Travel the World Through Books

Summer is coming, and with it a freedom from the time constraints of the school year. Make the most of this time by focusing on diverse children’s books, with recommendations from parents and educators from around the world. Summer reading with children is the perfect opportunity to travel the world through books!

The flexibility of school vacations makes summer a great time to explore the world together through diverse literature. Diverse children’s books can help provide “windows and mirrors” for children. That is, diverse stories provide windows into other ways of life, by teaching about other cultures, and mirrors of their own lives, as underrepresented groups are able to see themselves reflected in stories.

The great news is that global adventures are available to you even if you can’t travel! Your library card can be a passport to other countries and cultures, offering a treasure trove of diverse literature that you and your family can dive into this summer.

To help you get started, we have compiled diverse summer reading recommendations from parents and educators around the world! This annual book list is sorted into three age groups to make finding the perfect book even easier: ages 0-5, ages 6-11, and ages 12 – young adult.

You’ll find everything from folk tales to innovative picture books and coming of age stories. Some authors are beloved national treasures, while others are just breaking on the horizon of children’s literature.

Follow along this summer as we showcase more diverse books to explore, plus be sure to visit the summer reading lists we have been creating since 2015! You can find even more about how and why to travel the world through books this summer in our guest post on the Mom’s Library, part of a month-long collection of summer reading ideas.

What books are you excited to explore with your children this summer?

For even more inspiration, check out the Read Around the World recommendations from previous years:

The 2018 series with almost 200 book recommendations

The 2017 series with books from over 50 countries

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Leanna

Owner/Blogger at All Done Monkey

Leanna is a stay at home mother to three sweet, funny, rambunctious children. She draws inspiration from the Writings of the Bahá'í Faith and tries to raise her children in a fun, spiritual, loving environment. She and her husband, who is from Costa Rica, are raising their children to be bilingual and bicultural but more importantly to be "world citizens." Leanna blogs at All Done Monkey and is the founder of Multicultural Kid Blogs.

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