Around the World: One Chapter Book at a Time (Book List!)

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

I'm working on a list of books set in various countries around the world. Unfortunately, many of my modern history/lit books are at my sister's house as she is studying that time period with her kids, so I know I'm missing a bunch. I thought some of you might enjoy this list, and some of you might help me add to it! Do you have comments on the books listed below (favorites, cautions, etc... I haven't read all of them), or any favorite books to add? I have some gaping holes. I'd love more books set in France, Australia, Russia, Canada, Mexico, Africa, and South America.

 

North America:

 

Alaska:

The Year of Miss Agnes (Kirkpatrick Hill), remote fishing village

Water Sky (Jean Craighead George)

 

Utah:

The Great Brain (John D. Fitzgerald), Catholic boys growing up in a Mormon community, 1890s

 

Montana/North Dakota:

Naya Nuki: Shoshoni Girl Who Ran (Kenneth Thomasma), Native American girl in 1800

 

Missouri:

The Great Turkey Walk (Kathleen Karr), Missouri to Colorado, humorous Wild West, 1860

 

New York:

All of a Kind Family (Sydney Taylor), Jewish family in New York City, 1900

The Pushcart War (Jean Merrill), humor, 1980s

 

California:

Dragon’s Gate (Laurence Yep), Chinese railroad workers, 1860s

Bandit’s Moon (Sid Fleischman), gold rush

Esperanza Rising (Pam Munoz Ryan), Mexico/California, 1930s

 

 

South America:

 

Argentina:

Chucaro: Wild Pony of the Pampa (Francis Calnay)

 

Peru:

Secret of the Andes (Ann Nolan Clark), modern Inca boy in the mountains

 

 

Europe:

 

Holland:

Hans Brinker/The Silver Skates (Mary Mapes Dodge), 1860s

Dirk’s Dog, Bello (Meindert DeJong)

The Wheel on the School (Meindert DeJong)

Dutch Color (Douglas M. Jones III), golden era of Dutch art 1600s

 

Sweden:

The Children of Noisy Village (Astrid Lindgren)

 

England:

The Shakespeare Stealer (Gary Blackwood), Shakespeare’s London, 1600

The Railway Children (Edith Nesbit), early 1900s

 

Ireland:

Nory Ryan’s Song (Patricia Reilly Giff), potato famine, 1840s

 

Spain:

The Shadow of a Bull (Maia Wojciechowska), bullfighting

I, Juan de Pareja (Elizabeth Borton de Trevino), art and slavery in 1600s

 

Switzerland:

Heidi (Johanna Spyri)

Treasures of the Snow (Patricia St. John)

 

Poland:

The Trumpeter of Krakow (Eric P. Kelly), 1400s

 

Hungary:

The Good Master (Kate Seredy)

 

Asia:

 

Japan:

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes (Eleanor Coerr), WWII, 1950s

Born in the Year of Courage (Emily Crofford), Japan/US, 1800s

The Samurai's Tale (Erik Christian Haugaard), 1500s

 

Korea:

A Single Shard (Linda Sue Park), potters’ village, 1100s

The Kite Fighters (Linda Sue Park), Seoul, 1470s

 

China:

Li Lun, Lad of Courage (Carolyn Treffinger), fishing village

Little Pear (Eleanor Frances Lattimore), 1800s

The Kite Rider (Geraldine McCaughrean), Mongol-ruled China, 1200s

The House of Sixty Fathers (Meindert DeJong), China during the Japanese invasion, 1930s

 

India:

Daughter of the Mountains (Louise Rankin), Tibet to Calcutta, 1900s

 

Australia/Oceania:

 

Polynesia:

Call it Courage (Armstrong Sperry)

 

Africa:

 

Morocco:

Star of Light (Patricia M. St. John)

 

Nigeria:

The Rat-Catcher’s Son and Other Stories (Carolyn London) (from Sonlight)

Edited April 17, 2010 by Heidi @ Mt Hope

[kalanamak]

The Pushcart War was humorously set in the 1980's but it was written in the '60s and has a feel of NYC before 1968. I loved it as a child.

 

Maroo of the Winter Caves is set in SE France, albeit thousands of years ago.

Island of the Blue Dolphin is CA

Indian Paint is Minnesota area

 

I'm hoping some Australians will chime in!

[Ellyndria]

:lurk5:

[Kfamily]

Paris: The Family Under the Bridge

Dutch: The Wheel on the School

Japan: The Cat Who Went to Heaven

 

 

I'll add more later if I can remember more.

