Story and non-fiction books from other places and cultures
The three Ps: The plot, the people and the place, are all
important.
Education is about enrichment, and one rich area of life is stories. Stories should
transport people to different places (and times) in their imagination.
If stories are about the plot, the people and the place (and time), it is impossible to
consider any interpretation of the story without more knowledge and understanding of
the place and people from which they came.
How English are stories?
So many of our stories that have become part of English Literature for children started
out life in other places often written in other languages, just think about Hans Christian
Andersen or more currently Mrs Pepperpot or Pippi Longstocking. Some started out as
oral story telling and have now been written down. The Anansi stories originally from
West Africa and subsequently taken to the Caribbean are now evident in children’s’ books
today. Disney is constantly reinventing stories from other places and reinterpreting for
today’s children.
Stories from other cultures can be
enriching.
Just by choosing stories set in other places like Africa, you
have an opportunity to celebrate the diversity of the world.
The stories may have illustrations that transport children to
the other side of the world. In ‘The Village Of Round And
Square Houses’, the text and the illustration work together
to create the sense of place, the people have feelings rather than are just objects of
study. Furthermore the story is a moral one and serves an opportunity to point out that
people from other places are just as human as we are, some good, and some not so, with
needs, thoughts and feelings
Polar bears and penguins, Stories from other places can be
misleading.
However, much more simply fiction uses devices which distort fact to appeal to children.
Many stories about cold places combine two cuddly animals, polar bears (in reality very
fierce) and penguins (very docile). They could not be further apart geographically.
African lions and Indian tigers appear in the same jungles. Does this matter? It is a real
opportunity to look at ‘truth’ in story with young children and get the globe out.
Asking “What is it really like?” improves their critical
literacy.
Just by posing questions about any story, such as ‘Where did this story come from? , ‘
What is it really like there?’ and ‘Why was it written? Allows us to investigate the real
context in which the story was set. The beauty of some story illustrations may hide a
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more difficult truth of environmental destruction and inequality. It is at this point a
combination of fiction and non-fiction are vital to support children’s understanding of
critical literacy.
British-Asian experience - Stories from others lives can be
challenging
Through looking at stories about other
individual children one can get an insight into
experience. For example, the Nani series
where a young girl of Indian origin goes back
to visit her grandmother in India sheds light
on the British Asian experience of living
between two cultures. It is her first
experience of India, she describes it
beautifully and through fresh eyes gives the
reader an opportunity to look at the attitudes
and values of a young person.
It is in books where racism or injustice occurs that children can get an
opportunity to look at the experience of others and question their own
values and attitudes. Looking at real people alongside fictional
characters raises debate about generalisation, stereotyping and
experience of the world.
This contains a list of some books, both fiction and non-fiction, set in
different localities, arranged by continent. The books can be used in
geography lessons or literacy lessons.
Complied by Kate Russell, Senior Adviser for Geography
Revised- October 2010
I am keen to keep this list up to date; if there are books you would
like to recommend to others, please let me know!
Kate Russell
e-mail: Kate.russell@staffordshire.gov.uk
Tel: 01785 277966
Or by post to: QLS, The Kingston Centre, Fairway, Stafford, ST16 3TW
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Some geographical story and non-fiction books set in
different countries
Title
Author
Publisher
Further details
Asia India
Amal and the Letter
from the King
An Ocean of Story: A
Collection of Magical
Folk Tales
Bend it Like Beckham
Dandipani and the
Fisherboy
Dust on the
Mountains
Earthquake
Chitra Gajadin
Magi, 1992
Caroline Ness
Macdonald Young
Books, 1995
Narinder Dhani
Hodder, 2002
Action Aid
P. Bond
Set in India. Available in
several languages.
Tales from India
RA 8 - 12
What is it like to be a
British Asian? Now a film!
Orissa, India
Elephant Dance: A
Journey to India
Theresa Heine
Julia MacRae books
1990
Julia MacRae books
(Franklin Watts) 1984
Barefoot Books 2004
Fine Feathered
Friend
Footprints in the
Forest: A Chembakolli
story
Geeta’s Day
Jamila Gavin
Yellow Bananas, 2001
Taahra Ghazi, Eileen
Brown
Action Aid
Links with Chembakolli
Also available as a big book
Prodeepta Das
Frances Lincoln, 1999
Going to School in
India
Lisa Heydlauff
From Amazon
From Dawn to Dusk in an
Indian village in Orissa
Stories of different groups
of children
Grandpa’s India
Summer
I is for India
Jamila Gavin
2006
Prodeepta Das
Frances Lincoln, 1996
India
David Cumming
Jazeera in the Sun
Lisa Bruce
Evans Books
Cherrytrees books,
Mammoth (Reed) 1988
Jazeera’s Journey
Jyoti’s Journey
Lost at the Fair
Lisa Bruce
Helen Ganly
Feroza Mathieson
Methuen 1993
Andre Deutsch
A&C Black, 1988
Ruskin Bond
Northern India KS2
Earthquake in Cherrapunji
Hills, N. India
Grandfather makes a
journey from India to multicultural Britain
Mumbai (Bombay)
£9.99. An alphabet of
India. Photo illustrations
Letters from Around the
World series
Jazeera returns from her
new home in England, to
India for a holiday. Sequel
to Jazeera’s Journey. RA 8
– 11.
