Books Around the World

This is a list of books for your students that are about different countries, cultures, and people from around the world. Many of them were taken off lists of book awards, such as the Children's Book Council Outstanding International booklist, the Caldecott Awards, and the Newbery Awards. Others were recommended to us by teachers and avid readers. You will find separate lists for Elementary, Middle, and High school-aged students. Within each list, the books are broken down by the continent that they represent. There is also a separate list in each category called "Across Continents," which contains books that are multi-cultural, or are available for several different countries. Happy Reading!

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Africa:
Kofi and his Magic by Maya Angelou
A young Ashanti boy's description of his village in West Africa.

Ogbo: Sharing Life in an African Village by Ifeoma Onyefulu
A young Nigerian girl explains what the tradition of Ogbo looks like in her village.

Ashanti to Zulu by Margaret Musgrove
Information on 26 different African tribes (one for each letter of the English alphabet), including maps of where they are located and information about their distinct cultures.

Antarctica:
Antarctica (True Books: Continent) by David Petersen
A thorough description of the various aspects of Antarctica, including geography, wildlife, and history.

Antarctica by Helen Cowcher
Describes the daily life of penguins, seals, and humans on this frozen continent.

Asia:
Going to School in India by Lisa Heydlauff
A nonfiction compilation of photos, stories, and cultural background, focusing on how children attend school in different parts of India.

Anni's India Diary by Anni Axworthy
A fictional account of a ten-year old girl's multi-month travels around India. Includes cultural information about all facets of life.

The Children of the Lamp Book 3: The Cobra King of Kathmandu by PB Kerr
The third volume in an adventure series about a twin girl and boy who travel across the world on an adventure.

New Clothes for New Year's Day by Hyun-Joo Bae
The tale of a young Korean girl's preparations for the Lunar New Year.

In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Betty Bao Lord
A story of a Chinese girl in Brooklyn in 1947 facing the challenge of gaining acceptance in a new country while keeping the traditions of her family.

Australia:
Lizzie Nonsense: A Story of Pioneer Days by Jan Ormerod
Lizzie's wild imagination sustains her and her mother while her father is on a long trip. This story reflects the living conditions in the pioneer days in the Australian bush.

High Hopes on Sea by Jenny Wagner
An amusing story of a family with unusual circumstances working together.

Europe:
Dali and the Path of Dreams by Anna Obiols
Young Salvi (who grows up to be Salvador Dali) goes on magical adventures with his wild imagination. Later in life, memories of those adventures serve as a basis for his surrealistic paintings. A great introduction to the artwork of Dali.

Escape to West Berlin by Maurine Dahlberg
A fictional story about youth and family, set in Germany during the days of the Berlin Wall.

Focus on Europe by Various Authors
Covers basic topics on the following countries: Belgium, Luxembourg and The Netherlands, Britain and the British, France and the French, Germany and the Germans, Italy and the Italians, Spain and the Spanish.

North America:
Diego by Jonah Winter
A bilingual account of the life and paintings of Diego Rivera with beautiful pictures.

Cinco de Mayo, Dias de Fiesta by June Behrens
A story of the Cinco de Mayo victory of Mexico over the French in 1862.

Cinco de Mayo by Janet Riehecky
A young girl's story about Cinco de Mayo preparations and celebrations. Also includes directions on how to make a few Mexican crafts.

Mayeros: A Yucatec Maya Family by George Ancona
A story of the Mayan Indians and their culture and history.

Cuban Kids by George Ancona
An interesting story that explains the lives that children lead in Cuba, including going to school, and how they work and play.

South America:
Tales our Abuelitas Told by F. Isabel Campoy, Alma Flor Ada
A collection of popular tales which reveal the many origins of Hispanic culture.

The Magic Bean Tree by Beatriz Vidal
Based on a traditional legend of Argentina, where a young boy sets out to free his land from drought.

Moon Rope by Lois Ehlert
A traditional folk story from Peru, where a fox and a mole try to climb to the moon. This story is written in both Spanish and English.

