Children's books and activities
Geography, Travel and Cultures
Celebrate Geography Awareness Week [6] in November — and all year long! Do you know any kids who are fascinated by maps, the geography of the world, exploring their own town or city, or discovering other cultures? We've gathered up a great collection of books, activities, apps, and websites for learning all about geography, travel, and cultures.
You may also want to explore the writing, oral storytelling, poetry, mapmaking, and other creative activities featured in our new resource We Are Storytellers: Exploring Multicultural Folktales, Fairy Tales, and Myths [7].
Try pairing fiction with nonfiction books and exploring different genres [8] (like poetry and biographies) and formats (like graphic novels and audio books). You'll be creating your own "text sets" — collections of texts focused on a specific topic, such as geography, travel, and cultures. Reading widely in this way helps children build background knowledge [9], vocabulary [10], and comprehension skills.
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Great Fiction & Nonfiction Books
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Print List
All the Way to Lhasa: A Tale from Tibet
By: Barbara Berger
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
There's a saying that "slow but steady wins the race." In this richly illustrated book, the...
Purchase book [24]
A Big Mooncake for Little Star
By: Grace Lin
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
Little Star loves the delicious Mooncake that she bakes with her mama. But she's not supposed to...
Purchase book [25]
A Walk in New York
By: Rubbino Salvatore
Age Level: 3-6 years old
A boy and his father share the wonder of a visit to the sites of New York City, from the Empire...
Purchase book [26]
Adventures of Polo
By: Regis Faller
Age Level: 3-6 years old
The rollicking adventures of Polo, a bright and resourceful pup, are told through lively,...
Purchase book [27]
Along a Long Road
By: Frank Viva
Age Level: 3-6 years old
A bicyclist rides begins his outing near the sea and rides through cities, towns, and the...
Purchase book [28]
Around the World in a Bathtub
By: Wade Bradford
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Everywhere people take baths, but baths and bathing traditions are different in places and...
Purchase book [29]
As the Crow Flies: A First Book of Maps
By: Gail Hartman
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Follow the crow along a stream and a long and winding road, with other animals and landmarks...
Purchase book [30]
Auntie Yang's Great Soybean Picnic
By: Ginnie Lo
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [31]
Brush of the Gods
By: Lenore Look
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Nonfiction
Wu Daozi's brush created images that seemed to come alive. Travel to ancient China to meet Daozi...
Purchase book [32]
Colores de la Vida
By: Cynthia Weill
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Concept Book
Animal sculptures on carefully composed pages with the color words provide a fine introduction...
Purchase book [33]
Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets: A Muslim Book of Shapes
By: Hena Khan
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Concept Book
Handsomely illustrated, shapes both simple (square, rectangle) and complex (cone, hexagon) are...
Purchase book [34]
Dim Sum for Everyone
By: Grace Lin
Age Level: 3-6 years old
A Chinese family goes out for dim sum ("little dishes"), choosing their favorites off...
Purchase book [36]
Follow That Map! A First Look at Mapping Skills
By: Scot Ritchie
Age Level: 3-6 years old
One day when Sally and her friends are playing, they notice that her dog and cat are missing....
Purchase book [37]
From My Window
By: Otavio Júnior
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
From the window in his favela, the narrator shares what he sees: neighbors working, playing,...
Purchase book [38]
Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors
By: Hena Khan
Age Level: 3-6 years old
This picture book celebrates Islam's beauty and traditions. From a red prayer rug to a blue...
Purchase book [39]
Green Is a Chile Pepper
By: Roseanne Thong
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [41]
Henry's Map
By: David Elliot
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Henry is a very particular sort of pig. "A place for everything and everything in its place," he...
Purchase book [42]
Home
By: Carson Ellis
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Nonfiction
Travel through time, imagination, literature, and more for a unique look at "home" in any number...
Purchase book [43]
Home, Sweet Home: What Makes a House a Home?
By: Moira Butterfield
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Nonfiction
The world is full of different homes, from tents and huts to bobbing boats, and apartments high...
Purchase book [44]
Josefina
By: Jeanette Winter
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Concept Book
Count along in English and Spanish with a Mexican folk artist as she sculpts her world from clay...