Migration from India to UK
India
Set in India
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Mala, A Woman’s
Folktale
My Friend, The Sea
Gita Wolf-Sampath
Tara, 1994, Letterbox
RA 7 - 11
Sandhya Rao
Tulika publishers, India
Fictional story of a boy
caught in the aftermath of
the 2004 tsunami
Out Of India
Princess Jazz and the
Angels
Jamila Gavin
Rachel Anderson
Hodder, 1997
Mammoth 1995
Purnima’s Parrot
Feroza Mathieson,
Anna Louise
Madhur Jaffrey
Magi Publications
Jean Harrison
1999
Sootface: An Ojibwa
Cinderella Story
Stories from India: in
Gujarati and English
Robert D. San Souci
Doubleday
Tales from India
Sanjeevini
Multicultural Archive,
Lens based media, De
Montford Uni, 1995
Mantra 1984
The Adventures of
Rama and Sita
Ruskin Bond
Walker 1990
The Adventures of
Young Krishna, the
Blue God of India
The Butterfly Kiss
Diksha Dalal-Clayton
Lutterworth, 1991
Marcial Boo
Gollancz, 1995
The Elephant-Headed
God: and other Hindu
Tales
The Enchanted Palace
Debanjee
Chatterjee
Lutterworth, 1989
Ashim Bhattacharya
and Champaka Basu
Jennie Ingham, 1985
The Narrow Escape
The Peacock Garden
Qamar Zamani
Anita Desai
Nelson, 1987
Mammoth 1991
The People who
Hugged the Trees
Deborah Lee Rose
The Proud Elephant
Qamar Zamani
Arpel Graphics /
Roberts Rinehart, 1990
/ Airlift Book Co
Jennie Ingham, Roy
Seasons of
Splendour: Tales,
Myths and Legends of
India
Shompa lives in India
Puffin, 1987
Set in India. Jaswinder has
an Irish mother, Indian
father and was brought up
in Scotland. RA 10+
Madhur Jaffrey retells all
the stories told to her by
her mother, aunt and
grandmother. RA 8 - 12
Everyday life of Shompa RA
5 – 9 Free teaching ideas on
www.christianaid.org.uk/lear
n
On tape, several stories
5 stories from Indian
history RA 7 - 11
Simplified version of epic
Indian tale, Ramayana. RA 7
- 10
RA 10+
For very young children, set
in India
Collection of stories from
ancient India. RA 8 - 12
A fairy tale from Bengal.
Available in several
languages.
Set in India. RA 7 - 9
Set in 1947 in an Indian
village. RA 9 - 12
Rajastan, An Indian legend
retold. RA 6 - 10
Available in dual languages.
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The Raja’s Big Ears
Niru Desai
Yates, 1986
Jennie Ingham, 1989,
Roy Yates
RA 5 - 7
Available in dual languages,
fairy tale set in India RA 5
–7
All Hindi children know the
story of Rama. RA 9 - 12
India
The Ramayana
Pratima Mitchell
Puffin, 1996
The River’s Song
Shraddhavan
The Singing Bowls
The Toger Child: A
Folk Tale from India
Jamila Gavin
Joanna Troughton
Children’s Book Trust,
New Delhi, 1993. Soma
Mammoth, 1990
Puffin Folk Tales of
the World, 1999
The Village by the
Sea
The Wheel of Surya
Anita Desai
Puffin, 1984
Jamila Gavin
Mammoth (Reed) 1994
Tiger Roars, Eagle
Soars
Ruskin Bond
Walker 1994
Going Fishing: A
Story set in
Bangladesh
In the Eye of the
Storm
Rachel Warner
Cherrytrees books,
Evans
A&C Black, 1990
The Old Woman and
the Pumpkin
Michael Rosen
Learning by Design,
1994
The Radish Thief
Khodeja Khan
Jennie Ingham, 1989
C is for China
China
Sungwan So
Frances Lincoln, 1996
Cherrytrees books,
Evans
Lao Lao of Dragon
Mountain
Shanyi Goes to China
Margaret BatesonHill
Sungwan So
ABC of China
Letters From Around the
World:
Set in China
Frances Lincoln 2006
The Yangtze
Yikang’s Day – from
Michael Pollard
Illustrated with photos,
tells of child visiting
relatives in China
Great Rivers series
RA 11+
The Tiger Child makes a
journey to the village to
find fire
Set in fishing village near
Mumbai. RA 11+, Top KS2
RA 11+ Follows the fortunes
of two families, one Indian
and one British. See also its
sequel The Eye of the
Horse.
Set in Himalayan forest. RA
7 - 10
Asia Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Letters From Around the
World:
Set in a small village in
Bangladesh
Life on an island in
Bangladesh
A traditional tale from
Bangladesh. Available in
several languages.