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

The Pushcart War was humorously set in the 1980's but it was written in the '60s and has a feel of NYC before 1968. I loved it as a child.

 

Maroo of the Winter Caves is set in SE France, albeit thousands of years ago.

Island of the Blue Dolphin is CA

Indian Paint is Minnesota area

 

I'm hoping some Australians will chime in!

 

Thanks for the info on the Pushcart War. I haven't had a chance to read it yet. I thought about adding Island of the Blue Dophins to the list, too.

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

Paris: The Family Under the Bridge

Dutch: The Wheel on the School

Japan: The Cat Who Went to Heaven

 

 

I'll add more later if I can remember more.

 

 

The Wheel on the School is terrific. I have The Cat Who Went to Heaven and The Family Under the Bridge, but hadn't read them yet so they didn't come to mind. Thank you!!

 

I could also add Owls in the Family to Canada.

[nmoira]

France:

My Guardian Angel - Weil

A Book of Coupons - Morgenstern

It's Not Fair - Morgenstern

Secret Letters from 0 to 10 - Morgenstern

Zazoo (YA) - Mosher

The Orange Trees of Versailles - Pietri

Spider's Voice (YA) - Skurzinski (don't be put off by the cover: that's Abelard and Heloise and embodies the scandal)

Victor - Gerstein

The Boy Who Ate Stars - Kochka

[kokotg]

ooh, fun!

 

Let's see...The Invention of Hugo Cabret is set in Paris

 

Number the Stars Denmark

The Land I Lost Vietnam

[nmoira]

Russia (not very uplifting fare):

Angel on the Square - Whelan

Hostage to War: A True Story - Wassiljewa

A Late-Born Child - Aleskin

Shadows Across the Sun - Likhanov

Forever Nineteen - Baklanov

An Old Tale Carved Out of Stone - Linevski (set in coastal Siberia during the Stone Age)

We Were Not Like Other People - Sevela

[kokotg]

I remember loving Natalie Savage Carlson's Orpheline books when I was a kid (I had a thing for orphans). They're all set in France. They're mostly out of print now, but it looks like you can still get them pretty easily.

[Matryoshka]

Canada:

Anne of Green Gables

 

Russia:

The Night Journey by Kathryn Lasky (Jews escape Czarist Russia turn of century)

Angel on the Square by Gloria Whelan (fall of Czar Nikolai 1913-18)

The Impossible Journey by Gloria Whelan (Stalinist Russia circa 1934)

Burying the Sun (1941, WWII) by Gloria Whelan

The Turning (1991/Yeltsin/Gorbachev), by Gloria Whelan

The Endless Steppe by Esther Hautzig

 

Austria:

 

The Star of Kazan (early 20th century Austria-Hungary & Germany) by Eva Ibbotson

In Mozart’s Shadow (mid-1700’s Austria)

 

Korea:

A Single Shard (1100s) by Linda Sue Park

The Kite Fighters (1471) by Linda Sue Park

 

 

These are from a list I keep - but I haven't read all the titles. The Star of Kazan and The Endless Steppe I have read and are excellent.

 

One of the books I have on my list from Mexico is My Heart Lies South: the Story of my Mexican Marriage by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño. There is a "Young People's Edition", although the 'regular' book doesn't look all that different. It's supposed to be heartwarming, and someone compares it to a Mexican All Creatures Great and Small (which would be another book to add to your list, but for Yorkshire). I'll have to pre-read.

 

 

I've read lots of fiction from South America (Laura Esquivel, Isabel Allende, García Márquez), but none of it is "kid-friendly". :glare: And I have read many books for kids about Mexicans, but they're all set in the southwest or California, not in Mexico.

 

You didn't say what ages/grades you were looking for, or if you had girls or boys - American Girl has a series of books called Girls of Many Lands about girls around the world that looks interesting. Written at a higher level than the AG books - like for 4th-8th grade? Here's a link to the one set in Ethiopia.

[~Kirsten~]

Oooooh, neat! Thanks so much for sharing this!

 

Most of my own research has been with picture books, since that's where we are, but I have come across a few chapter books (which you largely have listed). The Paddington books for England might be something to consider. Also, Finn Family Moomintroll for Finland looks wonderful, though I only skimmed it.

 

Have you seen the Travel for Kids website (http://www.travelforkids.com/main.htm) ? It has lots of wonderful book recommendations, country by country, and link you directly to the Amazon description. Quite a few chapter books there.

