Book a Trip Around the World!

Ata, Te. Baby Rattlesnake.
Bruchac, Joseph. The Great Ball Game. and A Boy Called Slow : The True Story of Sitting Bull.
Cohn, Amy L., ed. From Sea to Shining Sea: A Treasury of American Folklore and Folk Songs.
DePaola, Tomie. The Legend of the Bluebonnet.
Esbensen, Barbara Juster. The Star Maiden : An Ojibway Tale.
Harris, Joel Chandler. The Complete Tales of Uncle Remus.
Isaacs, Anne. Swamp Angel.
Jones , Jennifer Berry. Heetunka's Harvest : A Tale of the Plains Indians.
Keller, Laurie. The Scrambled States of America.
Lewis, Paul Owen. Frog Girl.
McDermott, Gerald. Arrow to the Sun : A Pueblo Indian Tale.
Philip, Neil, ed. Stockings of Buttermilk: American Folktales.
Robbins, Ken. Thunder on the Plains: The Story of the American Buffalo.
Rodanas, Kristina. Dragonfly's Tale.
Sawyer, Ruth. Journey Cake, Ho!
Schwartz, Alvin. Whoppers: Tall Tales and Other Lies.
Seeger, Peter. Abiyoyo.
Shannon, David. How Georgie Radbourn Saved Baseball.
Smith, Cynthia Leitich. Jingle Dancer. (Nice Native American and other multicultural reading suggestions at the author's outstanding website.)
Steptoe, John. The Story of Jumping Mouse.
Van Frankenhuyzen, Gijsbert. The Legend of Sleeping Bear.
Van Laan, Nancy. Shingebiss : An Ojibwe Legend and Rainbow Crow : A Lenape Tale.
Wisniewski, David. The Wave of the Sea-Wolf.
Wood, Audrey. The Bunyans.

Aardema, Verna. Borreguita and the Coyote.
Anaya, Rudolfo. My Land Sings.
Castaneda, Omar S. Abuela's Weave.
Delacre, Lulu. Salsa Stories. (short chapter book)
Dorros, Arthur. Abuela.
Ehlert, Lois. Moon Rope.
Hayes, Joe. A Spoon for Every Bite.
Jaffe, Nina. Sing, Little Sack: Canta Saquito!
Johnston, Tony. The Iguana Brothers.
Lattimore, Deborah Norse. Frida Maria.
Leiner, Katherine. Mama Does the Mambo.
Lewis, Thomas P. Hill of Fire.
Monte, Marisa. Juan Bobo Goes to Work.
Moreton, Daniel. La Cucaracha Martina.
Rohmer, Harriet. Uncle Nacho's Hat.
Soto, Gary. Too Many Tamales and Chato's Kitchen.

Aardema, Verna. Why Mosquitos Buzz in People's Ears.
Bimwili and the Zimwi.
Misoso: Once Upon a Time Tales from Africa.
What's So Funny, Ketu?
(Aardema is the African story master! Check out all of her books!)
Alexander, Lloyd. The Fortune Teller.
Brown, Marcia. A Story, A Story.
Burns, Khephra. Mansa Musa: Lion of Mali.
Diakité, Baba Waqué. The Hunterman and the Crocodile.
Daly, Niki. Jamela's Dress.
Dayrell, Elphinstone. Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky.
Douf, Sylviane. Bintou's Braids.
Fairman, Tony. Bury My Bones But Keep my Words: African Tales for Retelling.
Feelings, Muriel. Jambo Means Hello: A Swahili Alphabet Book.
Moja Means One: A Swahili Counting Book.
Gershator, Phyllis. Zzzng! Zzng! Zzng! A Yoruba Tale.
Gerson, Mary Joan. Why the Sky is Far Away.
Grifalconi , Ann. Darkness and the Butterfly.
Hamilton, Virginia. The Girl Who Spun Gold.
Ichikawa, Satomi. The First Bear in Africa.
Kimmell, Robert. Anansi and the Talking Melon. (For more marvelous Anansi stories and stories from around the world, see Trickster Tales.)
McDermott, Gerald. Zomo the Rabbit: A Trickster Tale from Africa.
Mollel, Tololwa. Rhinos for Lunch and Elephants for Supper! A Maasai Tale.
Orphan Boy.
My Rows and Piles of Coins.
Musgrave, Margaret. The Spider Weaver, A Legend of Kente Cloth.
Shepherd , Aaron. Master Man: A Tall Tale of Nigeria.
Stock, Catherine. Gugu's House.
Stuve-Bodeen, Stephanie. Elizabeti's Doll.
Unobagha , Uzo. Off to the Sweet Shores of Africa and Other Talking Drum Rhymes.