Set in rural Bangladesh
Asia China
Evans Books
Frances Lincoln
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Dawn to Dusk in a
Chinese City
Asia Pakistan
Daughter of the Wind
Suzanne Fischer
Staples
Pakistan
The Missing Money: A
Story set in Pakistan
Feroza Mathieson
Walker, 1991
Cherrytrees books,
Evans
A&C Black, 1989
Set in Pakistan’s Cholistan
desert RA 12+
Letters From Around the
World:
A photo story set in a city
in Pakistan
Asia - other
Chanda and the
Mirror of Moonlight
Huy and Vinh’s Day
Margaret BatesonHill and Karin
Littlewood
Jim Holmes
Indonesia
David Cumming
Ishtar and Tammuz: A Christopher Moore
Babylon myth of the
and Christine Balit
Seasons
Japan
Ali Brownlie
Set in Rajasthan
Frances Lincoln, 2003
£10.99
Evans Books
Cherrytrees books,
Frances Lincoln
Cherrytrees books,
Evans Books
Piper
King of the Cloud
Forests
Masha and the
Firebird
Parvana’s Journey
Michael Morpurgo
The Breadwinner:
Starvation or survival
– a girl’s life under
Taliban rule
Deborah Ellis
Oxford University
Press
Tokyo
We go to school in
Japan
Nicola Barber
Gwynneth Ashby
Evans Books
Ashby Books
01425 278130
Margaret BatesonHill and Anne Wilson
Deborah Ellis
One of A Child’s Day series,
following a 7 year old in
Vietnam through their day;
colour photos and
informative texts.
Letters from around the
World series
Letters From Around the
World:
Himalayas KS2 /3
Set in Russia
Oxford University
Press
Parvana is alone,, her father
dead. She must cross
Afghanistan to find her
mother and sisters. This is
the sequel to The
Breadwinner.
For 9 – 12 year olds
www.oup.co.uk/oxed/childre
n/thebreadwinner/ See the
sequel – Parvana’s journey
Global Cities series
A year in a Japanese school
– links with literacy,
numeracy, Citizenship
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South and
central America
Abuela’s Weave
Omar S Castaneda
Amazon Alphabet
Amelia’s Road
Martin and Tanis
Jordan
Linda Jacobe Altman
Amoko and the Party
Angel Falls: A South
American Journey
S. Appiah
Martin and Tanis
Jordan
A Deutsch 1991
Kingfisher 1995
B is for Brazil
Maria de Fatima
Campos
Frances Lincoln, 2000
Brazil
Lee and Low 1993
Turnaround
Kingfisher, 1996
Lee and Low, 1993
Turnaround
Cherrytrees books,
Evans
Wayland, 1994
Central and South
American stories
Robert Hull
Children of the Moon:
Yanomami Legends
Christian Rudel
Moonlight Publishing
1995
Enrique’s Day
Sara A. Fajardo
Frances Lincoln, 2003
£10.99
From Beans to
Batteries
How Night Came
Hualachi and the
Magic Sandals: An
Inca Story
Journey to the River
Sea Journey
Mexico
Off we go to Mexico
Peter’s Visit to the
Action Aid, Child’s Play
Joanna Troughton
1986
Juliet Heslewood
Barefoot Books
Eva Ibbotson
Lauries Krebs and
Christopher Corr
Annabel Roditi
Set in Guatemala RA 6 – 10
Amazon wildlife RA 5 - 9
A child’s view of the
difficulties faced by
migrant farm workers in the
USA, who came from
Central and South America
RA 6 - 9
KS1 /2
A true story of a journey to
the jungle of south-eastern
Venezuela to the highest
waterfall in the world RA 8+
ABC of Brazil
Letters From Around the
World:
Seven stories from the
ancient civilisations of
central and Southern
America. RA 9 - 12
Provides an insight into the
life of the people of the
Amazon basin RA 9 - 12
One of A Child’s Day series,
following a 7 year old in
Peru through their day;
colour photos and
informative texts.
Set in Peruvian village of
Pampagrande
A folk Tale from the
Amazon
Based on an ancient Inca
legend RA 8 - 11
Brazilian Rainforest
Cherrytrees books,
Evans
Barefoot 2006
Letters From Around the
World:
Parrot Press, 1991
Compares life in a city with
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Rainforest
Rio de Janeiro
Stories from
Overseas: Tales from
Peru and El Salvador
Simon Scoones
Malvern Oxfam
Group
Turnaround
Evans Books
Malvern Third World
Centre 1994
a rainforest.
Global Cities series
Two stories, one set in a
village in the Peruvian
mountains and the other in a
town in El Salvador RA 7–9
The Bravest Flute
Ann Grifalconi
Little Brown, 1994
The Rain Forest
Storybook
Rosalind Kerven
Cambridge 1994
A celebration of Mayan
culture and traditions
Traditional stories from the
original forest peoples of
South America, Africa and
south-east Asia RA 9 - 12
The Story of Running
Water
The Woman who
Outshone the Sun
Joanna Troughton
CUP, 1996
Alejandro Cruz
Martinez
Children’s Book Press
1991 Letterbox Library
Faustin Charles
Barefoot Books, 1996
Ed. John Agard and
Grace Nicholls
Mary Hoffman
F. French
Walker books
Book of counting rhymes
from around the Caribbean.
Caribbean Poetry
Frances Lincoln, 1997
Frances Lincoln, 1991
KS 1 /2
J Berry
Penny Dale
Hamish Hamilton 1987
Walker Books, 1987
Set in an unidentified part
of S. America RA 5 - 6
Dual language story from
Mexico RA 6 - 10
Caribbean
A Caribbean Counting
Book
A Caribbean Dozen
An Angel Just like me
Anancy and Mr Dry
Bone
A Thief in the Village
Bet You Can’t
C is for Caribbean
Caribbean Alphabet
Caribbean Canvas
Coconut Kind of Day
Frane Lessac, Mark
Greenwood
F. Lessac
L. Joseph
Coming to England
Floella Benjamin
Fruits: A Caribbean
counting poem
Go Noah, Go!
