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in Blog on December 16, 2019 by Sarah Powers

Holidays Around The World Through Picture Books

This post is part of a paid partnership with Epic! Books for Kids. Tips, ideas, and opinions are totally ours! -Meagan & Sarah

I have always loved learning about holidays and celebrations from countries and cultures different from my own, and it’s something I want me kids to grow up with an appreciation for as well. And while learning about, honoring, and appreciating other cultures can happen all year round, something about the winter holidays seems to present a heightened opportunity for learning.

Because picture books and reading aloud are already a part of our family culture, including discussions about a wide variety of holidays and religious practices fits really naturally into storytime. While there are great non-fiction books to help parents and kids learn together, we also love finding compelling stories with beautiful illustrations that center around celebrations different from the ones we observe.

This year I got the idea to use Epic! to curate a list of picture books that honor, celebrate, and teach us about holidays and celebrations from around the world. I was thrilled with the titles I found in Epic’s library, and I love the ability to save them to a collection that all three of my kids can access through their account. I can even “assign” the reading to my kids and see their progress!

Picture Books That Celebrate Holidays From Around The World

Here are a few of the titles we’ll be reading together over winter break as we deepen our knowledge and appreciation of cultures around the world:

Winter Candle, by Jerone Ashford

Read Winter Candle on Epic!

This book is so cleverly conceived and beautifully executed! It follows one candle as it’s shared, loaned, and borrowed among families in an apartment complex, each of whom need the light for a different purpose or celebration. Any story that reminds us of our shared humanity is a win for me–plus we see a number of different faith traditions in one story, so the learning is rich!

Snow Party, by Harriet Ziefert

Read Snow Party on Epic!

I’ve always loved learning about Winter Solstice celebrations, both in their ancient traditions and modern practices. This is a lighthearted story about snow-people characters coming together on the longest night of the year for a special celebration.

Hannukah Bear, by Eric A. Kimmel

Read Hannukah Bear on Epic!

I love the humor in this book, even as we learned so many things about Hannukah celebrations. Bubba Brayna is a 97-year-old grandmother who doesn’t hear or see well, and mistakes a bear for the rabbi come to visit. She feeds him latkes, and they pray and play together into the evening; it isn’t until when the real rabbi comes to call that she realizes her mistake (spoiler alert: there are enough latkes for everyone).

Sam and the Lucky Money, by Karen Chinn

Read Sam and the Lucky Money on Epic!

We learned about traditional Chinese foods, traditions, and values through the story of Sam, a Chinese-American boy who has to make a choice about how he spends money gifted to him for the New Year. It’s a sweet story that kids can relate to, with beautiful pictures of Chinese cultural elements.

Lailah’s Lunchbox: A Ramadan Story, by Reem Faruqui

Read Lailah’s Lunchbox on Epic!

Kids who notice differences in how their classmates celebrate holidays, or who observe the overlap between school routines and cultural traditions, will love this smart story of Lailah, who is excited to fast for Ramadan for the first time but worries about how to explain her choice to her teacher and school friends.

Great Joy, by Kate DiCamillo

Listen to Great Joy on Epic!

If you’re already a fan of Kate DiCamillo’s middle grade novels, this Christmas picture book will be a treat. Epic! has the audiobook version, which tells the story of a little girl coming to terms with the poverty and injustice she sees around her at Christmastime.

Non-Fiction Books For Kids About World Religions

While we gravitate more toward stories than fact books to explore different cultures, a couple of non-fiction titles on Epic! caught my eye as I was building out this collection:

Who Believes What?: Exploring the World’s Major Religions, by Anna Wills

Read Who Believes What? on Epic!

This is a really cool combination of illustrations and text that explains to children the tenets of faith from religions around the world. There is some oversimplification in the way some of the information is presented and I will talk to my kids about the dangers of generalizing when it comes to religious groups, but if you’d like to brush up on your own comparative religions knowledge while giving your kids an introduction, this is a great start.

Christmas Traditions Around the World, by Ann Ingalls

Read Christmas Traditions Around The World, by Ann Ingalls

Similar to the previous title, this is a fun look at how one holiday–Christmas–plays out differently all across the world. It’s a great reminder that the Christmas our kids experience in North America is not the way the whole world celebrates.

Happy celebrating, friends–and happy reading!

Epic! is a digital library of more than 30,000 high-quality, popular children’s books, videos, quizzes and more — for kids in grades K-6. To try it out for two months FREE, visit getepic.com and use coupon code MOMHOUR.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: books, holidays & celebrations

About Sarah Powers

Sarah Powers is co-host and Executive Producer of The Mom Hour podcast. She lives in Santa Barbara, CA with her husband and three kids, ages 9, 11, and 13.