 

I'll definitely be checking back to add to my list!

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

France:

My Guardian Angel - Weil

A Book of Coupons - Morgenstern

It's Not Fair - Morgenstern

Secret Letters from 0 to 10 - Morgenstern

Zazoo (YA) - Mosher

The Orange Trees of Versailles - Pietri

Spider's Voice (YA) - Skurzinski (don't be put off by the cover: that's Abelard and Heloise and embodies the scandal)

Victor - Gerstein

The Boy Who Ate Stars - Kochka

 

Moira, you're a gem!! I can't wait to check these out. I have so many picture books set in France, but not much in the way of meatier fare. Thank you, thank you!

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

Sweden: Pippi Longstockings

 

Saudi Arabia: Ali and the Golden Eagle

 

New Jersey: Henry Reed books, in one of the books they travel from California to New Jersey.

 

New York: The Cricket in Times Square

 

Capri: Red Sails to Capri

Edited April 17, 2010 by Virginia Dawn

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

ooh, fun!

 

Let's see...The Invention of Hugo Cabret is set in Paris

 

Number the Stars Denmark

The Land I Lost Vietnam

 

Oh, yes. We loved The Invention of Hugo Cabret. How could I have forgotten? I have Number the Stars, but haven't read it yet. Time to put it on the list. And I'll check out The Land I Lost. Thank you!

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

Russia (not very uplifting fare):

Angel on the Square - Whelan

Hostage to War: A True Story - Wassiljewa

A Late-Born Child - Aleskin

Shadows Across the Sun - Likhanov

Forever Nineteen - Baklanov

An Old Tale Carved Out of Stone - Linevski (set in coastal Siberia during the Stone Age)

We Were Not Like Other People - Sevela

 

 

Thanks again, Moira, for taking the time to post that list. I have some researching to do!

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

I remember loving Natalie Savage Carlson's Orpheline books when I was a kid (I had a thing for orphans). They're all set in France. They're mostly out of print now, but it looks like you can still get them pretty easily.

 

And she wrote The Family Under the Bridge, too. I'll have to see if I can get my hands on any of those!

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

Oooooh, neat! Thanks so much for sharing this!

 

Most of my own research has been with picture books, since that's where we are, but I have come across a few chapter books (which you largely have listed). The Paddington books for England might be something to consider. Also, Finn Family Moomintroll for Finland looks wonderful, though I only skimmed it.

 

Have you seen the Travel for Kids website (http://www.travelforkids.com/main.htm) ? It has lots of wonderful book recommendations, country by country, and link you directly to the Amazon description. Quite a few chapter books there.

 

I'll definitely be checking back to add to my list!

 

Thanks for the link, Kirsten. I, too, have lots of picture books, but my oldest son devours chapter books, so I thought I'd start that list.

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

Canada:

Anne of Green Gables

 

Russia:

The Night Journey by Kathryn Lasky (Jews escape Czarist Russia turn of century)

Angel on the Square by Gloria Whelan (fall of Czar Nikolai 1913-18)

The Impossible Journey by Gloria Whelan (Stalinist Russia circa 1934)

Burying the Sun (1941, WWII) by Gloria Whelan

The Turning (1991/Yeltsin/Gorbachev), by Gloria Whelan

The Endless Steppe by Esther Hautzig

 

Austria:

 

The Star of Kazan (early 20th century Austria-Hungary & Germany) by Eva Ibbotson

In Mozart’s Shadow (mid-1700’s Austria)

 

Korea:

A Single Shard (1100s) by Linda Sue Park

The Kite Fighters (1471) by Linda Sue Park

 

 

These are from a list I keep - but I haven't read all the titles. The Star of Kazan and The Endless Steppe I have read and are excellent.

 

One of the books I have on my list from Mexico is My Heart Lies South: the Story of my Mexican Marriage by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño. There is a "Young People's Edition", although the 'regular' book doesn't look all that different. It's supposed to be heartwarming, and someone compares it to a Mexican All Creatures Great and Small (which would be another book to add to your list, but for Yorkshire). I'll have to pre-read.

 

 

I've read lots of fiction from South America (Laura Esquivel, Isabel Allende, García Márquez), but none of it is "kid-friendly". :glare: And I have read many books for kids about Mexicans, but they're all set in the southwest or California, not in Mexico.

 

You didn't say what ages/grades you were looking for, or if you had girls or boys - American Girl has a series of books called Girls of Many Lands about girls around the world that looks interesting. Written at a higher level than the AG books - like for 4th-8th grade? Here's a link to the one set in Ethiopia.