Purchase book [45]
Just Fine the Way They Are: From Dirt Roads to Rail Roads to Interstates
By: Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Folks often resist change, even when it came to improving roads and modes of transportation in a...
Purchase book [46]
Kat's Maps
By: Jon Scieszka
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Kat loves maps! She loves to make maps for everything. Her room, her block, her town, even her...
Purchase book [47]
Kimonos
By: Annalore Parot
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Traditional wooden Kokeshi dolls inspired this introduction to Japanese words and culture while...
Purchase book [48]
Kumak's River: A Tale from the Far North
By: Michael Bania
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Spring comes to a remote Alaskan village, and the ice on the frozen river cracks and breaks and...
Purchase book [49]
Line 135
By: Germano Zullo
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [50]
Master Man: A Tall Tale of Nigeria
By: Aaron Shephard
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Even the strongest man of all can be outmatched, as Shadusa learns. This retelling of a Nigerian...
Purchase book [51]
Montessori: Map Work
By: Bobby George, June George
Age Level: 3-6 years old
"Our world is made of land and water." The land is called CONTINENTS; the water OCEANS. Select...
Purchase book [52]
Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters
By: John Steptoe
Age Level: 3-6 years old
While both are beautiful, only one of Mufaro's daughters can marry the prince. The impact...
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On the Road
By: Susan Steggall
Age Level: 3-6 years old
A family trip begins with everyone piling into the car. They then travel through the city with...
Purchase book [54]
On the Same Day in March
By: Marilyn Singer
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [55]
One World, One Day
By: Barbara Kerley
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Every day children around the world awake to begin their days having breakfast, going to school...
Purchase book [56]
Over the Hills and Far Away: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes
By: Elizabeth Hammill
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Poetry
Nursery rhymes from around the globe are collected here with illustrations by more than 70...
Purchase book [57]
Rhymes Round the World
By: Kay Chorao
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [58]
Round Is a Tortilla: A Book of Shapes
By: Roseanne Thong
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [59]
Subway Ride
By: Heather Lynn Miller
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Down, down, down ... now off we go! begins a journey on city subways from Washington DC to...
Purchase book [60]
Temple Cat
By: Andrew Clements
Age Level: 3-6 years old
A temple cat in ancient Egypt grows tired of being worshipped and cared for in a reverent...
Purchase book [61]
Thanking the Moon
By: Grace Lin
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [62]
The Last Train
By: Gordon Titcomb
Age Level: 3-6 years old
The train's illustrious past combines with realistic illustrations to successfully present...
Purchase book [63]
The Name Jar
By: Yangsook Choi
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Fiction
The new kid in school needs a new name! Or does she? Being the new kid in school is hard enough...
Purchase book [64]
The Pot that Juan Built
By: Nancy Andrews-Goebel
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Nonfiction
A cumulative poem (in the cadence of "The House that Jack Built") chronicles the work and life...
Purchase book [65]
The Scrambled States of America
By: Laurie Keller
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Dorothy may have thought there's no place like home when she clicked her ruby slippers, but...
Purchase book [66]
There's a Map on My Lap
By: Tish Rabe
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Nonfiction
The familiar Cat in the Hat is used to introduce newly independent readers to maps of all kinds...
Purchase book [67]
Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions from Around the World
By: Selby Beeler
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Nonfiction
Lighthearted illustrations provide just the right tone for brief looks at what happens when...
Purchase book [68]
Tito Puente, Mambo King
By: Monica Brown
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [69]
We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga
By: Traci Sorell
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Nonfiction
Sorell, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, offers readers a look at contemporary Cherokee life as...
Purchase book [70]
We're Sailing to Galapagos: A Week in the Pacific
By: Laurie Krebs
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Nonfiction
Two people in bright, stylized garb sail to the islands known as the Galapagos. On successive...
Purchase book [71]
Who Put the Cookies in the Cookie Jar?
By: George Shannon
Age Level: 3-6 years old
Purchase book [72]
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Print List
111 Trees: How One Village Celebrates the Birth of Every Girl
By: Rina Singh
Age Level: 6-9 years old
In a small village in India, a boy grows up to make a huge difference in his community by...
