Country-specific kid books to read before traveling

Reading books with your kids before traveling is key to setting them up for success

Before we travel, we always try to expose our kids to the culture/country ahead of time through reading books (and recently listening to some podcasts too!). We have found that books help the kids to have more understanding of where we’re going; they can learn about customs, food, language, history, or even what to expect to see or feel. Not all books offer all of these– and that’s totally fine. But the kids will take away something, especially if you discuss the story with them. The books are also great to re-read when you’re home again as reminders about your experiences.  

Here are books we’ve enjoyed!

East Africa

• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (young readers edition). This is a full-on novel-length book and if you have younger kids, you’ll be reading it to them. BOTH my daughter and I enjoyed it a lot…and learned a ton from it too (about the culture, families, food, village life, education, etc). If you’re unfamiliar with the storyline (there is also a movie), it’s about a boy who learned how to build a windmill in Malawi for his family’s farm.  There’s only one chapter I pretty much skipped over, which related to a famine and it just wasn’t quite appropriate for a 1st grader. Other than that, it was pretty smooth reading and she was very engaged.
• We All Went On Safari A fun, cute counting book with Safari animals and a simple, repetitive set of phrases that little kids can key into (maybe for ages ~1yr to 3yrs)
• My Rows and Piles of Coins. It tells the story of a Tanzanian boy who works hard to earn money to try to buy a bicycle.  It has lovely illustrations, is very sweet, and you feel the work ethic and family values. We started it at age 2 with one of our kids and it’s still enjoyable for age 6+.
• I am Jane Goodall. This is one of many good kids books out there on Jane Goodall.

Colombia

• Waiting for the Biblioburro. This is a fun tale set in Colombia about un burro that brings books to villages and has the side benefit of being written in both Spanish and English– so kids can learn the Spanish vocabulary if they’re interested!

France

• Usborne’s Marie Antoinette (Famous Lives series). Just the right level of detail in this chapter book to make kids feel like they know where Marie Antoinette came from/what her family was like, what was going on in Europe (and France), and what it was like to be in her shoes during the revolution. 

Greece

• Podcast:  Greeking Out (by National Geographic Kids… and listenable wherever you normally listen to podcasts). It’s awesome. There are two different voices – one is an oracle, which is hilarious. And it does an amazing job explaining new words/concepts to kids. Thank goodness there are several seasons as my kids can’t get enough of it. They’ve also branched out from just Greek gods and have some Egyptian and Mayan gods episodes too.
• Usborne’s Illustrated Stories from the Greek Myths. It has fun illustrations and is well written for young kids (we started at around age 3, but it’s still interesting and engaging at 7+)
• Greek Myths (on the phonics reading website Starfall). These are meant for beginning readers (perhaps K,1,2ish). Kids can read them online (there are five), or parents can screenshot, print, and staple the pages to make physical books. Our kids have enjoyed reading these on their own (or with a little help if needed). And the myths seem to sometimes be more memorable when the kids work to read them :)!  

Italy

• Who Was Leonardo da Vinci

Mayan-related (Guatemala/Belize/Mexico/Honduras)

Our 7 year old LOVED both of these and read them over and over before our trip.

• You wouldn’t want to be a Mayan Soothsayer (part of the “You wouldn’t want to be”…series)
• The Ancient Maya (Scholastic)

Mexico

• Frida (picture book)… it’s well-written for younger kids and has illustrations VERY MUCH in the style of Frida, which has been super interesting/intriguing to the kids. From experience, it can be read over and over (and over…and over) again (starting at age ~2ish, but still interesting at kindergarten+)
• Who was Frida Kahlo? A “Who was” chapter book that definitely sucked in a kindergartener and 2nd grader who hardly let me put it down each night. “Please, just onnnne more page?”
• + the Mayan ones mentioned above (You wouldn’t want to be a Mayan Soothsayer  and The Ancient Maya)

Morocco

• My Father’s Shop
• The Street Cats of Marrakech
• The Adventures of Seymour & Hau: Morocco

Portugal

• The Miracle Dogs of Portugal . It tells a story of Prince Henry the Navigator as a boy with the sea as his friend during a very large storm… and it’s longer than it looks, so if you’re reading it to a child at night, either start early, or let them know it might be a two-night book. It also uses/teaches a few words in Portuguese, which is fun for the kids to learn. We found this book to be neat because the kids understood more about the importance of the ocean to the Portuguese and you’re bound to see some Prince Henry statues while you’re traveling in Portugal, which makes them more relatable!

There are three additional series, which we have found to be great for learning about countries and people before our travels:

1. The “You wouldn’t want to be” series 

This series has been super engaging for our 7 year old. They are all about a culture and that time period through the lens of some type of person (a Mayan Soothsayer… an Egyptian mummy… a Roman Gladiator… one who’s married to Henry VIII… a Victorian schoolchild, etc). There are 44 in the series, some more easily accessible on Amazon than others.

2. The Who was? series

This is a set of chapter-book biographies of just about anyone super important that you can think of (there are 213!!!… Queen Victoria, Leif Erikson, Ferdinand Magellan, etc). Each book has enough detail to be interesting and memorable – and you can finish it in around an hour of reading out loud. So, it can be a nice long extended read-aloud, or a few bedtime readings. They don’t drag on and they’re great for understanding historical figures, cultures, and places.

3. The Usborne Famous Lives Series. 

These biographies are very similar to the “Who was?” books, though they might be able to be read aloud to slightly younger kids than “Who was?”. Our kids have enjoyed learning from them a lot– and so have we. The main downside is that these books are a bit harder to track down and buy (and therefore often more expensive). Usborne doesn’t sell through Amazon directly, but sometimes you can find them for re-sale there (ex: Marie Antoinette and Cleopatra). The best list I was able to find for knowing which books are in the series (or at least some of them) was on goodreads, here.