Gregory Cool
Hue Boy
Valerie Bloom, David
Axtell
Judy Agard
Caroline Binch
Rita Phillips
Mitchell, Caroline
Binch
Andrew Salkey
Hurricane
Frances Lincoln
MacMillan
Macmillan 1987
Lothrop, Lee and
Shephard 1990
KS2 / 3
Diversity – 2 Caribbean
heritage children
£9.99
Caribbean islands KS1 / 2
Floella Benjamin’s
autobiography. Trinidad and
England compared.
Macmillan
Picture Knight
Frances Lincoln
Puffin
KS1 / 2
Tobago
Puffin
West Indies KS2
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I came to Britain
from Jamaica
J is for Jamaica
Valerie Fawcett
Oxford Reading Tree
UK and Jamaica
Benjamin Zephaniah
and Prodeepta Das
Frances Lincoln
Jamaica
Ali Brownlie
One Smiling
Grandmother: A
Caribbean Counting
Book
Skip across the
Ocean
The Emperor’s DanDan
Anne Marie Linden,
Lynne Russell
Evans Books
Cherrytrees books,
Picture mammoth
A pictorial ABC of Jamaica,
text as rhyming verse and
stunning photos
Letters from Around the
World series
KS1
The Cay
The Future Telling
Lady
The Little Island
The Turtle and the
Island
When I Dance
Floella Benjamin
Frances Lincoln, 1995
Judy Agard
Hodder and Stoughton
1978
Theodore Taylor
J. Berry
Puffin
Hamish Hamilton 1991
KS2
F. Lessac
Barbara Ker Wilson
Macmillan 1984
Frances Lincoln
J. Berry
Hamish Hamilton 1988
Montserrat KS 1 /2
Folk Tale from Papua, New
Guinea
Caribbean, various, KS2 /3
Australasia
Letters From Around
the World: Australia
Cherrytrees books,
Evans
Rainforest
The Paddock
Helen Cowcher 1988
L. Norman
A Deutsch 1988
J Macrae, 1992
Walkabout
What made Tiddalik
Laugh: A Dreamtime
Story from Australia
Window
J. Marshall
Joanna Troughton
Clio Press 1989
Puffin
Jeannie Baker
Red Fox, 1991
Jeannie Baker
Walker Books
A is for Africa
Bitter Bananas
Ifeoma Onyefulu
Isaac Olaleye
Chinye
Obi Onyefulu
Frances Lincoln, 1993
Boyds Mills Press,
1994, Letterbox
Library
Frances Lincoln, 1994
Where the Forest
Meets the Sea
Tropical Australia KS1
Australia, prehistoric to
present KS2 /3
Australian desert, KS 2 /3
The story of change over a
number of years, Australia
urban, all ages (no text)
Set in rainforest in
Queensland, Australia. All
ages (no text)
Africa - Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria
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Ebele’s Favourite
Ifeoma Onyefulu
Frances Lincoln
A pictorial journey through
Nigeria
Set in Ibaji, a village in
Southern Nigeria
Nigeria
Igboland, Eastern Nigeria
Emeka’s Gift: African
Counting Story
Isimeme’s Stories
One Big Family –
Sharing Life in an
African Village
Why the Sky is Far
Away
Ifeoma Onyefulu
Frances Lincoln, 1995
Isimeme Ibazebo
Ifeoma Onyefulu
Spindlewood, 1993
Frances Lincoln, 1996
M. J. Gerson
Little Brown and Co
1992
Nigeria, KS 1 /2
Tamarind, 1994
Ghana
Comfort Herself
I am River Densu
Verna Wilkins and
Gill McLean
Geraldine Kaye
Alexander Yankah
Ghana and England
Ghana
Kokroko, The Giant
Henrie Barkow
Mammoth (Reed) 1994
Afram Publications,
African Books
Collective, 1992
Mantra, 1992
Oh Kojo! How Could
you!
Salamatu and Kandoni
go Missing
The Girl who Knows
about Cars
The Leopard’s Drum
Too Much Talk
Verna Aardema
MacMillan, 1988
Ghana. Dual language pack
with cassette available
(English with Bengali,
Gujarati, Punjabi or Urdu)
Ghana
Action Aid, Child’s Play
Ghanaian village of Nansoni
Amu Djoleto, Pat
Tourett
Jessica Souhami
Angela Shelf
Medearis
Heinemann JAWS
Starter, 1996
Frances Lincoln, 1995
Walker Books, 1995
Ghana for Early Years
A School for Amos
At the Crossroads
Elana Bregin
Rachel Isadora
Bongani’s Day
Gisele Wolfsohn
Mammoth
Red Fox / J Macrae
1991
Frances Lincoln, 2003
£10.99
Capetown
Chain of Fire
Charlie’s House
Rob Bowden
Beverley Naidoo
Reviva
Schermbrucker
Niki Daly
Africa - Ghana
Abena and the Rock
Ghana
Ghana
Africa – South
Africa
Evans books
Collins 1989
Walker Books, 1992
South Africa
South Africa KS2
One of A Child’s Day series,
following a 7 year old in
South Africa through their
day; colour photos and
informative texts.