Bontemps, Arna and Hughes, Langston. Popo and Fifina. (Haiti)
Burgie, Irving. Carribean Carnival: Songs of the West Indies.
Despain, Pleasant. The Dancing Turtle : A Folktale from Brazil.
Dobrin, Arnold. Josephine's 'Magination. (Haiti)
Gerhaty, Paul. Stop That Noise! (out-of-print, worth the hunt)
Gottlieb, Dale. Where Jamaica Go? (Jamaica)
Gunning, Monica. Not a Copper Penny in Me House: Poems from the Carribean.
Lessac, Frané. My Little Island.
Mama, Raouf, reteller. The Barefoot Book of Tropical Tales.
Martin, Rafe. The Shark God.
Olaleye. Isaac. Bitter Bananas.
Pomerantz, Charlotte. The Chalk Doll. (Jamaica)
Sierra, Judy. The Dancing Pig. (Bali)
Williams, Karen Lynn. Painted Dreams. (Haiti)

China…
Bateson-Hill, Margaret. Lao-Lao of Dragon Mountain.
Compestine, Yin Chang. The Runaway Rice Cake and The Story of Chopsticks.
Demi. The Empty Pot and Liang and the Magic Paintbrush.
(Speaking of a "magic paint brush," did you know that Demi has been known to paint with a mouse's whisker? Demi writes and illustrates marvelous books that take place throughout all of Asia! Always outstanding!)
Ginsburg, Mirra. The Chinese Mirror.
Heyer, Marilee. The Weaving of a Dream : A Chinese Folktale.
Hong, Lily. Two of Everything.
Mosel, Arlene. The Funny Little Woman. and Tikki Tikki Tembo.
Rappaport, Doreen. The Long-Haired Girl.
Schafer, Carole Lexa. The Squiggle.
Yolen, Jane. The Emperor and the Kite.

India…
Bannerman, Helen. The Story of Little Babaji.
Brown, Marcia. Once a Mouse.
Demi. One Grain of Rice.
Jaffrey, Madhur. Seasons of Splendour: Tales, Myths and Legends.
Martin, Rafe. The Brave Little Parrot.

Japan…
Davol, Marguerite W. The Paper Dragon. (exceptional fold-out illustrations by Robert Sabuda)
Esterl, Arnica. Okino and the Whales.
Kajikawa, Kimiko. Yoshi's Feast.
Kalman, Maira. Sayonara, Mrs. Kackleman.
Mayer, Mercer. Shibumi and the Kitemaker.
McCully, Emily Arnold. Beautiful Warrior : The Legend of the Nun's Kung Fu.
Morimoto, Junko. The Two Bullies.
Paterson, Katharine. The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks.
Sierra, Judy. Tasty Baby Belly Buttons.
Snyder, Diane. The Boy of the Three Year Nap.
Takabayashi, Mari. I Live in Tokyo.