Purchase book [73]
A Cool Drink of Water
By: Barabara Kerley
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
Beautiful full-page photographs and spare, poetic text give global perspective to the idea that...
Purchase book [74]
A Country Far Away
By: Nigel Grey
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Told in the first person by two young boys, this story relates the same daily activities in two...
Purchase book [75]
A Likkle Miss Lou: How Jamaican Poet Louise Bennett Coverley Found Her Voice
By: Nadia Hohn
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
Louise Bennett Coverley, better known as Miss Lou, was a Jamaican poet and entertainer who used...
Purchase book [76]
A Piece of Home
By: Jeri Watts
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
When his family moves from Korea to West Virginia, Hee Jun has a difficult time adjusting. He...
Purchase book [77]
Along the Tapajós
By: Fernando Vilela
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
Cauã and Inaê are a brother and sister who live in a small community along the Tapajós River in...
Purchase book [78]
Are We There Yet? A Journey Around Australia
By: Verna Aardema
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
The year Grace turned eight, her Mum and Dad took her and her siblings on a trip around...
Purchase book [79]
Beatrice's Goat
By: Page McBrier
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
The true story of how a young girl from Uganda was able to attend school after receiving a goat...
Purchase book [80]
Capoeira: Game! Dance! Martial Art!
By: George Ancona
Age Level: 6-9 years old
A trip to Brazil inspired this look at a unique sport called "capoeira." The result is...
Purchase book [81]
Carnival at Candlelight
By: Mary Pope Osborne
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [82]
Children of the Dragon: Selected Tales from Vietnam
By: Sherry Garland
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Learn why the tiger has stripes, what happens to those who behave badly, and much more in this...
Purchase book [83]
Crouching Tiger
By: Ying Chang Compestine
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [84]
From the Bellybutton of the Moon and other Summer Poems/Del ombligo de la luna y otros poemas de verano
By: Francisco Alarcón
Age Level: 6-9 years old
The poet remembers summers growing up in Mexico in poems presented in both English and Spanish....
Purchase book [85]
Galápagos Girl / Galapagueña
By: Marsha Diane Arnold
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
As a Galápagueña, Valentina spends her days observing the natural world around her. This...
Purchase book [86]
Geography from A to Z: A Picture Glossary
By: Jack Knowlton
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Have you ever wondered what a badland is? What about a gulch? Do you know what an isthmus is? Or...
Purchase book [87]
Go, Go America
By: Dan Yaccarino
Age Level: 6-9 years old
This fun, fact-filled glimpse at the states begins with a warning that many of the facts are...
Purchase book [88]
Gugu's House
By: Catherine Stock
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
Set in Zimbabwe, Kukamba leaves the city to visit her grandmother, Gugu, in her small village....
Purchase book [89]
Harlem
By: Walter Dean Myers
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
Experienced readers will enjoy this stunning and sophisticated visit to Harlem in word and image...
Purchase book [90]
Ho'onani: Hula Warrior
By: Heather Gale
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
Ho'onani feels in-between. She doesn't see herself as wahine (girl) OR ...
Purchase book [91]
How the Sphinx Got to the Museum
By: Jessie Hartland
Age Level: 6-9 years old
The history of the Hatshepsut sphinx: from its carving in ancient Egypt to its arrival in the...
Purchase book [92]
I'm New Here
By: Anne Sibley O'Brien
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
Three students are immigrants from Guatemala, Korea, and Somalia and have trouble speaking,...
Purchase book [93]
If America Were a Village: A Book About the People of the United States
By: David Smith
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [94]
If You Lived Here: Houses of the World
By: Giles Laroche
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [95]
Issun Boshi: The One-Inch Boy
By: Raphael Icinori
Age Level: 6-9 years old
A farmer and his wife longed for a child and miraculously got one who they named Issum Boshi,...
Purchase book [96]
Kids' Multicultural Cookbook: Food and Fun Around the World
By: Deanna Cook
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Take a culinary tour around the world, with foods and activities from a variety of countries and...
