Around the world in 8 books. A free downloadable.
The Reading Passport invites students to travel the globe through the power of literature. They get a stamp or sticker in their passport for every country they visit via a book, as defined by the author’s country of origin. This activity is designed to foster a lifelong love for reading while building an appreciation for geography, culture, and, of course, the spirit of adventure. By the way, this activity makes a great addition to my motivational talks.
This activity is easy to explain: Download the free PDF below to make your own Reading Passport, then select a book from each region. I included 10 regions:
- The seven continents
- Two continental plates (Arabia and India),
- And one bonus cultural area of the student’s choice.
To complete their travels, students must read at least eight books from these different regions. I chose the number eight as an homage to one of my favorite books: Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne. To ensure a true international experience, students must choose books from outside their home country. For example, a student living in the United States should select an author from Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean to fill the North American section of their passport.
There are a few more suggestions in the PDF, but it’s really not any harder than this. Below, I include a topic for discussion and a list of my favorite books from around the world. At the bottom, you can download the free PDF.
Topics of discussion
An interesting topic that you might want to discuss with your students is how every culture has different lessons they are trying to teach its children. You could challenge your students to find the moral of the stories they are reading, and whether those morals/lessons are different, better, or irrelevant to our own culture.
The following article from NPR discusses this idea:
What’s The Difference Between Children’s Books In China And The U.S.?
Recommended books from around the world
This is my forever-incomplete list of favorite books, including mostly picture books (my favorite) and a few chapter books and novels. These are all books that I have read and enjoyed. It’s forever incomplete because I am always finding new books.
If you have a favorite book, especially from a country not listed, that you think should be on the list, please let me know.
Don’t miss Scott’s book about traveling the world on a bicycle.
Falling Uphill:
The Secret of Life.
The Spanish edition:
Cayendo Hacia Arriba:
El Secreto de la Vida.
Argentina
- An Elephantasy by María Elena Walsh.
Canada
- Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.
- The Wolf, the Duck and the Mouse by Jon Klassen.
China
- The Real Story of Stone Soup by Ying Chang Compestine.
Denmark
- Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales.
- Cry, Heart, But Never Break by Glenn Ringtved.
England
- Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne.
- Paddington Bear by Michael Bond.
- The BFG by Roald Dahl.
- There’s a Mouse About the House! by Richard Fowler.
- Watership Down by Richard Adams. (A novel for young adults.)
France
- Cinderella by Charles Perrault.
- The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
- Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne. (This was actually a novel for all ages, but is widely considered to be a children’s book now.)
Germany
- Grimm’s Fairy Tales.
Greece
- Aesop’s Fables.
India
- Riki Tiki Tavi by Rudyard Kipling. (Kipling was a British national but born in India, where this book takes place.)
- The Blue Umbrella by Ruskin Bond.
Italy
- The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi.
Japan
- The Midnight Library by Kazuno Kohara.
New Zealand
- Wonkey Donkey by Craig Smith.
Russia
- Peter and the Wolf by Vladimir Vagin.
- The Three Questions by Jon J Muth. (Though this version is by an American author, it is based on a story by Leo Tolstoy, a Russian author regarded as one of the all-time greats.)
Spain
- The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf. (This author is American, but I still love the Spanish theme.)
- Platero and I by Juan Ramón Jiménez. (This classic book has many adaptations, including picture books.)
More recommended books
The New York Public Library’s list of children’s books by country:
https://www.nypl.org/blog/2014/07/22/around-world-childrens-books
Download the free PDF
Download the Reading Passport
This free PDF is premium content. Please subscribe to our quarterly newsletter to download. Thanks! And have fun!
This is a printer-friendly, high-res PDF. You’ll get both a color (if available) and a black-and-white version. Each PDF comes with simple instructions. We recommend tracking your progress by putting all your activities into a 3-ring binder.
Disclaimer: I used AI as a tool to help create the passport cover. It was my idea. And it didn’t create the whole image. I collaged together many elements and did a lot of editing. I thought it turned out nice, though I do wish I had hand-drawn this instead.