And beyond…
Aruego, José. Rockabye Crocodile. (Phillipines)
Chin-Lee , Cynthia. A is for Asia. (general Asia)
Garland, Sherry. Children of the Dragon: Selected Tales from Vietnam.
Ho, Minfong. Hush! A Thai Lullaby. (Thailand)
Xiong , Blia. Nine in One, Grr! Grr! (Laos)
Yep, Laurence. The Khan's Daughter. (Mongolia)

Gung Hay Fat Choi! My son and I can't wait for Chinese New Year to enjoy this unusual baked rice cake that goes along with Ying Chang Compestine's lively story about generosity, The Runaway Rice Cake. We leave out the raisins and nuts and eat it plain, as little boys sometimes like their food that way. Baked Nian-Gao Dry ingredients 1 pound glutinous rice flour (also called sweet rice flour) 1 1/4 cups sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 cup raisins 1/2 cup nuts Wet ingredients 3 eggs 3/4 cup canola or vegetable oil 1 1/2 cups water Preheat oven to 375. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Add other wet ingredients to the eggs and stir. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour the batter into a greased 9-inch round pan. Bake for 40 minutes; a knife poked into the center will come out clean when it is done.

Aliki. Three Gold Coins.(Greece)
Bemelmans, Ludwig. Madeline series.(France)
Brett, Jan. The Trouble with Trolls.(Scandinavia)
DePaola, Tomie. Strega Nona. (Italy)
Fern, Eugene. Pepito's Story. (Spain)
Fleming, Candace. Gabriella's Song. (Italy)
Forest, Heather. The Woman Who Flummoxed the Fairies. (Scotland)
Hughes, Shirley. The Alfie and Annie Rose Storybook. (England)
Lamorisse, L.A. The Red Balloon. (France)
Leaf, Munro. The Story of Ferdinand. (Spain)
Locker, Thomas. The Boy Who Held Back the Sea. (Holland)
Marcellino, Fred. Puss in Boots. (France)
Sierra, Judy. The Beautiful Butterfly. (Spain)
Talbott, Hudson. O'Sullivan Stew. (Ireland)
Vittorini, Domenico. The Thread of Life: Twelve Old Italian Tales. (Italy)

Parisian Pig-Out When I was a teenager, I got a D- in French class, but I did manage to come away with a fake accent and a recipe for crepes that is so magnifique, a stomachache is the only thing that will stop me from eating them. I'll translate for you, so you can make them while your children read stories from France to you. 1 cup flour 3 tablespoons white sugar 3 eggs 2 cups milk pinch of salt 1 tablespoon oil butter sugar, jam or chocolate spread for decorating In a big bowl, mix a cup of flour, three tablespoons of white sugar and a pinch of salt. In a small bowl, beat three eggs. Add two cups of milk and mix. Put the contents of the small bowl in the big bowl, and mix some more. Add one tablespoon of oil, and give it one last good stir. Let it sit in the fridge two hours, or overnight (it will be ready for breakfast, or a midnight snack if you can't wait). When the batter has set, heat up a wide frying pan nice and hot, and put as much butter in that hot pan as you imagine a French person would. Pour a couple tablespoons of the batter in the hot buttered pan, and move the pan around as to cover it thinly and completely, like one big pancake. It should be so thin that you don't need to turn it, it will cook through in about a minute or less. The first one never turns out, but don't worry, the second one will be fine. Flip it on a plate, and get started on the next one. Hurry, hurry, everyone's hungry, and they go so fast! They are good drenched in white sugar, raspberry jam, or better yet, Nutella hazelnut spread drizzled all over.

Bliss, Corinne Demas. The Littlest Matryoshka.
Mayer, Marianna. Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave.
Mayhew, James. Koshka's Tales: Stories from Russia.
Ogburn, Jacqueline K. The Magic Nesting Doll.
Philip, Neil. Noah and the Devil. (Romania)
Ransome, Arthur. The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship.
Shepard, Aaron. The Sea King's Daughter: A Russian Legend.
Small, Ernest. Baba Yaga.


Heide, Florence Parry. The Day of Ahmed's Secret (Egypt) and House of Wisdom.
Kherdian, David. The Golden Bracelet. (Armenia)
Lewin, Betsy. What's the Matter, Habibi?
Nye, Naomi Shihab. Sitt's Secrets.
Rumford, James. Traveling Man.
Shah, Indries. The Boy Without a Name.
Shepard, Aaron. Forty Fortunes (Iran) and The Silly Chicken.