Purchase book [97]
Let's Celebrate: Festival Poems from Around the World
By: Debjani Chatterjee , Brian D'Arcy
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [98]
Let's Talk About Race
By: Julius Lester
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
Lester shares his own story as he explores what makes each of us special. He says, "I...
Purchase book [99]
Lucy in the City: A Story About Developing Spatial Thinking Skills
By: Julie Dillemuth
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Lucy in the City is about a young raccoon who gets separated from her family one night and has...
Purchase book [100]
Mango, Abuela, and Me
By: Meg MedinaAngela
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
When a little girl’s far-away grandmother comes to stay, love and patience transcend language....
Purchase book [101]
Mapping Penny's World
By: Loreen Leedy
Age Level: 6-9 years old
A girl maps her dog Penny's world from her room, to the neighborhood as well as the tools she...
Purchase book [102]
Mapping Sam
By: Joyce Hesselberth
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
Sam the cat puts her family to bed, and then — when all is quiet — heads out to explore her...
Purchase book [103]
Maps and Globes
By: Jack Knowlton
Age Level: 6-9 years old
This comprehensive look at geography and the environment can take you anywhere — to the top of...
Purchase book [104]
Mazes Around the World
By: Mary D. Lankford
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Regardless of where they are found, mazes are amazing! Visit mazes that can be found around the...
Purchase book [105]
Me on the Map
By: Joan Sweeney
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
The United States is a big place which holds many children and their families. Maps and what...
Purchase book [106]
Monumental Verses
By: J. Patrick Lewis
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [107]
Ms. Frizzle's Adventures: Ancient Egypt
By: Joanna Cole
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [108]
My Map Book
By: Sara Fanelli
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
In each spread of this bold and humorous picture book, children can examine their place in the...
Purchase book [109]
My Name Is Celia/Me llamo Celia
By: Monica Brown
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [110]
My Name Is Gabito: The Life of Gabriel García Márquez/Me llamo Gabito
By: Monica Brown
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [111]
Nadia's Hands
By: Karen English
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nadia is thrilled to be the flower girl at her aunt's wedding, yet continues to worries her...
Purchase book [112]
Nine O’Clock Lullaby
By: Marilyn Singer
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [113]
Nya's Long Walk: A Step at a Time
By: Linda Sue Park
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
With compassion, the creators present younger readers with a portrait of a life in which...
Purchase book [114]
Olinguito, de La A a la Z!/Olinguito, from A to Z!
By: Lulu Delacre
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Animals from the Ecuadorian Andes cloud forest are introduced in stunning illustrations and...
Purchase book [115]
One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference
By: Kate Smith Milway
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
This fictionalized story of Kojo, a boy from Ghana, who changes his world with a small loan and...
Purchase book [116]
Our World of Water
By: Beatrice Hollyer
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
This book follows the daily lives of children in Peru, Mauritania, the United States, Bangladesh...
Purchase book [117]
Parrots Over Puerto Rico
By: Susan L. Roth
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
How colorful parrots that have lived on the island of Puerto Rico for “millions of years” almost...
Purchase book [118]
Patterns in Peru: An Adventure in Patterning
By: Cindy Neuschwander
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [119]
Piñata Maker/el piñatero
By: George Ancona
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [120]
Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré
By: Anika Aldamuy Denise
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
A picture book biography of storyteller, puppeteer, and New York City’s first Puerto Rican...
Purchase book [121]
Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangara Maathai
By: Claire Nivola
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Wangari Maathai's native Kenya was a changed land, literally blowing away because its trees...
Purchase book [122]
Ralph Masiello's Ancient Egypt Drawing Book
By: Ralph Masiello
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [123]
Red Kite, Blue Kite
By: Ji-li Jiang
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [124]
Shaped By Her Hands: Potter Maria Martinez
By: Anna Harber Freeman
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
The most renowned Native American Indian potter of her time, Maria Povika Martinez learned...
Purchase book [125]
Sharuko: El Arqueólogo Peruano Julio C. Tello / Peruvian Archaeologist Julio C. Tello
By: Monica Brown
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Nonfiction
A bilingual picture book biography of Peruvian archaeologist and national icon Julio C....
