chooses to keep with her at rest time, looking through them time and time again.
Three of our favorite books that teach kids a global worldview
- The Sandwich Swap by Queen Rania Al Abdullah and Kelly DiPucchio
Barnes and Noble description:
Lily and Salma are best friends. They like doing all the same things, and they always eat lunch together.
Lily eats peanut butter and Salma eats hummusóbut what’s that between friends? It turns out, a lot. Before they know it, a food fight breaks out. Can Lily and Salma put aside their differences? Or will a sandwich come between them?
The smallest things can pull us apartóuntil we learn that friendship is far more powerful than difference. In a glorious three-page gatefold at the end of the book, Salma, Lily, and all their classmates come together in the true spirit of tolerance and acceptance.
After we read The Sandwich Swap the first few times, we took Kate, our oldest, to a nearby Mediterranean restaurant so we could eat hummus, just like Salma. She loved it.
- A Country Far Away by Nigel Gray
Scholastic.com description:
Two boys from different parts of the world–rural Africa and urban North America–talk about one day in their lives and the joys they experience: riding bicycles and swimming, staying up late with cousins, scoring goals while playing soccer, and more.
Philippe Dupasquier’s detailed color illustrations show the similarities and differences between the two boys’ lives.
Amazon.com description:
What do you do when you lose a tooth? Do you put it under your pillow and wait for the tooth fairy? Not if you live in Botswana! In Botswana, children throw their teeth onto the roof. In Afghanistan they drop their teeth down mouse holes, and in Egypt they fling their teeth at the sun! Travel around the world and discover the surprising things children do when they lose a tooth.
Selby B. Beeler spent years collecting traditions from every corner of the globe for this whimsical book, and G. Brian Karas adds to the fun, filling every page with humorous detail. He perfectly captures the excitement and pride that children experience when a tooth falls out.
Do you have any favorites we didn’t mention? Feel free to add them in the comments below!
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