Learn + Live Letter Level 3 Book List

Ancient Egypt Unit
Mesoamerica Unit
Ancient China Unit

France Unit
Kenya Unit
Japan Unit

Australia Unit
Peru Unit
England Unit

Russia Unit
Brazil Unit
Norway Unit

Nigeria Unit
Cuba Unit
Oceanic Unit

Ancient Egypt

• The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History by Jane Bingham (you will also use their online resources)
• DK Findout! Ancient Egypt
• (-) Mummies, Pyramids, and Pharaohs: A Book About Ancient Egypt by Gail Gibbons (or you can read it on OpenLibrary here)
• You Wouldn’t Want to Be Tutankhamen! by David Stewart

Optional additional reading:

• You Wouldn’t Want to Be a Pyramid Builder by Jacqueline Morley
• You Wouldn’t Want to Be an Egyptian Mummy by David Stewart
• Fractions in Disguise by Edward Einhorn
• Archaeologists Dig for Clues by Kate Duke

Gameschooling:

• Professor Noggin’s Ancient Civilization card game

Mesoamerica

• Honest History – Issue Eleven Journey Through the Jungle (use code LEARNANDLIVE15 for 15% off your purchase!)
• The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History by Jane Bingham (you will also use their online resources)
• Amazing Ancients! World of the Maya by Elaine A. Kule
• The Musician of the Sun by Gerald McDermott (or listen to this read aloud)
• A Sad Night: The Story of an Aztec Victory and a Spanish Loss by Sally Schofer Mathews (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• The Chocolate Tree (A Mayan Folktale) by Linda Lowery and Richard Keep
• The Extraordinary History Of Chocolate by Hans Eriksen
• Aztecs, Incas, and Mayans for Children by Baby Professors
• Montezuma and the Fall of the Aztecs by Eric A. Kimmel (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• The First Tortilla by Rudolfo Anaya
• Sir Cumference and the First Round Table by Cindy Neuschwander (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• (+) Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi by Cindy Neuschwander (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Lucas and His Loco Beans by Ramona Moreno Winner

Gameschooling:

• Professor Noggin’s Ancient Civilization card game

Ancient China Unit

• The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History by Jane Bingham (you will also use their online resources)
• The Story of Chopsticks by Ying Chang Compestine (or read it here on OpenLibrary or listen to this read aloud)
• Ming’s Adventure with the Terracotta Army by  Jian Li
• The Great Wall of China by Leonard Everett Fisher
• The Silk Princess by Charles Santore
• The Silk Route: 7,000 Miles of History by John S. Major (Listen to the book here or read it on Open Library here)
• Honest History, Issue Two | A Pirate’s Tale
• The Story of Kites: Amazing Chinese Inventions by Ying Chang Compestine (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Trees, Leaves, Flowers and Seeds: A Visual Encyclopedia of the Plant Kingdom by DK

Optional additional reading:

• You Wouldn’t Want to Work on the Great Wall of China! by Jacqueline Morely
• Red Butterfly: How a Princess Smuggled the Secret of Silk Out of China by Deborah Noyes
• The Explosive Story of Fireworks! by Kama Einhorn 
• Zheng He, The Great Chinese Explorer: A Bilingual Story of Adventure and Discovery by Jian Li 

Gameschooling:

• Professor Noggin’s Ancient Civilization card game

India Unit

• The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History by Jane Bingham (you will also use their online resources)
• Honest History – Issue Ten: A Portrait of India (use code LEARNANDLIVE15 for 15% off your purchase!)
• One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale by Demi (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Finders Keepers?: A Bus Trip in India by Robert Arnett
• Science Experiments You Can Eat by Vicki Cobb
• The Secret Kingdom by Barb Rosenstock
• The Boy Who Dreamed of Infinity by Amy Alznauer
• A Sari for Ammi by Mamta Nainy
• Nadia’s Hands by Karen English (or here on OpenLibrary)
• I Am Gandhi: A Graphic Biography of a Hero by Brad Meltzer

