Updated for Sheltering in Place: Noonday Books for Kids
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Diverse books for kids
A couple of years ago, I wrote a post on Noonday's blog, Flourish - and it's a post anyone with kids in their life will find useful! I rounded up ten of my favorite books for kids that are set in Noonday's partner countries (and many written by authors from those countries).
I'd gotten most of them from my local library…but now that we’re sheltering in place, it’s time to take to Kindle or to YouTube to get your new book fix. So, I’ve updated the post below with links to read-aloud videos I found on YouTube! All updates below are in bold. For the videos that allowed it, I created a playlist on YouTube here.
Take a look at this tiny glimpse of the vast world of global literature, and how it can help our kids (and us) see that the beauty, curiosity, sadness and joy all over the world all make up the rich tapestry of being human. And, see how beautiful these illustrations pair with the Noonday jewelry and accessories made in these countries! You can read my other contributions to Noonday’s Flourish blog here.
Note: to see a complete list of these books on Amazon, click here.
Reading and Reaching Out
Noonday Collection’s mission is to build a flourishing world where we are all connected, and one way for people of any age to connect is through reading. In particular, because we have the potential—and responsibility—to shape the worldviews of the kids in our lives, I love exploring the world of diverse kids’ books as an accessible way to do that.
New Books and New Perspectives
I want my kids to love well and treasure (not just tolerate) differences—and it takes more than a few books here and there to support that goal. My kids need books that show things like injustice and devastation faced by others, as well as plenty showing kids who look or do life differently from us, simply being curious and creative and mischievous and playful. We need books about other countries and books about different people groups here at home. We need portraits of modern life in other cultures and we need their folktales. We need biographies about their heroes and we need tales of everyday families. We need nonfiction and poetry and silly, tall tales. In other words, diverse books can’t be a tiny subsection of my children’s bookshelves, an extracurricular, an occasional “good thing to do.” They must be intentional and frequent—so I try to be on the lookout for great reads that can enhance how we understand this beautiful world.
From Children’s Stories to True Stories
One subset of books we’ve been exploring recently are those featuring the countries where Noonday has partnerships, so that I can connect the stories I read to my children with the work and travel I do as a Noonday Collection Ambassador. Below are some favorites that would be great reads for kids in your life or additions to a Playdate with a Purpose Trunk Show. I hope they help you explore the beautiful connection that books can provide!
Note that my kids are 7 and 5, but most of these would work for preschool through mid-elementary school. You can use a map or globe to find where the characters, author, or illustrator live or have traveled.
1. Sleep Well, Siba and Saba by Nansubuga Isdahl and Sandra van Doorn (Uganda)
Read-aloud here
Sweet tutorial from the illustrator for drawing Saba is here (my daughter, 5 at the time, loved doing this together!)
Featured Piece: Dainty Paper Bead Necklace
This sweet story is about sisters who tend to lose things (every kid can relate to that!) but find them in their dreams—until their dreams take a surprising turn one night. We love the lilt of the language, the sweet lullaby, the whimsical illustrations, and of course the paper beads! My daughter and I enjoyed learning how to draw Saba from the illustrator. I have to rave about all the books we’ve explored from Lantana Publishing, which focuses on stories from around the globe.
2. Seeds of Change: Planting a Path to Peace by Jen Johnson and Sonia Lynn Sadler (Kenya)
Read-aloud here
Featured Piece: Berber Earrings
This biography of Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize winning environmentalist, introduces kids to an inspiring Kenyan role model. It opens up discussions around sexism, education for girls, women in science, environmental care, corporate greed, leadership, courage in the face of criticism, and community.
3. Fly Free by Roseanne Thong and Eujin Kim Neilan (Vietnam)
Read-aloud here
Featured Piece: Calypso Earrings (see behind the scenes of their creation)
I adore that this book’s main character, Mai, shares a name with one of the business leaders I spent time with during Noonday’s Ambassador trip to Vietnam! (You can read her story here.) In Fly Free, acts of kindness are paid forward and come full circle back to Mai. You can chat with young readers about the beliefs of Buddhism and karma (there’s an author’s note), how acts of kindness bless others and also us, and how others’ kindness can inspire us.
4. Hope for Haiti by Jesse Joshua Watson (Haiti)
Read-aloud here
This book discusses the devastation of the earthquake in Haiti while showcasing hope and resilience. As families build makeshift homes in a stadium after the earthquake, children there show tenacity and find joy through the power of soccer and imagination, inspiring a grown-up to have hope for Haiti.