Global cities series
South Africa KS2 / 3
South African township
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Jafta and Jafta’s
Mother
Jafta: The
Homecoming
Journey to Jo’burg
Marriage of the Rain
Goddess: A South
African Myth
My Painted House, My
Friendly Chicken and
Me
Not so Fast Songololo
One Child One Seed
Hugh Lewin
Picture Puffin
Rural South Africa
Hugh Lewin
Picture Puffin / Hamish
Hamilton 1992
Harper Collins, Addison
Wesley, 1996
Barefoot Books, 1996
Rural South Africa, KS1 /2
Beverley Naidoo
Margaret Olivia
Wolfson, Clifford
Alexander Parms
Maya Angelou
Niki Daly
Kathryn Cave
One Round Moon and
a Star for me
Out of Bounds:
stories of conflict
and hope
Over the Green Hills
Rachel Isadora
Pig
Paul Geraghty
Somewhere in Africa
Ingrid Mennen, Niki
Daly
Dianne Stewart,
Jude Daly
Dianne Stewart,
Jude Daly
The Dove
The Gift of the Sun:
A Tale from South
Africa
The Magical Bicycle
The Little Lost Goat
The Strollers
Umoyana, the Little
Wind
Ingrid Mennen, Niki
Daly
Beverley Naidoo
Elana Bregin
A. Jesperson, S.
Sonto, C. Mijindi, B.
Prehn
Lesley Beake
Sue Appleby,
Buyiswa Bale, Xolela
Ciliza, Sedick Galant
South Africa
Based on Zulu myth, South
Africa
Letterbox Library
Roural South Africa
Victor Gollancz, 1985
Frances Lincoln /
Oxfam
Bodley Head (Random
House) 1994
Puffin
South Africa
A South African counting
book
South Africa
Collection of 5 short stories
set in South Africa over the
past 50 years
Transkei, South Africa
Red Fox (Random
House) 1992
Hutchinson / Red Fox,
1992
Red Fox, Bodley Head,
1992
Greenwillow, 1993,
Letterbox Library
Frances Lincoln, 1996
South Africa
Mammoth, 1994
The Little Library, CUP
South Africa
South Africa
Red Fox (Random
House) 1995
CUP
Capetown, age 10+
Christian Aid
Provides global view of
Islam and investigates a day
in the life in a developing
country through the eyes of
a young boy. Ages 6 - 9
Kenya KS1
South Africa rural / urban,
KS2 / 3
Urban South Africa
Rural South Africa
Cape Town, South Africa
Africa - Kenya
Abu Lives in Kenya
Bringing the Rain to
Verna Aardema,
MacMillan, Picturemac,
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Kapiti Plain
Exams! Exams!
Hamadi and the
Stolen Cattle
Handa’s Surprise
Kenya
Beatriz Vidal
Usha Bahl
Chris Burchell and
Sean Creagh
Eileen Browne
Ali Brownlie
1981
Nelson, 1987
Heinemann JAWS,
1994
Walker Books, 2006
Evans Books
Mama Panya’s
Pancakes
Mary, Juma and
Simba the Dog
Chamberlin M and
Chamberlin R
Helen Day and
Chitra Parvathy
Merchant
Helen Day, Chitra
Parvathy Merchant
Virginia Kroll
Nancy Carpenter
Judy Wanjiku
Barefoot Books 2006
Mary, Juma and
Simba the Dog
Masaii and I
Mcheshi Goes on a
Journey
The Exiles at Home
Hilary McKay
The Orphan Boy
Tololwa M. Mollel,
Paul Morin
Beverley Birch
The Village in the
Forest by the Sea
Can be used in a water topic
Kenya
Northern Kenya
Kenya
Letters from Around the
World series
A village tale from Kenya
Action Aid
Mombasa, Kenya. Y2 and 3
Also available as a big book
Action Aid, 2000
Ziwa, nr Mombasa, Kenya
Picture Puffin
Hamish Hamilton 1993
Jacaranda Designs Ltd
(Kenya) 1993,
Letterbox Library
Harper Collins Lions,
1994
Oxford University
Press, 1990
Bodley Head (Random
House) 1995
Kenya and UK, KS2 / 3
Kenya, Nairobi, Mombasa
and island of Lamu. Dual
Swahili / English text
Kenya and England
Kenya, Masai legend, KS2
Coastal Kenya
Africa - Egypt
Boushra’s Day: From
Dawn to Dusk in an
Egyptian city
Khaled El Dash and
Dalia Khattab
Frances Lincoln, 2002
£10.99
Egypt
David Cumming
Evans Books
The Day of Ahmed’s
Secret
Florence Parry
Heide, Judith
Gilliland
Michael Pollard
Gollancz, 1991
One of A Child’s Day series,
following a 7 year old in
Cairo through their day;
colour photos and
informative texts.
Letters from around the
World series
Cairo, Egypt, Sudan KS1
Evans Books
Great rivers series
Nancy Farmer
John Steptoe
Orion, 1995
Hamish Hamilton, 1988
Charles Mungoshi
Baobab, 1991, SOMA
books
Zimbabwe
An African Tale, Zimbabwe
KS1 /2
Four folk tales from
Zimbabwe
The Nile
Africa Zimbabwe
Do You Know Me?