Optional additional reading:

• Classic Tales from India: How Ganesh Got His Elephant Head and Other Stories by Vatsala Sperling and Harish Johari

Optional chapter books for the month:

• Angry River by Ruskin Bond
• Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
• Girls of India: A Mauryan Adventure by Subhadra Sen Gupta
• The Teenage Diary of Jahanara by Subhadra Sen Gupta
• A Bagful of History by Subhadra Sen Gupta

Greece Unit

• The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History by Jane Bingham (you will also use their online resources)
• Usborne Greeks by Susan Peach and Anne Millard (this book is only available used on Amazon or from other second-hand book stores, or you can read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Ancient Greece for Kids Through the Lives of its Philosophers, Lawmakers, and Heroes by Catherine Fet
• Mythology by Lady Hestia Evans (Note: This book is beautiful and has really interesting features, like fold-out pages and extra little books and notes attached. If you find it used, pay attention to its condition to be sure you get all the extras.)
• Archimedes: The Man Who Invented the Death Ray by Shoo Rayner

Optional additional reading:

• (+) Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bencick (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Where is the Parthenon? by Roberta Edwards

Ancient Rome

• The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History by Jane Bingham (you will also use their online resources)
• Honest History – Story of an Empire Issue 4 – You can also purchase a digital copy of this magazine on their app. Use coupon code LEARNANDLIVE15 for 15% off your purchase.
• Usborne Starting Point History – Who were the Romans? by Phil Roxbee Cox (This book is out of print, so you an read here on OpenLibrary or shop local thrift stores.)
• Ancient Rome For Kids Through the Lives of its Heroes, Emperors and Philosophers by Catherine Fet
• Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci by Joseph D’Agnese (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• You Wouldn’t Want to Live in Pompeii by John Malam (or you can read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Ottavia and the Cats of Rome by Claudia Cerulli

Optional additional reading:

• Life as a Gladiator: An Interactive History Adventure by Michael Burgan

Optional chapter book:

• Roman Diary: The Journal of Iliona, a Young Slave by Richard Platt

France Unit

• World History by Jane Bingham (you will also use their online resources)
• Stephen Biesty’s Cross-Sections Castle by Richard Platt (or read this version on OpenLibrary)
• The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau by Michelle Markel (or read it here on OpenLibrary or listen to this read aloud)
• Listen to the Language of the Trees: A story of how forests communicate underground by Tera Kelley
• Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille by Jen Bryant (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Coco Chanel – Little People, BIG DREAMS by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara (or listen to this read aloud) OR Along Came Coco by Eva Byrne
• Henri’s Scissors by Jeanette Winters (or read it here on OpenLibary or listen to this read aloud)
• Joseph Bologne Le Chevalier de Saint-George: The first black classical composer a.k.a. the black Mozart by Amélie-Mai Wright
• Crepes by Suzette by Monica Wellington (or read it here on OpenLibrary or listen to this read aloud)

Optional additional reading:

• Castle by David Macaulay (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• France Coloring Book
• History for Kids: The Illustrated Life of Napoleon Bonaparte by Charles River Editors
• Marie Curie by Emma Fitzelle-Jones
• Marie Curie and the Power of Persistence: A (Mostly) True Story of Resilience and Overcoming Challenges by Karla Valenti

Optional chapter book:

• Marguerite Makes a Book by Bruce Robertson

Kenya Unit

• How the Ostrich Got Its Long Neck: A Tale from the Akamba of Kenya, retold by Verna Aardema (or read it here on OpenLibrary
• Seeds of Change by Jen Cullerton Johnson or (-)Mama Miti by Donna Jo Napoli (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Botany: Plants, Cells and Photosynthesis by April Chloe Terrazas
• Only the Mountains Do Not Move: A Maasai Story of Culture and Conservation by Jan Reynolds (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Mama Panya’s Pancakes by Mary Chamberlin (or listen to this read aloud)
• Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aadrema (or read it here on OpenLibrary or listen to this read aloud)
• My Brother is a Runner by Jin-ha Gong
• Flamingos by Jean Malone (or read it here on OpenLibrary) OR Amazing Animals: Flamingos by Kate Riggs
• Now Let Me Fly: The Story of a Slave Family by Dolores Johnson (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Serengeti Migration: Africa’s Animals on the Move by Lisa Lindblad (or read it here on OpenLibrary)

Optional additional reading:

• Don’t Let them Disappear by Chelsea Clinton
• Wildlife of East Africa by Martin B. Withers (or any book on the animals of East Africa)

Optional chapter book:

• When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed.