 

Ooh, some great suggestions. I can't believe I didn't think of Anne of Green Gables. Shame on me!!

 

I have all boys, but my oldest (8 yo) reads voraciously pretty much anything I hand him. Wahoo!! He doesn't mind if they are books about girls, and he reads books at really any level so that isn't a problem.

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

Sweden: Pippi Longstockings

 

Saudi Arabia: Ali and the Golden Eagle

 

New Jersey: Henry Reed books, in one of the books they travel from California to New Jersey.

 

New York: The Cricket in Times Square

 

Capri: Red Sails to Capri

 

Thank you! I have Red Sails to Capri on my to-read list. If only the list wasn't 20 pages long.....

[hornblower]

My Family and Other Animals is set on Corfu.

 

The Voyage of the Northern Magik is a true life book about a family's around the world sailing adventure. We did that one as a read aloud when my kids were quite young & they loved it.

[Jen500]

I haven't read this yet but it sounds good--(Africa)

Facing the Lion: growing up Maasai on the African Savanna

 

http://www.amazon.com/Facing-Lion-Growing-National-Geographic/dp/0792272978/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271537216&sr=8-1

 

Has anyone read this book?

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

I haven't read this yet but it sounds good--(Africa)

Facing the Lion: growing up Maasai on the African Savanna

 

http://www.amazon.com/Facing-Lion-Growing-National-Geographic/dp/0792272978/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271537216&sr=8-1

 

Has anyone read this book?

 

That book looks fascinating, Jen. Thanks for the link.

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

My Family and Other Animals is set on Corfu.

 

The Voyage of the Northern Magik is a true life book about a family's around the world sailing adventure. We did that one as a read aloud when my kids were quite young & they loved it.

 

Waaahhh! The Voyage of the Northern Magik looks like a wonderful book. Too bad it is over $60 used at Amazon... I'll have to keep my eye out for that one and check out the other book.

[GeoMamma]

Australia

 

Some Australian classics for kids are:

 

Blinky Bill by Dorothy Wall

Snugglepot and Cuddlepie by May Gibbs

 

Both of these are set up so each chapter is a self contained story too.

 

The Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsay

 

These are classics, so have the usual problem of classics - society and language has changed. They have a fair bit of Australian Slang that might a bit of a challenge for non-Australians.

 

Older children

Storm Boy by Colin Thiele

 

For Teens

Playing Beatie Bow by Ruth Park (def. older children, some themes there)

 

Hmm, I'm sure there are heaps of others, I'll keep thinking.

[sbgrace]

Waaahhh! The Voyage of the Northern Magik looks like a wonderful book. Too bad it is over $60 used at Amazon... I'll have to keep my eye out for that one and check out the other book.

Their site is really interesting! It looks like you can possibly* order it via the family website for bit less and part goes to charity.

http://www.northernmagic.com/ordering_how_to.html

* a google looks like an awful lot of yuck has happened to the family since the time of the website so I'm not sure what that means in terms of sales. The website is really worth a look either way.

Edited April 17, 2010 by sbgrace

[nmoira]

Canada:

Maata's Journal - Sullivan

Four Pictures of Emily Carr - Debon

Mary Ann Alice - Doyle

Polly Horvath

The Secret World of Og - Berton

Iain Lawrence

Jean Little

Double Spell - Lunn

The Hollow Tree and Charlotte- Lunn (impact of American War of Independence in Canada; the latter is a picture book)

Charlie Wilcox - McKay

Run - Walters (fictional characters on the road with Terry Fox, endorsed by the Terry Fox Foundation)

War of the Eagles and Caged Eagles - Walters

The Bone Collector's Son -- Yee (others by Yee as well)

Ticket to Curlew and Wings to Fly - Lottridge

Summer of the Mad Monk - Taylor (Depression era Albertal; a book loving youth is convinced Rasputin is living in his town)

The Incredible Journey - Burnford

 

France:

A Company of Fools - Ellis

Shoes for Amelie - Steiner

[Wendi]

What age are you looking for?

 

We liked...

 

Facing the Lion (Lekuton) autobiographical work by a Maasai (Kenya)

The Sign of the Chrysanthemum (Paterson) (Japan)

The Boy and the Samurai, The Samurai's Tale (Haugaard) (Japan)

 

Wendi

[Wendi]

I haven't read this yet but it sounds good--(Africa)

Facing the Lion: growing up Maasai on the African Savanna

 

http://www.amazon.com/Facing-Lion-Growing-National-Geographic/dp/0792272978/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271537216&sr=8-1

 

Has anyone read this book?