Mufaro’s Beautiful
Daughters
One Day, Long Aga:
More Stories from a
Shona Childhood
 QLS Staffordshire - Some geographical story and non-fiction books
- 12 -
Thara meets the
Cassipoohka Man
The Ear, the Eye and
the Arm: A 21st
Century African
Adventure
Gaele SobottMogwe, Hannie Koch
Nancy Farmer,
Baobab, Letterbox
Library
Orion, 1995
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe, age 11+
Barbara Knutson
Little Brown, 1993
Tanzania
Eric Campbell
Laurie Krebs
Julia Cairns
Macmillan, 1990
Barefoot Books 2003
Tanzania
Grasslands of Tanzania,
includes counting in Swahili
Mantra 1991
Morocco
Wayland, 1992
Short stories from many
parts of Africa
Series includes Voices from
Angola, Uganda, Sudan,
Zaire, RA 11+
Grace is helped to overcome
her unhappiness through
dance and drama.
KS1 / 2
Africa Tanzania
Sungara and Leopard:
A Swahili Trickster
Tale
The Place of Lions
We all Went on a
safari: A counting
journey though
Tanzania
Africa – general or multiple
locations
Abdul and the Lion
African Stories
Jesus Gaban, retold
by Henriette
Barkow
Robert Hull
African Voices series
Ed. Rachel Warner
Amazing Grace
Mary Hoffman,
Caroline Binch
A Promise to the Sun
Tololwa M. Mollel,
Beatriz Vidal
Ifeoma Onyefulu
Frances Lincoln, 2000
RA 4 - 7
Philippa-Alys Browne
Kathleen Arnott
Barefoot, 1995
Oxford, 1989
Alexander McCall
Smith
Mammoth, 1990
Jane Kurtz, Floyd
Cooper
Deborah and
Elizabeth Isaacs
Victor Gollancz, 1995
Africa general, age 4-6
34 stories from around
Africa
Unidentified part of Africa
See also Akimbo and the
Crocodile Man, Akimbo and
the Lions.
Ethiopia
A Triangle for
Adaora: An African
book of Shapes
African Animals ABC
African Myths and
Legends
Akimbo and the
Elephants
Almaz and the Lion
Benin: An African
Kingdom
Minority Rights Group
1995
International
Broadcasting Trust,
Benin
 QLS Staffordshire - Some geographical story and non-fiction books
- 13 -
Bimwili and the Zimwi
Chichi and the
Termites
Chichi’s Nature Diary
Daniel and the
Mischief Boy
Grace and Family
How the Guinea Fowl
got her spots
Hugo Hippo’s ABC Fun
Book
Hungry but Free:
Verna Aardema,
Susan Meddaugh
Wendy Ijioma
1994
MacMillan
Macmillan, 1992
Wendy Ijioma
Paul Vallely
Macmillan, 1993
Christian Aid
Mary Hoffman,
Caroline Binch
Barbara Knutson
Frances Lincoln, 1995
Gail A Porter, James
Okello
Omar Mohammed
and Eddie McParland
Journey through
Africa
Khumalo’s Blanket
Rob Bowden, Tony
Binns
Iain Macdonald
King of Another
Country
Land of the Four
Winds
Lord of the Winds
Lost in Africa
Fiona French
Veronica Freeman
Ellis
Magie Pearson
Nick Warburton
Carolrhoda Books, 1990
(Turnaround)
Jacaranda Designs,
1992
Learning by Design,
Tower Hamlets
Education, 1991
Horus Editions, 1998
Eritrea
Sequel to Amazing Grace.
The Gambia
A Swahili story
Africa general
A Somali / English dual
language story
Macdonald Young
Books, 1996
Oxford, 1992
Africa non specific
Just Us Books, 1993
Liberia
Magi, 1996
Walker Books
Jane Kurtz, E. B.
Lewis
Emily Gravett
Paulinos Vincent
Magombe, Mei-Yim
Low
Christina Kessler
Gollancz, 1995
Ages 7 - 10
Natasha and her brother
leave UK for colonial Africa.
Age 9+
Ethiopia
Macmillan 2006
Heinemann JAWS 1994
Kalahari
Uganda
Victor Gollancz
Cristina Kessler
Puffin 1997
Refugee Boy
Benjamin Zephaniah
Bloomsbury, 2001
Swallow Journey
Vivian French and
Karin Littlewood
Jean-Jacques
Vayssieres
Tuareg people of North
Africa
Muhamad is a Tuareg boy,
who takes his father’s goats
into the Sahara.
Alem is taken from Africa
to England to escape the
war between Ethiopia and
Eritrea
Journey of swallows from
Europe to South Africa
Mamo on the
Mountain
Meercat Mail
Mr Kalogo’s Factory
Muhamad’s Desert
Night
Muhamad’s Desert
Night
The Amazing
Adventures of
2002
 QLS Staffordshire - Some geographical story and non-fiction books
- 14 -
Equiano
The Colour of Home
Mary Hoffman,
Illus. Karin
Littlewood
Frances Lincoln, 2002
The Fire Children: A
West African Folk
Tale
The Garbage King
Eric Maddern
Frances Lincoln, 1993
Hassan, a refugee from
Somalia finds it difficult to
adapt to life in England. He
paints pictures of his
family’s flight from
Magadishu.