(-) Modification book options for younger siblings:

• We All Went on Safari by Laurie Krebs (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• For you are a Kenyan Child by Kelly Cunnane (or read it here on OpenLibrary)

Japan Unit

• The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History by Jane Bingham
• Honest History – Issue #16 The Way of the Samurai (Use discount code LEARNANDLIVE15 for 15% off the issue.) Note: Remember you can also purchase digital copies of the issue on their app.
• How to Live Like a Samurai Warrior Paperback by John Farndon
• (+)Samurai Castle by Fiona MacDonald (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• An Illustrated History of Japan by Shegeo Nishimura (This is an older book, no longer in publication. May be available at your local library, or you can listen to our read aloud here.)
• Japanese Children’s Favorite Stories by Florence Sakade
• Turtle Watch on OpenLibrary (Don’t purchase this book. It is out of print and very expensive.)
• Turtle, Watch Me Grow (or read on OpenLibrary)
• National Geographic Kids Mission: Sea Turtle Rescue: All About Sea Turtles and How to Save Them (NG Kids Mission: Animal Rescue) or any book about turtles from your local library.
• Kamishibai by Allen Say (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein (Listen to this read aloud)
• My First Book of Japanese Words An ABC Rhyming Book by Michelle Haney Brown (or listen to this YouTube read aloud)
• The Peace Tree from Hiroshima The Little Bonsai with a Big Story by Sandra Moore (or listen to this read aloud)
• Under the Cherry Blossom Tree: An Old Japanese Tale by Allen Say (Or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Honda: The Boy Who Dreamed of Cars by Mark Weston (or listen to this YouTube read aloud)
• Tsunami! by Kimiko Kajikawa
• Yuki and the One Thousand Carriers by Gloria Whelan (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Sound of Silence by Katrina Goldsaito (or listen to this YouTube read aloud)

Optional chapter books:

• Blue Fingers: A Ninja’s Tale by Cheryl Aylward Whitesel 
• The Old Man Mad About Drawing – A Tale of Hokusai by Francois Place

Australia Unit

• Not For Parents Australia: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know by Lonely Planet 
• Welcome to Country by Aunty Joy Murphy (or listen to this read aloud)
• Gadi Mirrabooka: Australian Aboriginal Tales from the Dreaming (World Folklore Series) by Pauline E. McLeod, Francis Firebrace Jones, June E. Barker (Note: This book is expensive—if you can’t find or request it at your library, we recommend purchasing it used.)
• Walking in Gagudju Country: Exploring the Monsoon Forest by Diane Lucas 
• Outback: The Amazing Animals of Australia by Dan Kainen and Ella Morton
• Earth’s Incredible Oceans! by Jess French
• (-) Meet Nancy Bird Walton by Grace Atwood
• Finding Home by Sandra Markle

Activity Book:

• Whoosh! Easy Paper Airplanes for Kids: Color, Fold and Fly! by Amy Naylor

Pick one of the following books or borrow something similar at your local library. (These will be used in Week 2, Lesson 4, Activity 4 for an animal research project.)

