"The Power of Story" and Giving Your Child the World

I was trying really, really hard not to have book reviews two posts in a row, but I've been reading a really, really great book and I really, really had to share it with you!

(Really, really.)

Jamie C. Martin is the blogger behind SimpleHomeschool.net, which is my favorite homeschooling resource, so I pre-ordered her newest book Give Your Child the World: Raising Globally Minded Kids One Book at a Time over a month ago. I thought it'd be a nice compilation of book lists that would aid me in choosing stories for our geography studies (since I was already a firm believer that stories are the best way to teach about...well, pretty much anything).

And it is that. The list-lover in me is very happy, because the books recommendations are listed in more than one helpful way: by region, by country, by age range--and then, in the indexes in the back, also by title, author, and time period. The broad categories are:
-Multicultural books
-Africa
-Europe
-Asia
-Middle East
-North America
-Latin America
-Australia, Oceania, and the Polar Regions

But beyond being a book of lists, Give Your Child the World also reads like a love letter to reading and to the world. I haven't written in books in ages, but I had to pull out a pencil to underline some points made in the chapter titled "The Power of Story," which I'll share with you here:

"...They all went to bed imagining their own inner hero. We all have one, you know. And a powerful story (on the page or screen) quickens that hero's heartbeat within us."

And this: "Creating a family culture of books means our kids have the chance to live a thousand lives before leaving our home... They can travel the world (and beyond), all the while safe within our four walls. They can feel the pain of a character's flaws and learn from their mistakes, without having to experience the actual consequences. Far from a way to escape reality, reading actually prepares our children for real life in a unique way."

Anyone with children should have a copy of this on their shelves, but especially homeschoolers.

By the way, Jamie is hosting a "Read the World Summer Book Club," which looks like a lot of fun. Theme for our summer studies...check. :)

(Disclaimer: I am an Amazon Affiliate, so if you make a purchase through the link above, I will receive a small percentage of the sale.)