West Africa
The Honey Hunters
The Hunter
Francesca Martin
Paul Geraghty
The Miracle Child
Elizabeth Laird,
Abba Aregawii
Wolde Gabriel
Guemesh Isaak
Walker, 1994
Hutchinson, 1994
Red Fox 1996
Collins
Street children in Addis
Ababa
Africa general KS1
Explore the locality where
Jamina lives.
Ethiopia
The Nine Silly
Brothers
Elizabeth Laird
The Other Side of
Truth
The River that Went
to the Sky:
Beverley Naidoo
South Yorkshire
Development Education
Centre
Puffin
Ed. Mary Medlicott
Kingfisher 1995
The Secrets of
Kaidara: An Animist
Tale from Africa
The Storyteller
Hyacinthe Vulliez
Moonlight Publishing
1994
Mike Poulton
Macmillan, 1996
The Village of Round
and Square Houses
The Wonderful
Journey
Ann Grifalconi
MacMillan, Picture Mac,
1995
Red Fox 2000
This is the Oasis
Miriam Moss
Adrienne Kennaway
Helen Cowcher
Abigail Pizer
Joanna Troughton
Karen Lynn Williams
Tigress
Tippu
Tortoise’s Dream
When Africa was
Home
When Hippo was
Hairy: And Other
Tales from Africa
When Lion Could Fly:
And Other Tales
Paul Geraghty
Eleven stories from Eritrea
RA 7 - 14
Twelve new and traditional
Tales from African
Storytellers
Mali
Explains the importance of
water in our lives, age 7-10
Tos in Cameroon, W. Africa
Frances Lincoln 2005
A grandmother imagines her
journey back to the plains
of Africa
Sahara
Nick Graves
Picture Corgi, 1993
Picturemac, 1994
Picture Puffin, 1994
Orchard, 1994,
Letterbox Library
Lutterworth, 1988
Africa non specific
Africa general
An American boy grows up
in Africa
Tales from around Africa
Nick Graves
Lutterworth, 1988
Tales from around Africa
 QLS Staffordshire - Some geographical story and non-fiction books
- 15 -
from Africa
Whistling Thorn
Helen Cowcher
Scholastic, 1994
Set in African savannah, non
specific country
Brother Eagle Sister
Sky
Susan Jeffers
Dial Books 1991
Canada
Andy and Clare
Orchard
Vivian French
Evans Books
Cherrytrees books,
Based on a message from
Chief Seattle responding to
the US government’s offer
to buy his land
Letters from around the
world series
Journey of the Caribou to
the Tundra
Letters From Around the
World:
USA
Global Cities series
Global Cities series
Letters from Around the
World series
Okotoks, Alberta, Canada
North and
Central America
Caribou Journey
Costa Rica
Cherrytrees books,
Evans
Puffin 1985
Evans Books
Evans Books
Evans Books
Dear Mr Henshaw
New York
Mexico City
Mexico
B. Cleary
Sally Garrington
Ed Parker
Patrick Cunningham
Okotoks – Where
Moose Go Shopping
The Polar Bear Son:
An Inuit Tale
Michael Cox, Ill.
Rhian Nest James
Lydia Dabcovich
Scholastic
Shaker Lane
Alice and Martin
Provenson
Christine Fowler et.
Al
Walker Books
M. J. Vermeulen
ELSP 2009
Guernsey, Channel Islands
G. Hyclimaz
Puffin 1991
Barnaby Bear Goes to
Dublin
Elaine Jackson
Geographical
Association
Barnaby Bear Goes to
Norway
Barnaby Bear Goes to
Brittany
Elaine Jackson
Geographical
Association
Geographical
Association
Cyprus
Jan Willem Bultje
Turkey rural / urban
KS 2 /3
Barnaby flies to Dublin,
finds out about its
geography and history and
visits the zoo
Barnaby visits the Arctic
Circle
Barnaby looks at the people
and way of life of people in
this part of France
New EU Countries and
Shota and the Star
Quilt
Clarion Books, New
York
USA
Modern native American girl
and her attempt to save her
apartment block from
redevelopment.
Europe
Adventures of the
Islanders
Against the Storm
Elaine Jackson
Evans Books
 QLS Staffordshire - Some geographical story and non-fiction books
- 16 -
Citizens series
New EU Countries and
Citizens series
Urban child visits
grandparents who live on a
farm in Britain.
Greenwich, London. KS2
Italy
UK rural, KS1 /2
UK, KS2
Scottish Island KS2 / 3
Letters from Around the
World series
Letters from Around the
World series
UK journey through many
environments KS1 / 2
Czech Republic
Jan Willem Bultje
Evans Books
Don’t Forget to Write
Martina Selway
Red Fox 1991
Down and Out
Earthquake Alert!