• Platypus by Sue Whiting
• Kangaroos and Wallabies by Nature Kids
• In Search of the Real Tasmanian Devil (Kratts’ Creatures) by James Preller
• Emu by Claire Saxby
• National Geographic Readers: Koalas by Laura Marsh 

Optional chapter books:

• Sally’s Story: My Place for Young Readers by Sally Morgan
• Time Machine 20: Bound for Australia by Nancy Bailey 
• Goldfields Girl by Elaine Forrestal

Optional additional books:

• The Banjo’s Best-loved Poems, Chosen By His Grand-daughters by Hugh Sawrey (Note: Suggested for Tea + Poetry)
• Bindi Wildlife Adventures! series by Bindi Irwin
•  Amazing Facts About Australian Dinosaurs by Scott Hocknull
• (-)Where is the Great Barrier Reef? By Nico Medina
• The Story of Buildings by Patrick Dillon (Note: This book is new so may be hard to find at your library. It is BEAUTIFUL and worth the investment if you have a child that really enjoys architecture. It breaks down the design of over a dozen structures from around the world for last ~6,000 years.) Alternatively, for our lesson this week look for any book about the Sydney Opera house at your local library.
• Architecture for Kids by Mark Moreno

Peru Unit

• Peru: The People and Culture by Bobbie Kalman (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Up and Down the Andes: A Peruvian Festival Tale by Laurie Krebs (or read it here on OpenLibrary or listen to this read aloud)
• The Atacama Desert by Lynn Peppas (or read it here on OpenLibrary) OR Why Oh Why Are Deserts Dry? by Tish Rabe (or read it here on OpenLibrary or listen to this read aloud)
• Penguin’s Family: The Story of a Humboldt Penguin by Kathleen M. Hollenbeck (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• One Small Square: Tropical Rain Forest by Donald Silber OR Does it Always Rain in the Rain Forest? by Melvin and Gilda Berger
• Jungle Trek by Kath Jewitt OR Who Am I? Rainforest Animals (or any book on rainforest animals you can find at your library)
• Machu Picchu by Elizabeth Mann (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Lost City: The Discovery of Machu Picchu by Ted Lewin (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Sharuko: Peruvian Archaeologist Julio C. Tello by Monica Brown (or listen to this read aloud)
• Inca Mummies by Joyce Markovics (or any book that includes Inca mummies from your library)
• The Incans and Their Road System by Baby Professor
• (-) Patterns in Peru by Cindy Neuschwander
• The Llama’s Secret by Argentina Palacios (or listen to this read aloud) OR Llama and the Great Flood by Ellen Alexander (this book is difficult to find, so we have linked to the version available on OpenLibrary)
• We will also be writing folk tales about a native Peruvian animal. Have your child pick a cock-of-the-rock, poisonous frogs, sloths, or the hummingbird to star in their folk tale, and look for a book at the library featuring the animal they select.

Optional books:

• Maria and the Stars of Nazca by Anita Jepson-Gilbert (This book is very expensive from Amazon—instead buy directly from the author by contacting Anita Jepson-Gilbert here. You can pay her directly via Venmo (@Jepson-Gilbert). Her price for our subscribers is $18. This includes the book, shipping, and some extra materials. She can also be contacted at 303-431-6774 if you need more assistance.)
• Where is Machu Picchu? By Megan Stine
• Love and Roast Chicken: A Trickster Tale from the Andes Mountains by Barbara Knutson (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Horrible Histories: Incredible Incas by Terry Deary
• A Picture Book of Simon Bolivar by David A. Adler
• Electricity: Circuits, Static, and Electromagnets with Hands-On Science Activities for Kids by Carmella Van Vleet. (Release date October 15, 2022)

Optional chapter book:

• (+) Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark
• Investigating Machu Picchu: An Isabel Soto Archaeology Adventure by Emily Beth Sohn 
• Addison Cooke and the Treasure of the Incas by Jonathan Stokes