 

My ds and I read it earlier this year. It was fascinating! Be warned, though, that one scene could be upsetting for the particularly sensitive (initiation ritual).

 

Wendi

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I'm working on a list of books set in various countries around the world. Unfortunately, many of my modern history/lit books are at my sister's house as she is studying that time period with her kids, so I know I'm missing a bunch. I thought some of you might enjoy this list, and some of you might help me add to it! Do you have comments on the books listed below (favorites, cautions, etc... I haven't read all of them), or any favorite books to add? I have some gaping holes. I'd love more books set in France, Australia, Russia, Canada, Mexico, Africa, and South America.

 

North America:

 

Alaska:

The Year of Miss Agnes (Kirkpatrick Hill), remote fishing village

Water Sky (Jean Craighead George)

 

Utah:

The Great Brain (John D. Fitzgerald), Catholic boys growing up in a Mormon community, 1890s

 

Montana/North Dakota:

Naya Nuki: Shoshoni Girl Who Ran (Kenneth Thomasma), Native American girl in 1800

 

Missouri:

The Great Turkey Walk (Kathleen Karr), Missouri to Colorado, humorous Wild West, 1860

 

New York:

All of a Kind Family (Sydney Taylor), Jewish family in New York City, 1900

The Pushcart War (Jean Merrill), humor, 1980s

 

California:

Dragon’s Gate (Laurence Yep), Chinese railroad workers, 1860s

Bandit’s Moon (Sid Fleischman), gold rush

Esperanza Rising (Pam Munoz Ryan), Mexico/California, 1930s

 

 

South America:

 

Argentina:

Chucaro: Wild Pony of the Pampa (Francis Calnay)

 

Peru:

Secret of the Andes (Ann Nolan Clark), modern Inca boy in the mountains

 

 

Europe:

 

Holland:

Hans Brinker/The Silver Skates (Mary Mapes Dodge), 1860s

Dirk’s Dog, Bello (Meindert DeJong)

The Wheel on the School (Meindert DeJong)

Dutch Color (Douglas M. Jones III), golden era of Dutch art 1600s

 

Sweden:

The Children of Noisy Village (Astrid Lindgren)

 

England:

The Shakespeare Stealer (Gary Blackwood), Shakespeare’s London, 1600

The Railway Children (Edith Nesbit), early 1900s

 

Ireland:

Nory Ryan’s Song (Patricia Reilly Giff), potato famine, 1840s

 

Spain:

The Shadow of a Bull (Maia Wojciechowska), bullfighting

I, Juan de Pareja (Elizabeth Borton de Trevino), art and slavery in 1600s

 

Switzerland:

Heidi (Johanna Spyri)

Treasures of the Snow (Patricia St. John)

 

Poland:

The Trumpeter of Krakow (Eric P. Kelly), 1400s

 

Hungary:

The Good Master (Kate Seredy)

 

Asia:

 

Japan:

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes (Eleanor Coerr), WWII, 1950s

Born in the Year of Courage (Emily Crofford), Japan/US, 1800s

The Samurai's Tale (Erik Christian Haugaard), 1500s

 

Korea:

A Single Shard (Linda Sue Park), potters’ village, 1100s

The Kite Fighters (Linda Sue Park), Seoul, 1470s

 

China:

Li Lun, Lad of Courage (Carolyn Treffinger), fishing village

Little Pear (Eleanor Frances Lattimore), 1800s

The Kite Rider (Geraldine McCaughrean), Mongol-ruled China, 1200s

The House of Sixty Fathers (Meindert DeJong), China during the Japanese invasion, 1930s

 

India:

Daughter of the Mountains (Louise Rankin), Tibet to Calcutta, 1900s

 

Australia/Oceania:

 

Polynesia:

Call it Courage (Armstrong Sperry)

 

Africa:

 

Morocco:

Star of Light (Patricia M. St. John)

 

Nigeria:

The Rat-Catcher’s Son and Other Stories (Carolyn London) (from Sonlight)

 

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit - Germany

The Endless Steppe - Russia

Miss Flower and Miss Happiness - England and Japan

The Secret Garden - England

Nutcracker - Germany

Revenge of the Forty-Seven Ronin - Japan (same author as Samurai's Tale)

Shadow Spinner - Persia/Iran

Homeless Bird - India

Shabanu - Pakistan (also the sequel Haveli, although this has a more adult theme)

Daughter of the Mountains - India and Bhutan?

