Christmas Around the World

Kelley, Emily. 2004. Christmas Around the World.

This book is part of the "On My Own" holiday series. It is a book designed for children--kids--to be able to read on their own. That seems so obvious, doesn't it. Yet when I was looking at my local library, there were few books I thought were really appropriate, really accessible to young readers. There were many great books to choose from. But they all seemed more appropriate for children in upper elementary school. Those in fourth and fifth and sixth grade. This title, on the other hand, looks accessible to younger readers, second graders on up. There are fewer details perhaps. But the book still serves an important purpose: showing kids that though some things may be different between cultures, there are always similarities as well that unite us. The countries "visited" include Mexico, Ethiopia, China, Germany, Lebanon, Sweden, Australia, and Russia. Note: to make these books even more appealing to kids, the author has included a few pages of Christmas jokes and tongue twisters.