England Unit

• A Street Through Time by DK and Steve Noon
• Medieval Times – England in the Middle Ages by Joanne Mattern (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• The Usborne Official Knight’s Handbook (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Castle by David Macaulay (or red it here on OpenLibrary or listen to this read aloud)
• It’s Catching!: The Infectious World of Germs and Microbes (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Honest History – The Era Of Exploration – Issue Nine (use code LEARNANDLIVE15 for 15% off your purchase!)
• Good Queen Bess: The Story of Elizabeth 1 of England by Diane Stanley (or read it here on Open Library) OR World History Biographies: Elizabeth I – The Outcast Who Became England’s Queen by Simon Adams (or read it here on Open Library)
• Pop-up Shakespeare: Every Play and Poem in Pop-up 3-D by The Reduced Shakespeare Co.
• A Boy Called Dickens by Deborah Hopkins
• You Wouldn’t Want to be a Victorian Servant (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Who Invented the Light Bulb?: Edison vs. Swan by Susan E. Hamen
• Isaac Newton and the Laws of Motion (Inventions and Discovery)  by Andrea Gianopoulos (or read it here on Open Library)
• This is Britain by M. Sasek

Pick from one of the following for Week 2, Lesson 1, Activity 1:

• The Adventures of Robin Hood by Brian J Stuart (or read it here on Open Library
• King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• (Available after April 11, 2023) King Arthur – Kid Classics: The Illustrated Just-for-Kids Edition by Sir Thomas Malory 

• (-) The Great Smelly, Slobbery, Small-Tooth Dog: A Folktale from Great Britain by Margaret Read MacDonald or Merlin and the Dragons by Jane Yolen

• One of these graphic novels:
  • King Arthur: Excalibur Unsheathed by Jeff Limke (or read it here on Open Library)
  • Robin Hood: Outlaw of Sherwood Forest by Paul D. Storrie (or read it here on Open Library)

Pick from one of the following for Week 2, Lesson 4, Activity 2:

• Shakespeare Can be Fun! Series by Lois Burdett (or read them here on Open Library)
• Complete Shakespeare by Maria Surducan
• The Shakespeare Stories Collection Set by Tony Ross
• Tales From Shakespeare: Seven Plays by Marcia Williams (or read it here on Open Library)
• A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories: 12 Tales from the World’s Most Famous Playwright (Volume 3) by Angela McAllister

Pick from one of the following for Week 3, Lesson 1, Activity 1:

• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (or read it here on Open Library)
• The Sherlock Holmes Children’s Collection: Shadows, Secrets and Stolen Treasure Box Set

Pick one of the following books for Week 4, Lesson 4, Activity 2.

• Who Was J.R.R. Tolkien? by Pam Pollack
• Trailblazers: J.K. Rowling: Behind the Magic by Cath Senker
• Who Was Beatrix Potter? by Sarah Fabiny
• Who Was Roald Dahl? by True Kelley (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• More than Marmalade: Michael Bond and the Story of Paddington Bear by Rosanne Tolin

Optional additional books:

• A Wicked History: Sir Francis Drake Slave Trader and Pirate by Charles Nick
• At Her Majesty’s Request: An African Princess in Victorian England by Walter Dean Myers (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Solve It With Sherlock Holmes by Gareth Moore
• You Wouldn’t Want to be a Victorian Schoolchild by John Malam (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• The Story of Buildings by Patrick Dillon
• Oliver Twist by Lester M. Schulman 
• Street Child by Berlie Doherty (or read it here on OpenLibrary.)
• The Best Book of Trains by Richard Balkwill (or read it here on OpenLibrary.)
• Classic Starts: Great Expectations by Deanna McFadden