Across Continents:
Count your Way through Africa by James S. Haskins
A counting book that introduces Swahili words, as well as African geography and culture. Also available: Count your Way through… Canada, China, France, Germany, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, or the Arab World.

Look What Came From Spain by Kevin Davis
A beautiful picture book about all of the things that Spain introduced to the rest of the world (e.g. flamenco dancing, bullfighting, and tapas). Also available: Look What Came From… Africa, Australia, Austria, China, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland, and the United States.

Hello, World! Greetings in 42 Languages Around the Globe by Manya Stojic
How we say hello in many different languages, paired with beautiful paintings of contemporary children from around the world.

If the World Were a Village by David Smith
An illustrated book version of the well-known metaphor for making the world's population and make-up more understandable.

Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions from Around the World by Selby Beeler
Tooth-losing traditions from many countries.

Children Just Like Me by Barnabas and Anabel Kindersley
A collection of child profiles (with photos) from around the world. Great details for similarities and differences in daily life.

Letters From Around the World by Various Authors
Discusses daily life in all of these places in a way that is easy for kids to understand: a listing of pen-pal letters. Available for: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, and South Africa.

The Gold-Threaded Dress by Carolyn Marsden
A Thai-American girl is teased because of her culture by her fourth-grade classmates, whose parents come from Mexico, Somalia, China, and Finland.

Tibet Through the Red Box by Peter Sis
A young Czechoslovakian boy hears stories about Tibet from his father, a documentary filmmaker. A Caldecott Honor Book in 1999.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Africa:
Somehow Tenderness Survives by Hazel Rochman
Ten short stories and autobiographies about people suffering racism in Africa.

Song of Be by Leslie Beake
Set in Namibia, this is a story that deals with culture, politics, family, tradition, and growing up.

A Girl Named Disaster by Nancy Farmer
The fictional story of an eleven-year-old girl in a dangerous year long journey across Africa to escape an arranged marriage.

Antarctica:
Escape from Disaster (Antarctica, No 2) by Peter Lerangis
A story of a crew's survival attempts while stranded in Antarctica.

Troubling a Star by Madeleine L'Engle
Both an adventure and a mystery about a young girl's birthday trip to Antarctica where her friend is a marine biologist.

Asia:
The Diary of Ma Yan: The Struggles and Hopes of a Chinese Schoolgirl by Ma Yan
Living with her poor family in rural China, Ma Yan did not have much hope for an education, until a French journalist published her diaries and changed the course of her life.

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
Tree-ear, an orphaned child, befriends an elderly potter. Set in 12th Century Korea. Won the Newbery Medal in 2002.

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr
Sadako, a healthy young girl living in Hiroshima, is diagnosed with leukemia. According to Japanese legend, if a sick person succeeds in folding one thousand paper cranes, they will be healed of their illness, so Sadako starts folding with determination. Based on a true story.

Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
A fantasy about young Haroun and his adventures. Serves as an allegory to many of the social problems faced in India today.

The Legend of the Wandering King by Laura Gallego García
Written by a Spanish author, this story takes place in pre-Islamic sixth century Arabia. Prince Walid enters a poetry competition and seeks to be the greatest poet.

So Far from the Bamboo Grove by Yoko Kawashawa Watkins
The difficult story of a Japanese family who had to leave their home in North Korea at the end of World War II. Based on the author's true experiences.

Australia:
Kalpana's Dream by Judith Clarke
Neema is a seventh-grader in Australia who is asked to answer the question “Who am I?” for a class assignment. This answer is complicated by thoughts of her great-grandmother, who is visiting from India. A cross-cultural and cross-generational story.

Europe:
Blood Red Horse by K.M. Grant
An historical account of two brothers leaving England to fight crusades in the Holy Land in the late 12th century.

I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino
A story about 17th Century Spanish artist Diego Velazquez, told from the perspective of his slave, Juan de Pareja. Won the 1966 Newbery Medal.