Escape from Warsaw (aka The Silver Sword) - Poland

Heidi - Switzerland (and Germany)

Children of Battleship Row - Hawaii at time of Pearl Harbor

 

Laurence Yep has some great books on the Chinese/American experience. Dragon's Gate is about Chinese workers on the transcontinental railroad. I've also enjoyed his Chinatown Mystery series, which is set in San Francisco and does a good job of portraying the tensions between different generations and new and established immigrants. The Case of the Goblin Pearls seems to be the first one. (Check your library, I think this series has gone out of print.)

 

 

I would browse the Sonlight 5 booklists. Lots of Asia and Africa there.

[Stacia]

France:

The Orange Trees of Versailles - Pietri

 

This is one of my dd's favorite books. She even carries it along on trips to reread it.

 

American Girl has a series of books called Girls of Many Lands about girls around the world that looks interesting. Written at a higher level than the AG books - like for 4th-8th grade? Here's a link to the one set in Ethiopia.

 

My dd has read many of these & really enjoyed them too.

 

How about Three Cups of Tea for Afghanistan? There is also a YA edition.

[i.love.lucy]

21 Balloons - San Francisco and Krakatoa

Twenty and Ten - France

 

This list is not really for historical fiction that happens to be set in a certain country? Do you mostly want more modern?

[lovemywhirlygirls]

Just doing a quick fly by and do not have time to read responses. If it doesn't have to be a chapter book, we love Boxes for Katje. Post World War II Holland (and USA).

 

Here's a link.http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Boxes-for-Katje/Candace-Fleming/e/9780374309220/?itm=1&USRI=boxes+for+katje

 

I have never read this book out loud without crying....in a good way. I've read the book A LOT.

[Stacia]

If it doesn't have to be a chapter book, we love Boxes for Katje. Post World War II Holland (and USA).

 

Great book. :001_smile:

 

Another great picture book (set during WWII in Holland/Belgium) is The Greatest Skating Race.

 

SeeSaw Girl (17th century Korea)

[Jamee]

My ds and I read it earlier this year. It was fascinating! Be warned, though, that one scene could be upsetting for the particularly sensitive (initiation ritual).

 

Wendi

 

Thanks for the review. This is on my list for DS to read for our Africa unit. It did look good.

 

To the topic, haven't seen Diary of Anne Frank mentioned yet for Holland.

 

Also, DS will be reading the Golden Goblet soon for Egypt.

 

For the Chinese Cultural Revolution I really enjoyed Red Scarf Girl.

[Rosie_0801]

Australia

Some Australian classics for kids are:

Blinky Bill by Dorothy Wall

Snugglepot and Cuddlepie by May Gibbs

Both of these are set up so each chapter is a self contained story too.

 

The Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsay

These are classics, so have the usual problem of classics - society and language has changed. They have a fair bit of Australian Slang that might a bit of a challenge for non-Australians.

 

Older children

Storm Boy by Colin Thiele

 

For Teens

Playing Beatie Bow by Ruth Park (def. older children, some themes there)

 

Hmm, I'm sure there are heaps of others, I'll keep thinking.

 

I'll second the first two enthusiastically and recommend you pre-read The Magic Pudding. I never read that as a child and I'm not sure I'm going to read it to my kids either! Playing Beatie Bow was one of my favourites as a young teen. I still re-read it occasionally. I also recommend "So far from Skye" and "Walking the Boundaries" by Jackie French. "For the Term of his Natural Life" shows some heavy Australian history. My mum gave me this for Christmas at the end of grade six and I loved it. Dh is reading it aloud to me at the moment and I'm figuring my mother mustn't have read it. A book containing cannibalism and floggings seems a funny choice, for an 11 year old, don't you think? There's also "Robbery Under Arms," and "A Town like Alice."

 

Rosie

[nmoira]

 

I'll second the first two enthusiastically and recommend you pre-read The Magic Pudding. I never read that as a child and I'm not sure I'm going to read it to my kids either!

Just curious why not? It's one of our favourite read alouds, not because it has any particularly edifying qualities (it doesn't), but rather because of the delightful language play -- it's so incredibly fun we often devolve into giggles. There's a single anti-Semitic reference made in passing in the original work which has been omitted from the NYR Children's Books edition (the original passage is included in the introduction.)