Russia Unit

• Honest History Issue Fourteen – A Russian Winter (Get 15% off your purchase with code LEARNANDLIVE15)
• Weather and Climate: Earth’s Climate by Robin Burch (only available here on OpenLibrary) OR Climate and Weather for kids by Baby Professor 
• A Tundra Food Chain: A Who-Eats-What Adventure in the Arctic by Rebecca Hogue Wojahn
• The Lights that Dance in the Night by Yuval Zommer
• Let’s Visit Saint Petersburg!: Adventures of Bella & Harry by Lisa Manzione
• Look for library books about any of the following animals native to Russia:
  • Siberian tiger, Siberian huskies, East Siberian Laika, Siberian lynx, Siberian weasel, or the Siberian chipmunk
• The Apartment: A Century of Rury by Alexandra Litvina
• The Magic Nesting Doll by Jacqueline K. Ogburn (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Art by Barb Rosenstock (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• The Tale of the Firebird by Gennady Spirin (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• The Usborne Official Spy Handbook (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• The KGB and Other Russian Spies by Michael Goodman (or read it here on Openlibrary) 
• The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco (or read it here on OpenLibrary) OR The Blessing Cup by Patricia Polacco
• The Race to Space: From Sputnik to the Moon Landing and Beyond by Clive Gifford
• Laika by Nick Abadzis (or listen to this read aloud) OR Laika the Space Dog: First Hero in Outer Space by Jeni Wittrock (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Yuri Gagarin and the Race to Space by Ben Hubbard (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• One of the following:
  • Masha and the Bear: A Tale from Russia (or read it here on OpenLibrary) by Lari Don OR
  • Vasilisa The Beautiful: A Russian Fairy Tale about Love and Loyalty by Catherine Fet OR Russian Fairy Tales by Riley M. Green (or this other collection available on Open Library)
• A Beginner’s Guide to the Periodic Table by Gill Arbuthnott (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• (-) Dumpling Day by Meera Sriram OR Our World of Dumplings by Francie Dekker

Optional chapter books:

• A Wicked History: Catherine the Great Empress of Russia by Zu Vincent
• The Night Journey by Kathryn Lasky (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Let’s Visit Saint Petersburg by Lisa Manzione
• Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin (or read it here on OpenLibrary)

Optional additional books:

• The Mushroom Fan Club by Elise Gravel
• Why is Blood Red? by DK
• Where is the Kremlin? By Who HQ
• Russian Alphabet Handwriting Practice workbook
• Fashion Design for Kids: Skill-Building Activities for Future Fashion Designers by Kerri Quigley
• The Fire Horse: Children’s Poems by Vladimir Mayakovsky, Osip Mandelstam and Daniil Kharms (translated by Eugene Ostashevsky) 
• Kitchen Science Lab for Kids by Liz Lee Heinecke
• (+) The Mystery of the Periodic Table (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• What’s Chemistry All About? Usborne (or read it here on Openlibrary)
• The Story of Buildings by Patrick Dillon

Brazil Unit

• When the Slave Esperanca Garcia Wrote a Letter by Sonia Rosa
• How Night Came from the Sea: A Story from Brazil by Mary-Joan Gerson (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• The Dancing Turtle: A Folktale from Brazil by Pleasant DeSpain (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Over and Under the Rainforest by Kate Messner (or this read aloud on YouTube)
• All the Way Down: Amazon Rainforest by Alex Woolf
• Chiri The Hummingbird: A Book About Empathy and Kindness by Jo Blake (or listen to this read aloud) 
• Wicked Bugs: The Meanest, Deadliest, Grossest Bugs on Earth by Amy Stewart
• (+) How Monkeys Make Chocolate (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• The Great Kapok Tree: A Story of the Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne Cherry (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Ayrton Senna by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara
• One Well: The Story of Water on Earth by Rochelle Strauss (or this read aloud)
• You Wouldn’t Want to Live Without Clean Water! by Roger Canava
• Young Pele: Soccer’s First Star by Lesa Cline-Ransome OR Pele, King of Soccer/Pele, El Rey del Futbol by Monica Brown (or you can read it here on OpenLibrary or listen to this read aloud) OR Who is Pele? by James Buckley Jr.
• The Best Tailor in Pinbaue by Eymard Toledo
• Old Enough to Save the Planet by Loll Kirby
• Cassio’s Day: From Dawn to Dusk in a Brazilian Village by Maria de Fatima Campos (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• From My Window by Otavio Junior (or read it here on OpenLibrary or you can listen to this read aloud)

Optional additional books:

Inventing the Automobile by Erinn Banting

Optional chapter books:

• Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• The Explorer by Katherine Rundell
• Recipe for Adventure: Rio de Janeiro! by Giada De Laurentiis
• Lea Dives In (An American Girl book) by Lisa Yee – We love the American Girl series for introducing some American history, and this story is perfect for engaging AG fans in a tale set in Brazil.