Purchase book [126]
Snail Mail
By: Samantha Berger
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
Snails delivering letters trek across the country-through desert heat and dangerous blizzards,...
Purchase book [127]
Tales Told in Tents: Stories from Central Asia
By: Sally Pomme
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Where do you find needles? All over the world, of course! Readers will recognize many things in...
Purchase book [128]
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
By: William Kamkwamba, Bryan Mealer
Age Level: 6-9 years old
When fourteen-year-old William Kamkwamba's Malawi village was hit by a drought, everyone's crops...
Purchase book [129]
The Museum Book: A Guide to Strange and Wonderful Collections
By: Jan Mark
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [130]
The Sun Shines Everywhere
By: Mary Ann Hoberman
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Poetry
This rhyming read-aloud celebrates how we’re all connected under the sun. As readers are...
Purchase book [131]
The Top of the World: Climbing Mount Everest
By: Steve Jenkins
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Exploring its history, geography, climate, and culture, this unique book takes readers on the...
Purchase book [132]
The Ugly Vegetables
By: Grace Lin
Age Level: 6-9 years old
In a neighborhood of flower gardens, a Chinese-American girl and her mother plant what the child...
Purchase book [133]
The Water Princess
By: Susan Verde, Georgie Badiel
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
Princess Gie Gie’s kingdom is a beautiful land. But clean drinking water is scarce and she...
Purchase book [134]
Purchase Kindle version [135]
The World Is Not a Rectangle: A Portrait of Architect Zaha Hadid
By: Jeanette Winter
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Zaha Hadid grew up in Baghdad, Iraq, and dreamed of designing her own cities. After studying...
Purchase book [136]
This Is How I Do It: One Day in the Life of You and 59 Real Kids from Around the World
By: Matt Lamothe
Age Level: 6-9 years old
This activity book invites kids to document their lives and daily rituals alongside 59 real kids...
Purchase book [137]
Three Days on a River in a Red Canoe
By: Vera B. Williams
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Purchase book [138]
Ultimate Trains
By: Peter McMahon
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Sophisticated readers will learn a great deal about trains and how they work in straightforward...
Purchase book [139]
Uncle Peter's Amazing Chinese Wedding
By: Lenore Look
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Jenny's favorite uncle, Uncle Peter, is getting married. Now Jenny won't be his only...
Purchase book [140]
Under the Sunday Tree
By: Eloise Greenfield
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Poetry and vibrant paintings in the primitive style by a recognized Bahamian artist create...
Purchase book [141]
Wish: Wishing Traditions Around the World
By: Roseanne Thong
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
Children around the world make wishes. Information about what makes a wish come true follows a...
Purchase book [142]
Your Name Is a Song
By: Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
Age Level: 6-9 years old
Fiction
A celebration to remind all of us about the beauty, history, and magic behind names....
Purchase book [143]
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Print List
Amina's Voice
By: Hena Khan
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Fiction
Amina loves music, but stage fright and her conservative uncle’s disapproval hamper her...
Purchase book [144]
Purchase audio version [145]
Purchase Kindle version [146]
Bravo! Poems About Amazing Hispanics
By: Margarita Engle
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Poetry
Lyrical poems introduce a “variety of amazing people …” including Pura Belpre became a New York...
Purchase book [147]
Cool World Cooking: Fun and Tasty Recipes for Kids!
By: Lisa Wagner
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Purchase book [148]
Fanny in France: Travel Adventures of a Chef's Daughter, with Recipes
By: Alice Waters
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Fanny is a girl who knows a lot about food and cooking since she’s grown up in and around the...
Purchase book [149]
Hello World: A Celebration of Languages and Curiosities
By: Jonathan Litton
Age Level: 9-12 years old
There are many ways to say Hello! There’s more than just “hi!” People world-over say it in their...
Purchase book [150]
Historium: Welcome to the Museum
By: Jo Nelson
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Welcome to the museum! Discover a collection of curated objects on every page, accompanied by...
Purchase book [151]
If Stones Could Speak: Unlocking the Secrets of Stonehenge
By: Marc Aronson
Age Level: 9-12 years old
No matter how much is known, there's always more to learn. In a fascinating re-examination of...