[kalanamak]

I'll second the first two enthusiastically and recommend you pre-read The Magic Pudding. I never read that as a child and I'm not sure I'm going to read it to my kids either!

 

Rosie

 

Rosie, I have a book I read in Australia when I was 9, and thought it very fascinating. I'm betting you have heard of it. It was made into a not so great movie back in the 80's. Little Black Princess and We of the Never Never. How do Australians feel about that book now? The title alone would get it removed from libraries here (there is a regular stink that usually dies quietly over Huck Finn!).

[Ohdanigirl]

Thank you so much. could kiss you right now, my dc love to read and I can barely keep up.

[nmoira]

Africa South of the Sahara:

Nzingha, Warrior Queen of Matamba - McKissack (Angola)

Because Pula Means Rain - Robson (Botswana) Synopsis: "A truly heart-rending story, about a young Tswana boy living in a small village in Botswana who is an albino. The unsophisticated rural community ostracises him and avoids him out of fear that they will become like him. He travels with a friend across the country, describing its landscape and history."

Saba: Under the Hyena's Foot - Kurtz (Ethiopia)

The Garbage King - Laird (Ethiopia)

Our Secret, Siri Aang - Kessler (Kenya)

Trouble in Timbuktu - Kessler (Mali)

The Shadows of the Ghadames - Stolz (Libya)

The Heaven Shop - Ellis (Malawi)

Zulu Dog - Ferreira (South Africa)

The Other Side of Truth - Naidoo

Dream Freedom - Levitin (Sudan)

Year of No Rain - Mead (Sudan)

Memories of Sun : Stories of Africa and America - Kurtz (ed. short stories and poems)

The Storyteller's Beads - Kurtz (Ethiopia)

Hamadi and the Stolen Cattle - Burchell (Kenya)

The Baboon King - Quintana (Ghana)

Beyond the Mango Tree - Zemser (Liberia)

No Condition is Permanent - Kessler (Sierra Leone) (deals with female circumcision)

Many Stones - Coman (South Africa)

The Ear, The Eye and the Arm - Farmer (Zimbabwe) (don't let the future setting turn you off as it contains much folklore)

A Girl Named Disaster - Farmer

Edited April 18, 2010 by nmoira
submitted by accident, wasn't done

[mcconnellboys]

Are you looking for things just set in the early modern/modern time period? Only fictional, or non-fiction okay, too, if literary?

 

As a follow-up to Nory Ryan I'd suggest Maggie's door. These books are both on tape with wonderful narrators, too, by the way.....

 

Native Americans:

Comock the Eskimo, Robert Flaherty, for Arctic Circle Inuit, up around Hudson Bay way.....

Alaska: Julie of the Wolves, J. C. George

Navajo: O'Dell's Sing Down the Moon

Nicoleno peoples of Channel Islands, off CA: O'Dell's Island of the Blue Dolphins

 

Armstrong Sperry's Call it Courage for Pacifica - I don't think there's anything there to indicate time period. (Oh, see you have that one.....)

 

If you're going with anything older, then regarding the history of the Hungarian people I like Kate Seredy's White Stag.

 

For Japan: Master Puppeteer; Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun.....

 

Vietnam: The Land I Lost; Water Buffalo Days......

 

Tibet: Peter Sis, Tibet: Through the Red Box

 

France: The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot

 

England: (medieval) Crispin: The Cross of Lead, Avi

 

Korea: (12th century) A Single Shard

 

Illinois: A Year Down Yonder

 

Denmark: Number the Stars, Lowry (set during WW II)

 

Kansas: Sarah Plain and Tall

 

Maine: Sign of the Beaver (1760's)

 

Vermont: Sugaring Time, Lasky

(and Massachusetts) Justin Morgan Had a Horse, M. Henry

 

Mexico: (Baja, CA area) O'Dell's The Black Pearl

 

New York: My Side of the Mountain, J. C. George

 

Connecticut: Witch of Blackbird Pond, E. G. Speare (1687)

 

Rifles for Watie! If you're covering the Civil War period. It's set in all the "western" states of the time - now the middle of the country: Kansas territory, etc. and it gives a completely different look at the war talks a lot about the Indians living in that region at the time, Indian Territories, geography of that region, etc.