Norway Unit

• Reindeer (A Day in the Life: Polar Animals) by Katie Marsico (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Far North by Jan Reynolds
• A Child’s Introduction to Norse Mythology: Odin, Thor, Loki, and Other Viking Gods, Goddesses, Giants, and Monsters by Heather Alexander OR DK Norse Myths by Matt Ralphs
• National Geographic Kids: Everything Vikings by Nadia Higgins
• Sir Cumference and the Viking’s Map by Cindy Neuschwander (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• DK Eyewitness Books: Viking by Susan Margeson (or you can read this different edition on OpenLibrary)
• Who Was Leif Erikson? by Nico Medina
• Why Kings and Queens Don’t Wear Crowns by Princess Martha Louise
• Nordic tales: Folktales from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and Denmark by Chronicle Books (or another similar option from your local library) OR East o’ the Sun and West o’ the Moon by Naomi Lewis (or you can read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Welcome Back Sun by Michael Emberley (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Redesigning Cities to Fight Climate Change by Cynthia Kennedy Henzel
• choose one of these:
  • Escaping the Nazis by Betsy Rathburn
  • Odin’s Promise by Sandy Brehl 
  • Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan
  • Shadow on the Mountain by Margi Preus

Optional additional reading:

• Lords of the Sea: The Vikings explore the North Atlantic by Allison Lassieur (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Edvard Munch (Art Profiles for Kids) by Jim Whiting

Optional chapter books:

• Race to the Bottom of the Earth by Rebecca EF Barone

Nigeria Unit:

• Africa is Not a Country by Margy Burns Knight (or read it here on Openlibrary)
• Nigeria: Enchantment of the World by Ann Heinrichs
• The Wondrous Workings of Planet Earth: Understanding Our World and Its Ecosystems by Rachel Ignotofsky 
• The Genius of the Benin Kingdom by Sonya Newland
• African Princess by Joyce Hansen (or read it here on Open Library)
• Arhuan the Giant by Uwagbale Edward-Ekpu 
• Osasu and the Great Wall of the Benin Empire by Tamkara Olayinka Adun
•  A is for Africa by Ifeoma Onyefulu (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Lake of the Big Snake by Isaac Olaleye (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Oyo, Benin, Ashanti: The Guinea Coast (African Kingdoms of the Past) by Kenny Mann (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Why The Sky Is Far Away: A Nigerian Folktale by Mary-Joan Gerson (or listen to this YouTube read aloud)
• Beat the Story Drum, Pum-pum by Ashley Bryan (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears by Verna Aardema (or listen to this YouTube read aloud)
• Ogbo Sharing Life in an African Village by Ifeoma Onyefulu (or read it here on OpenLibrary).
• Death Eaters: Meet Nature’s Scavengers by Kelly Milner Halls
• Ebel’s Favourite: A book of African Games (or read it here in OpenLibrary)

Optional Additional books:

• (+) Centuries of Greatness by Philip Koslow
• Mosque by David MaCaulay
• Driver Ants Army by Augustus y Voahn

Optional chapter books:

• Children of the Benin Kingdom by Dinah Orji 
• The Kidnapped Prince: The Life of Olaudah Equiano by Ann Cameron
• Children of the Quicksands by Efua Traoré
• Too Small Tola by Atinuke
• Anna Hibiscus by Atinuke
• The No 1 Car Spotter by Atinuke