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One of our most popular blog posts EVER is refresh One of our most popular blog posts EVER is refreshed for 2022! Click this image at the link in our bio to read the just-structured-enough approach Sarah took during those long AZ summers at home when her kids were 6, 4, and 1.5. 😎 

#stayathomemom #preschoolers #summermomlife #arizonasummer #summerschedulefortoddlers #summerscheduledforpreschoolers #samplesummerschedule #summerdaysathom
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Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts #endlesscleaning #housework #cleaning #tidyingup #
Math Quiz: If 3 kids dirty an average of 15 dishes Math Quiz: If 3 kids dirty an average of 15 dishes per day while away at school 7 hours per day, how many additional dishes will they dirty while home all day for summer break?

67. The answer is 67. Yes, I’ve checked my work! Maybe someone who passed calculus can explain? 🤪 -M

#mommath #drowningindishes #summerbreakisnotreallyabreak
Happy weekend - and a big thanks to our June spons Happy weekend - and a big thanks to our June sponsors! Every month, we like to take a little time to shoutout our partners who help support the show + remind our listeners of some of the great deals our sponsors are offering. For more info, specific promo codes, and links, just search the brand name on our website, and they'll pop up in our episode show notes. We also collect ALL our active promo codes (even the old ones that are still working!) in our email newsletter - which is full of other great things we want to share with you, too. Tap on this image at the link in our bio to subscribe today. 

Meet our NEW partners this month . . .
🗣️ @connectspeech (early language support!)
💙 @appahealth (1st month of mentorship free!)
💄 @thrivecausemetics (15% off your 1st order)

And welcome back to . . .
⭐️ @paireyewear (15% off your 1st purchase!)
⭐️ @autoapprove ($100 when you refinance!)
⭐️ @outschool ($15 off your child's 1st class!)
⭐️ @mindandchild ($20 off Parenting 101 course!)
⭐️ @flowkey_com (20% off subscription piano app!)
⭐️ @stitchfix ($20 off your 1st purchase!)
⭐️ @publicgoods ($15 off, no minimum!)
⭐️ @scholasticinc (books for kids of all ages!)
⭐️ @hiyahealth (50% off 1st order!)
⭐️ @kiwico_inc (30% off your 1st mo!)
⭐️ @ritual (10% off 1st 3 mo!)
⭐️ @athleticgreens (1yr of Vit.D + 5 travel packs!)
⭐️ @vionicshoes (free shipping on cute shoes!)
⭐️ @project_wren (10 trees planted when you sign up!)
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Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts #travelingwoes #travelingwithkids #familytravelmishaps
New on the blog this week from @kiamhammond: Learn New on the blog this week from @kiamhammond: Learning About Juneteenth, As A Family.

"Like many families, mine is still figuring out how to teach our children about Juneteenth, as learning the history wasn't part of my education or my husband's when we were kids. The good news is, books written for children and families are a great way for the whole family to learn (and there are a lot of them!)."

Click this image at the link in our bio to read Kia’s book recommendations and more ways to start the conversation at home with your family.

#juneteenth #history #blackhistory #parenting #juneteenthbooksforkids #summerreading
New episode! As moms, we can be hard on ourselves New episode!

As moms, we can be hard on ourselves…and sometimes we just need to hear the simplest, oft-repeated pieces of advice and encouragement to remind us that it is all going to be OK. Join Meagan and Sarah for a reflection on eight pieces of wisdom that have carried us through motherhood struggles at every age and stage. We are offering them to you, to ourselves, and to all of our future selves in Episode 369.

Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts #momtruisms #momtruths #parentingadvice #motherhoodstruggles
Just a “hello” from last-week-me, who spent 30 Just a “hello” from last-week-me, who spent 30 minutes moving 25 chickens by hand from their home to the new chicken yard, because they refused to go on their own. And then an hour moving them back, because same.

It reminded me a lot of mothering a toddler, and got me wondering: what’s the most ridiculous thing mom life has brought you in the past week? -M
New episode! Have you ever fantasized about atten New episode!

Have you ever fantasized about attending a camp-like environment for grown-ups? Much about the classic summer camp experience is appealing to us (though not EVERYTHING--we could certainly do without the bugs), and the idea of simply showing up for a perfectly curated experience without any responsibility, or planning, sounds AMAZING. Listen to this fun More Than Mom to hear all of our must-have activities (like food and wine tastings, yoga, personal style consults and more!), things that would be a hard no (like swimming in the gross, murky lake or participating in corny, guided crafts) and our daydreams about creating a Mom Hour Retreat (maybe someday?)!

Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts #summercamps #womenretreats #momretreat
New on the blog this week from @jaymesherrod: LGBT New on the blog this week from @jaymesherrod: LGBTQ+ Resources For Parents (And Anyone Who Wants To Learn!). 

"The fact is, none of us will get it right every time. Not with each other, and certainly not with our kids. But it’s important that we keep showing up and having the conversations anyway."

Click this image at the link in our bio to access Jayme's roundup of resources.

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