 

South America:

 

Chucaro Wild Pony of the Pampa

 

China (during Japanese invasion): The House of Sixty Fathers (sad) - war period: 1937-45

 

Pennsylvania: The Bears on Hemlock Mountain

 

Morrocco: King of the Wind, M. Henry

 

Virginia: Misty of Chincoteague, Henry

 

Here's a different take on the Wilder books, any of which would chronicle very well life in the middle of America:

http://www.dahoudek.com/LIW/reviewlittlehouseozarks.html

Little House in the Ozarks is a collection of Wilder's writings prior to publication of her first book.

 

Wisconsin: Caddie Woodlawn

 

Hitty: Her First Hundred Years - she lived all over the US and abroad, so take your pick.....

 

Poland: The Trumpeter of Krakow (middle ages)

 

India: Gay Neck: The Story of a Pidgeon

 

Africa would depend on the age of the child - some I like: Elspeth Huxley's Flame Trees of Thika and The Mottled Lizard; Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa (definitely some mature themes); Beryl Markham's West with the Night.

 

We love Warriors, Warthogs and Wisdom: Growing Up in Africa

http://www.worldcat.org/title/warriors-warthogs-and-wisdom-growing-up-in-africa/oclc/37333067

 

South Africa: Journey to Jo'burg (sad, to me)

 

I like The Poisonwood Bible for older teens, too...... (also sad, to me)

[prairiegirl]

What an amazing thread! Thanks for starting this, Heidi. :001_smile:

 

Just a few that I thought of:

 

Canada: The Hatchet by Gary Paulson

 

Africa: Listening to the Lions by Gloria Whelan

 

Native Americans: I am Regina by Sally Keehn

[EKS]

Mexico: What the Moon Saw http://www.amazon.com/What-Moon-Saw-Laura-Resau/dp/0440239575/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271626444&sr=1-1

 

Africa (Mozambique): A Girl Named Disaster http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Named-Disaster-Orchard-Classics/dp/0439471443/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271626633&sr=1-1

 

Afghanistan/Pakistan: Under the Persimmon Tree http://www.amazon.com/Under-Persimmon-Suzanne-Fisher-Staples/dp/0312377762/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271626698&sr=1-1

 

I just noticed that the main characters in all of these books are girls, but my son and I both thought they were fabulous. He was 10 when we read them. We also read Esperanza Rising (which you have listed) and loved it.

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

How about Three Cups of Tea for Afghanistan? There is also a YA edition.

 

My son isn't ready for the original version, but I forgot there was YA edition. That's an excellent suggestion!

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

21 Balloons - San Francisco and Krakatoa

Twenty and Ten - France

 

This list is not really for historical fiction that happens to be set in a certain country? Do you mostly want more modern?

 

I'm mainly interested in any book that gives a child an idea of the 'flavor' of a country. Historical fiction, non-fiction, fiction... it doesn't really matter. Modern would be wonderful.

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

Thank you so much for the replies and suggestions. I have so many to add to the list, now!

[Mert]

This is a great thread!! I'm in the process of putting together a similar list using picture books so THANKS to those who shared them. :D

[Rosie_0801]

Just curious why not? It's one of our favourite read alouds, not because it has any particularly edifying qualities (it doesn't), but rather because of the delightful language play -- it's so incredibly fun we often devolve into giggles. There's a single anti-Semitic reference made in passing in the original work which has been omitted from the NYR Children's Books edition (the original passage is included in the introduction.)

 

Ah. I didn't know there was a tidied up version, I'd be willing to look at that. It really doesn't have any particular edifying qualities, no, but there is so many other things that do so skipping this one wouldn't leave my kids culturally deprived! Did you ever read Ginger Meggs? Somehow I've never got around to that one.

 

Rosie, I have a book I read in Australia when I was 9, and thought it very fascinating. I'm betting you have heard of it. It was made into a not so great movie back in the 80's. Little Black Princess and We of the Never Never. How do Australians feel about that book now? The title alone would get it removed from libraries here (there is a regular stink that usually dies quietly over Huck Finn!).

 

I think The Little Black Princess is quietly considered an Australian classic by anyone who actually reads books. I've never heard of anyone making a fuss, but I can't say I've asked any Aboriginal person's opinion.

 

Rosie

[mcconnellboys]

Oh! Canada: The Broken Blade (love it!)......

[kalanamak]

I think The Little Black Princess is quietly considered an Australian classic by anyone who actually reads books.

 

How lovely. My mother brought it home from the library (in Canberra) and raved so much about it I read it, too. Bet-Bet was my alter ego, and I would have killed to have her dog.

 

So, let's put that on the list:

Little Black Princess....turn of the century Australian Outback.