Cuba Unit

• Trees, Leaves, Flowers and Seeds: A Visual Encyclopedia of the Plant Kingdom by DK
• What’s Chemistry All About? by Usborne (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Marti’s Song for Freedom by Emma Otheguy
• Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music by Margarita Engle (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• A Kid’s Guide to Building Forts by Tom Birdseye
• What’s Inside a Flower by Rachel Isnotofsky
• Trees, Leave, Flowers and Seeds by DK
• A Song of Frutas by Margarita Engle
• A Kid’s Book About…Avocados! by Joanna Slodownik (free with Kindle unlimited)
• National Geographic Readers: Coral Reefs by Kristin Baird Rattini (or listen to this read aloud) 
• Celia Cruz, Queen of Salsa by Veronica Chambers (or read it here on OpenLibrary) OR My Name is Celia/Me llamo Celia: The Life of Celia Cruz/la vida de Celia Cruz by Monica Brown (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale by Carmen Agra Deedy (or read it here on OpenLibrary or listen to this read aloud)
• Alicia Alonso: Prima Ballerina by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand (or read it here on OpenLibrary or listen to this read aloud) OR Alicia Alonso Dances On (She Made History) by Rose Viña
• All The Way to Havana by Margarita Engle and Mike Curato (or listen to this read aloud)

Choose between these biographies:

• Who was Che Guevara? by Ellen Labrecque
• Who was Fidel Castro? by Sarah Fabiny (or read it here on Archive.org)

Pick one of these poetry books:

• The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano by Margarita Engle
• The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle (or here on OpenLibrary)
• Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings by Margarita Engle (or here on OpenLibary)
• (-) Feel the Beat: Dance Poems that Zing from Salsa to Swing by Marilyn Singer

Optional chapter books:

• Cuba in My Pocket by Adrianna Cuevas
• 90 Miles to Havana by Enrique Flores-Galbis

Optional books:

• Baseball Around the World: How the World Plays the Game by Chris Singleton

Oceania Unit:

• Pacific Ocean (Oceans of the World) by Louise Spilsbury OR The Pacific Ocean by David Petersen on OpenLibrary OR The Pacific Ocean (Oceans of the World) by Doreen Gonzales on OpenLibrary.
• The DNA book by DK OR (-)The Secret Code Inside You by by Rajani LaRocca
• What a Waste by Jess French 
• Plastic, Ahoy!: Investigating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by Patricia Newman 
• Sirena: A Mermaid Legend from Guam by Tanya Chargualaf Taimanglo (listen to this Youtube read aloud)
• Pulani: The Book: A Rhyming Story Book of Guahan by Diane K Aoki
• Manta Rays by Tori Miller (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• The Girl Who Heard the Music: How One Pianist and 85,000 Bottles and Cans Brought New Hope to an Island by Marni Fogelson (or this YouTube read aloud)
• The Last Princess: The Story of Princess Ka’iulani of Hawai’i (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Hawaii by P.J. Neri (or read it here on OpenLibrary)
• Pele and the Rivers of Fire by Michael Nordenstrom (or listen to this YouTube read aloud.)
• Explore Hawaiian Volcanoes by KeriAnne N. Jelinek 
• Surfer of the Century: The Life of Duke Kahanamoku Paperback by Ellie Crowe (or read it here on OpenLibrary).
• New Zealand (Country Explorers) by Lyn Larson
• Elizabeth Queen of the Seas by Brian Floca
• Georgia in Hawaii by Amy Novesky (or listen to this read aloud)
• Paul Gauguin Activities for Kids by Marisa Boan
• The Octopus Scientists – Exploring the Mind of a Mollusk by Sy Montgomery 

Chapter books:

• Aunty Pinau’s Banyan Tree by Helen Berkey 
• One Boy, No Water (Niuhi Shark Saga Series) by Lehua Parker 

Coming soon book:

Aloha Everything by Kaylin George 

Optional books:

• (+)Hawaiian Myths of Earth, Sea, and Sky by Vivian Laubach Thompson (or read it here on OpenLibrary.)
• (-)Maui Hooks the Islands (Hawaiian Legends for Little Ones) by Gabrielle Ahulii
• Kapaemahu by Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu 
• (-)The Good Song: A Story Inspired by “Somewhere Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World” by Penelope Dullaghan
• Rata and the Waka by Jephson Gibbs
• Science Comics: Coral Reefs Cities of the Ocean by Maris Wicks (Or read it here on OpenLibrary)