5. Roses for Isabella by Diana Cohn and Amy Córdova (Ecuador)
I sadly didn’t find a read-aloud, but enjoyed this video interview with the author and illustrator where they discussed their experience of researching this book, to present the fair trade movement to kids through the story of a girl from Otavalo, Ecuador.
Featured Piece: Ibarra Necklace (no longer available, but click here to view all pieces from Ecuador, and here to show your child my explainer video on the eco-friendly creation of tagua seed pieces, and the importance of fair trade for families like Isabella’s)
Isabella, working on a writing project for school, shares about her parents’ jobs at a rose farm and—through their story—explains the impact of fair trade on her family. Talking points include environmental care, the importance of not exploiting the environment or workers, and our connection to others through how we shop.
6. One Grain of Rice by Demi (India)
Read-aloud here
This is a great folktale in which a girl outsmarts a greedy raja with sharing and the magic of math. As someone with degrees in math, whose actuary father taught her to marvel at the wonder of compound interest as a young child, this book spoke to me (and my dad enjoyed reading it to his grandkids!). Exponentiation plus generosity? This is my kind of book.
7. Abuela’s Weave by Omar S. Castañeda and Enrique O. Sanchez (Guatemala)
Read-aloud here
Featured Piece: Atitlan Tote (no longer available, but you can click here to see all pieces from Guatemala, and here to show your child the process of using a backstrap loom)
Esperanza’s grandmother teaches her to weave on a backstrap loom, engaging in the same traditional craft that Noonday’s partner Ana and her employees share with the world. Esperanza hopes their handmade goods will do well at the market, where machine-made wares are prevalent. This is a great book for chatting with kids about crafting traditions, how handmade items are special, and supporting jobs for families like Esperanza’s.
8. Carolina’s Gift: A Story of Peru by Katacha Diaz and Gredna Landolt (Peru)
I sadly didn’t find a read-aloud video, but you can see this post for how the Wildflower Clutch and other pieces from Peru were made.
Featured Piece: Wildflower Clutch
Carolina searches the market for the perfect gift for her Abuelita. Kids can discuss the joy of finding great gifts for others and the amazing handmade crafts at the market. There’s even an appendix about Peru, the market, and Spanish words you encounter in the book.
9. The Lion’s Whiskers by Nancy Raines Day and Ann Grifalconi (Ethiopia)
I did not find a read-aloud.
Featured Pieces: Very Versatile Bracelet (bottom) and Two-Toned Teardrop Earrings (left) Update: These pieces are no longer available, but newer styles from Ethiopia are here.
This folktale is about blended family, patience, and a stepmother’s quest to show love to her stepson and gain his trust.
10. At the Same Moment, Around the World by Clotilde Perrin (global)
Read-aloud here
To bring it all together, I have to mention a fabulous book that is literally a journey around the globe. It opens at 6 a.m. in Senegal, then proceeds around the globe to discuss what different people are doing at the same moment in each time zone—including in the Himalayas, Hanoi, Mexico, and Peru. There’s a map in the back and lovely illustrations showing that beauty and joy come in a million flavors and can be found everywhere.
Honorable mentions:
● Uganda: Give Up, Gecko!; Beatrice’s Goat (read-aloud here); A Good Trade
● Kenya: Mama Panya’s Pancakes (read-aloud here); For You Are a Kenyan Child (read-aloud here); The Wooden Camel (read-aloud here); Bonyo Bonyo
● Vietnam: The Lotus Seed (read-aloud here)
● Haiti: Eight Days (read-aloud here); Please, Malese!
● Ecuador: We’re Sailing to Galapagos (read-aloud here)
● Ethiopia: The Best Beekeeper of Lalibela (read-aloud here); Omer’s Favorite Place; Yafi’s family
● India: Monsoon Afternoon (read-aloud here); Nimesh the Adventurer (read-aloud here)
● Peru: Up and Down the Andes (read-aloud here); Maria Had a Little Llama (read-aloud in both English and Spanish here)
For further resources, I recommend A Mighty Girl and Social Justice Books. Huge thanks to my friend Amy Commers, a youth services librarian in St. Paul, who helped compile a list of recommendations for this post! Hear her share tips on using and supporting your local library on episode 65 of the Read-Aloud Revival podcast.