Purchase book [152]
Latinitas: Celebrating 40 Big Dreamers
By: Juliet Menéndez
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Discover how 40 influential Latinas became the women we celebrate today in this collection of...
Purchase book [153]
Maps
By: Aleksandra Mizielinska, Daniel Mizielinska
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Travel the world without leaving your living room. Much more than an ordinary atlas, this book...
Purchase book [154]
National Geographic World Atlas for Young Explorers, 3rd edition
By: National Geographic Society
Age Level: 9-12 years old
The latest edition of the Young Explorers atlas uses satellite images to help focus on various...
Purchase book [155]
Other Words for Home
By: Jasmine Warga
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Nonfiction
A hopeful middle grade novel in free verse about a young girl who must leave Syria to move...
Purchase book [156]
Purchase audio version [157]
Purchase Kindle version [158]
Red Bird Sings: The Story of Zitkala-Ša, Native American Author, Musician, and Activist
By: Gina Capaldi, Q.L. Pearce
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Nonfiction
Born in 1876 on the Yankton Sioux reservation in South Dakota, Zitkala-Ša willingly left her...
Purchase book [159]
Rivers: A Visual History from River to Sea
By: Peter Goes
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Nonfiction
Our seas and rivers tell a compelling story about our planet. Take a journey along the most...
Purchase book [160]
Sharuko: Peruvian Archaeologist Julio C. Tello / El Arqueólogo Peruano Julio C. Tello
By: Monica Brown
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Nonfiction
Peruvian archaeologist and national icon Julio C. Tello unearthed Peru's ancient cultures and...
Purchase book [126]
Take Shelter: At Home Around the World
By: Nikki Tate
Age Level: 9-12 years old
A roof, a door, some windows, a floor. All houses have them, but not all houses are alike. Some...
Purchase book [161]
The 5,000-Year-Old Puzzle: Solving a Mystery of Ancient Egypt
By: Claudi Logan
Age Level: 9-12 years old
It is 1924, two years after the discovery of King Tut's tomb. Readers are invited to join a...
Purchase book [162]
The Dragon Slayer: Folktales from Latin America
By: Jamie Hernandez
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Meet the dragon slayer, a girl and a mouse, and a boy who talks to ants. Three traditional tales...
Purchase book [163]
United States Atlas for Young Explorers (Third Edition)
By: National Geographic Society
Age Level: 9-12 years old
Purchase book [164]
Hands-on Activities
Build on what you're learning together through books with these family-friendly activities, experiments, and crafts.
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Adopt-a-Nation Olympic Chart [165]
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Ancient Stone Circle [166]
BBC Hands on History -
Big Dig/Little Dig [167]
Start with a Book -
Cardboard Castle [168]
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Chinese Lantern Festival [169]
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Compass Rose: Learning About Cardinal Directions [170]
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Compass Skills: Find the Missing Snack! [171]
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Design Your Own Stamp [172]
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Ebru: Turkish Marbling Art [173]
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Egyptian Board Game: Senet [174]
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Exploring Olympic Host Nations [175]
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Family Poetry Book: Who I Am [176]
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Islamic ornament in architecture [177]
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Kente Cloth [178]
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Learning About Morocco [179]
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Magnet Map [180]
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Make a City Guide For Kids! [181]
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Many Ways to Name a Place [182]
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Map Symbols [183]
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Map to Your Neighborhood Park [184]
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Map Your Food [185]
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Map Your World [186]
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Mapping with a Homemade Compass [187]
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Mexican Yarn Picture [188]
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Moroccan Hanging Lanterns [189]
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Origami Samurai Helmet [190]
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Picture Writing: Hieroglyph Scroll [191]
Start with a Book -
Postcard Map [192]
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Pottery Puzzle: Piecing It All Together [193]
-
Roman Mosaic [194]
-
Roman Villa [195]
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Sandpaper Petroglyphs [196]
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State Quarter Geography [197]
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Suminagashi Paper Marbling [198]
-
The Language of “Thank You” Cards [199]
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The Sun, Earth, and Cardinal Directions [200]
-
Travel the Time Zones [201]
-
Treasure Map [202]
National Wildlife Federation -
Viking Helmet [203]
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Viking Longship [204]
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Weather Map [205]
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World Traveler Passport [206]
-
Zen Garden [207]
-
Zoo Map Grid [208]
Summer Writing
Give kids a chance to flex their writing muscles all summer long. Try one of these prompts, selected from our writing contest archives and other literacy organizations.