Bonnet-Rampersaud, Louise. Polly Hopper's Pouch.
Czernecki, Stefan and Rhodes, Timothy. The Singing Snake.
Fox, Mem. Possum Magic.
Germein, Katrina. Big Rain Coming.
Lattimore, Deborah Norse. Punga, Goddess of Ugly.
Lester, Alison. Ernie Dances to the Didgeridoo.
Morpugo , Michael. Wombat Goes Walkabout.
Rey, Margret and H.A. Katy No-Pocket.
Scarry, Patricia. Hop, Little Kangaroo!
Viorst, Judith. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

Atwater, Richard. Mr. Popper's Penguins. (chapter book)
Blake, Robert. Akiak.
Carlstrom , Nancy White. Northern Lullaby.
Dupre, Kelly. The Ravenšs Gift. (Greenland)
George, Jean Craighead. Snow Bear.
Joose , Barbara. Mama, Do You Love Me?
Lester, Helen. Tacky, the Penguin. (There's a whole series!)
Normandin, Christina, ed. Echoes of the Elders: Stories and Paintings of Chief Lelooska. (for older children)
Rey, Margret and H.A. Whiteblack the Penguin Sees the World.
Sierra, Judy. Antarctic Antics: A Book of Penguin Poems.
Sloat , Terri. There Was an Old lady Who Swallowed a Trout.
Webb, Sophie. My Season with Penguins: An Antarctic Journal.
Wood, Audrey. Little Penguin's Tale.(More penguin tales in Wild Kingdom.)

Alrawi, Karim. The Girl Who Lost Her Smile.
Hergé. The Tintin series.
Kindersley, Barnabas and Anabel. Celebrations and Children Just Like Me.
Lobel, Anita. Away From Home.
Mayo, Margaret. Magical Tales from Many Lands.
Priceman, Majorie. How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World. Robins, Deri. The Kids' Around the World Cookbook. (Recipes from every corner of the globe!)
Scullard, Sue. The Great Round the World Balloon Race. (Out-of-print, but whenever I read it aloud, it's met with cheers from the children! Worth the hunt!)
Sierra, Judy. Nursery Tales Around the World.
Singer, Marilyn. Nine O'Clock Lullaby.
Walker , Barabara, ed. Laughing Together: Giggles and Grins from Around the Globe.
Weiss, Nicki. The World Turns Round and Round.

Need a Tour Guide? Author Eric Kimmel is a one-man-trip-around-the-world! While his great strengths are Ukranian and Jewish folktales (he is the author of the classic Herschel and the Channukah Goblins…you don't have to be Jewish to love it!) and his retellings of African Anasi trickster tales, all of his books have the mark of his storytelling background: just the right language and pacing for read-aloud. Besides an eclectic mix of settings, his work has been marked by diversity in the ethnicities of his illustrators. Don't hesitate to present his picture books to intermediate children, they will fall right in line to join his world clique! A Cloak for the Moon (Israel) Bearhead : A Russian Folktale Bernal and Florinda : A Spanish Tale Boots and His Brothers : A Norwegian Tale Count Silvernose : A Story from Italy Easy Work! : An Old Tale by Eric A. Kimmel (American) I-Know-Not-What, I-Know-Not-Where : A Russian Tale One Eye, Two Eyes, Three Eyes : A Hutzul Tale (Ukranian) Squash It : A True and Ridiculous Tale (Spain) Sword of the Samurai : Adventure Stories from Japan Ten Suns : A Chinese Legend The Adventures of Hershel of Ostropol (Ukranian) The Bird's Gift : A Ukrainian Easter Story The Castle of Cats : A Story from Ukraine The Greatest of All : A Japanese Folktale The Rooster's Antlers : A Story of the Chinese Zodiac The Three Princes : A Tale from the Middle East The Two Mountains : An Aztec Legend The Witch's Face : A Mexican Tale Three Sacks of Truth : A Story from France Also, see "December Stories" and the Anansi Trickster tales.

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