An Innocent Soldier by Josef Holub
A historical fiction about Adam, who joins Napoleon's Grande Armée in 1812.

The Season of Secret Wishes by Iva Prochazkova
Twelve-year-old Kapka moves with her family to Prague in the 1980's, and begins to learn how people in the city interact with each other.

The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman
Alyce, a homeless girl in medieval England, becomes an apprentice for an ornery midwife. This book won the 1996 Newbery Medal.

North America:
The Circuit: Stories From the Life of a Migrant Child by Francisco Jiménez
The story of a family from rural Mexico who makes the dangerous trek across the border into California to join “the circuit” of migrant workers. A large emphasis on Mexican tradition and culture, and the Mexican family's hopes and dreams.

Beyond the Ancient Cities by Jose Maria Merino
A mestizo boy journeys with his godfather to Panama to accept a royal appointment. Heavy emphasis on the impacts that the Spanish presence had on the New World, as well as a deep exploration of the make-up of indigenous cultures.

Imagining Isabel by Omar S. Castaneda
Isabel, who is from a traditional Mayan village, moves to a contemporary Guatemalan city for a teacher training program. This is a excellent novel to explore the background of the Mayan culture, and the differences in the social and cultural atmosphere of Guatemala.

South America:
Go and Come Back by Joan Abelove
The fictional story of two American anthropologists in Peru. A strong focus on the cultural clashes that might have taken place.

Across Continents:
Maya Running by Anjali Banerjee
The story of a young girl named Maya who was born in India and has grown up in Canada. Although she loves her country, she is feeling uncertain about where she truly belongs.

HIGH SCHOOL

Africa:
Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga
A young African woman named Tambu at a British missionary school, where she begins to learn some of the harder lessons of life. She deals with many family struggles, while coming to understand the real existence of oppression.

So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba
This book was the first winner of the Noma Award for Publishing in Africa. In the form of a long letter, this story addresses such things as marriage, careers, love, divorce, family, death, and gender inequalities in Africa.

Antarctica:
Escape from Disaster (Antarctica, No 2) by Peter Lerangis
A story of a crew's survival attempts while stranded in Antarctica.

Asia:
When I Was a Soldier by Valérie Zenatti
Zenatti's story of his two mandatory years of service in the Israeli army, and the many emotions and situations that accompanied that experience.

Childhood Days by Satyajit Ray
An autobiographical memoir about this world-famous filmmaker. About his childhood years in Calcutta in the early 20th Century.

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
The story of four Chinese women who independently immigrate to San Francisco in 1949 and begin meeting to continue their cultural legacy.

Motherland by Vineeta Vijayraghavan
The story of an Americanized teenager who is asked by her mother to make a summer visit to her grandparents in India. The story of 15-year-old Maya as she begins to mature and appreciate her cultural heritage.

Australia:
The Road from Coorain by Jill Ker Conway
Read the story of Conway's life as she writes of living on a remote sheep farm during her youth and then her teenage years in suburban Sydney. Follow her unforgettable tale to becoming the president of Smith College and a professor at MIT.

Europe:
The Minister's Daughter by Julie Hearn
A historical fiction, this is an English novel about Puritans and witchcraft.

Kipling's Choice by Geert Spillebeen
A story of Rudyard Kipling's 18-year-old son, who is a soldier during World War I. This story takes place in 1915.

North America:
Tree Girl by Ben Mikaelsen
The gruesome tale of a young Guatemalan girl whose remote village is overtaken by guerilla warfare. Contains difficult depictions of civil war in Central America.

South America:
So Loud a Silence by Lyll Becerra de Jenkins
A tale of 17 year old Juan, who beings to learn of politics and guerrilla warfare in Colombia.

Across Continents:
A Group of One by Rachna Gilmore
An Indo-Canadian girl, who is struggling through self-identity, learns that both cultures are important to her heritage and to who she has become today.