-
Favorite Family Recipe [209]
-
Greek Vases Tell a Story [210]
-
Map Your Secret Adventure [211]
-
Mapmaker [212]
-
Mapping Fairy Tales [213]
-
My Pourquoi Tale [214]
-
Native American Pictograph Story [215]
Great Websites for Kids
Dive deeper into topics of interest with these media-rich and interactive sites.
-
Ancient Egypt [216]
-
Ancient Greeks [217]
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Archaeology for Kids [218]
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Archaeology: Clues from the Past [219]
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Artifact of the Month [220]
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Asian Brush Painting [221]
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Birmingham Museum [222]
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Brain Pop: Ancient Cultures [223]
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Brain Pop: Geography [224]
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Discover the Forest: Find Forests and Parks Near You [225]
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Global Closet Calculator [226]
-
Google Earth [227]
-
Hands on History [228]
-
Iron Age Life [229]
-
MetKids [230]
-
Mummy Maker [231]
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Mysteries of Catalhoyuk [232]
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National Geographic Kids [233]
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National Geographic: Countries [234]
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National Geographic: Mapping Skills [235]
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Nature Find: Find Parks, Trails, and Other Nature Sites Near You [236]
-
NOVA: Ancient Worlds [237]
-
Pyramid Builder [238]
-
Rio 2016 Summer Olympics (Official Website) [239]
-
Silk Road Fables [240]
-
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings [241]
-
Sortify: Continents and Oceans Game [242]
-
Sounds of the Silk Road [243]
-
The Wonderment [244]
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Virtual Tour of a Polynesian Voyaging Canoe [245]
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Where's Everyone Going? [246]
-
Write Your Name in Hieroglyphs [247]
Great Podcasts for Kids
Listen and learn with these podcasts especially for kids. These podcasts are free and easy to listen to from any device via Apple Podcasts [248], Google Podcasts [249], or Stitcher [250] — or from Listen Notes [251], a podcast search engine.
-
Circle Round [252]
WBUR Public Radio (Boston)
Educational Apps
Educational apps recommended by Common Sense Media and other trusted reviewers.
-
Archaeologist: Ancient Egypt [253]
$
-
Barefoot World Atlas [254]
$
-
Britannica Kids: Ancient Rome [255]
$
-
Britannica Kids: Aztec Empire [256]
$
-
Egyptian Hieroglyphics Decoder [257]
$
-
Expeditions [258]
-
Flat Stanley [259]
-
Geo Walk: 3D World Fact Book [260]
-
GeoBee Challenge by National Geographic [261]
$
-
Geocaching Intro [262]
-
Geographia [263]
-
Homes by Tinybop [264]
$
-
Kids and Home [265]
-
License Plate Travel Game [266]
-
News-O-Matic [267]
$
-
Oddizzi [268]
$
-
One Globe Kids: Friends Around the World [269]
-
Roadside Presidents [270]
$
-
Stack the Countries [271]
-
Stack the States [272]
-
StrataLogica [273]
-
The World by National Geographic [274]
-
Timeline Battle Castles [275]
$
-
Wood Puzzle USA Map [276]
$
More Themed Resources
Growing Readers Tip Sheets
Simple activities for parents and kids to do together to build reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. Read online or print the PDF.
-
Preparing 21st Century Learners [277]
Download PDF: English [278] | Spanish [279] -
The Importance of Reading Widely [280]
Download PDF: English [281] | Spanish [282]
Our Summer Blog
-
Building Big Dreams [284]
-
Postcard from the Road [287]
-
And … We’re Off! [288]
Washington DC for Kids
Places
-
Library of Congress [298]
-
National Gallery of Art [299]
-
National Postal Museum [305]
-
National Zoo [306]
-
Wish Tree for Washington [307]