Fantastic Mr Fox
Finders Losers
Finn’s Island
France
Bernard Ashley
R. Dahl
J. Mark
E. Dunlop
Teresa Fisher
Germany
Cath Senker
Orchard 1988
Puffin Survive! series
Puffin 1974
Orchard 1990
Blackie 1991
Cherrytrees books,
Evans Books
Evans Books
Gerry’s Seaside
Journey
Going to Sleep on the
Farm
Greece
Michelle Cartlidge
Little Mammoth 1988
Wendy Lewison and
Juan Wipngaard
David Cumming
Red Fox 1992
Greg’s Revenge
Harry’s Home
G. Hendry
Catherine and
Laurence Arnholt
Blackie 1991
Orchard picture books
Hetty and Harriet
G. Oakley
Macmillan 1981
Hilda’s Hen Search
Hungary
Marcy Wormell
Stephen lang
Victor Gollancz 1994
Evans Books
I am David
Italy
Anne Holm
Kate in London
Katie Morag Delivers
the Mail
Katie Morag and the
Two Grandmothers
James Mayhew
Mairi Hedderwick
Mammoth
Cherrytrees books,
Evans
Orchard Books, 2003
Red Fox 1984
Mairi Hedderwick
The Bodley Head 1985
Katie Morag and the
New Pier
Katie Morag and the
Tiresome Ted
Latvia
Mairi Hedderwick
The Bodley Head 1995
Scotland KS1; Katie has two
grandmothers, Granma
Mainland and Grannie Island
Scotland KS1
Mairi Hedderwick
Red Fox 2010
Scotland KS1
Jan Willem Bultje
Evans Books
Lina Marja’s Day
Jaakko Alatalo
Frances Lincoln, 2003
£10.99
New EU Countries and
Citizens series
One of A Child’s Day series,
following a 7 year old in
Evans Books
Letters from Around the
World series
Rural Scotland KS2
Harry’s home is in the city.
One day Harry goes to visit
his Grandad who lives on a
farm
Farm, rural and urban
environments
Rural, KS1
New EU Countries and
Citizens series
KS2
Letters From Around the
World:
London
Scotland KS1
 QLS Staffordshire - Some geographical story and non-fiction books
- 17 -
Lithuania
Jan Willem Bultje
Evans Books
London
Madeline in London
Malta
Paul Mason
Ludwig Bemelmans
Amanda Aizpuricte
Evans books
Hippo 1962
Evans Books
Me and My Million
Morag and the Lamb
Puffin 1979
Walker 1990
Mr Grumpy’s Outing
Our Puppy’s Holiday
Owen and the
Mountain
C. King
Judy Lingard and P.
Casey
John Birningham
P. Brown
Malachy Doyle and
Giles Greenfield
Puffin
Anderson Press 1987
Bloomsbury Children’s
Books 2000
Poland
J Kadziolka
Evans Books
Postman Pat’s Letters
on Ice
Sari Games
Slovakia
John Cunliffe
Hippo 985
N. Ghandi
Daniel Kollar
Andrew Deutsch 1990
Evans Books
Slovenia
Danica Vecevic
Evans Books
Spain
The Jolly Postman
The Lighthouse
Keeper’s Lunch
The Lighthouse
Keeper’s Catastrophe
The Mousehole Cat
The Ring of Bright
Water Trilogy
The Shepherd Boy
The Trek
The Tunnel
The Twins in Greece
What I Like
Janet and Allan
Ahlberg
Ronda and David
Armitage
Ronda and David
Armitage
A Barber
G Maxwell
K. Lewis
A. Jonas
Brian Wildsmith
S. Kilroy
C and C Anhott
Cherrytrees books,
Evans
William Heinemann
1986
Scholastic 1977
Lapland through their day;
colour photos and
informative texts.
New EU Countries and
Citizens series
Global Cities series
London
New EU Countries and
Citizens series
London, KS 2 / 3
UK hill country KS1 / 2
English countryside / river
UK rural / coastal KS1
Urban child visits
grandparents in mountainous
rural Britain
New EU Countries and
Citizens series
Urban UK, KS2
New EU Countries and
Citizens series
New EU Countries and
Citizens series
Letters From Around the
World:
UK various KS1
Puffin Books
Walker 1990
Puffin Books
Walker 1990
J Macrae 1985
OUP, 1993
Red Fox 1991
Walker 1991
Mousehole, Cornwall KS1 /2
Story about Gavin Maxwell
and his life on the isolated
Sandaig, Scotland, picturing
a simple version of rural life
and human impact on the
environment.
UK hill country, KS1 / 2
Suburban / urban, KS1
Channel Tunnel, KS1 /2
Greek village, KS1 / 2
UK urban
 QLS Staffordshire - Some geographical story and non-fiction books
- 18 -
Books about several places or
geographical themes
A Balloon for
Granddad
A Country Far Away
Nigel Gray and Jane
Ray
Philippe Dupasquier,
Nigel Gray
C. Keeping
Orchard Picture Books
1994
Anderson Press
1988
OUP 1989
Balloon journey from UK to
R. Nile, Sudan, KS1
KS1
Alfie Weather
Shirley Hughes
Dorling Kindersley and
Unicef 2002
Red Fox 2002
All in a Day
M. Anno
Hamish Hamilton 1986
Antarctica
H. Cowcher
A Deutsch 1990
How children live around
the world
Alfie likes all kinds of
weather
8 locations around the
world. KS1 /2
KS1 /2
Adam and the
Paradise Island
A Life Like Mine
Are we Nearly There
Urban KS2
Train journey through
different environments
A Pig Called Shrimp
Arctic Spring
Bear in the Air
Lisa Taylor
Tim and Sue Vyner
Benedict Blathwayt
Butterfly Lion
Bye Bye Baby
Children Just Like Me
Michael Morpurgo
J and A Ahlberg
Barnabas and Anabel
Kindersley
Come and Eat with us!
Annie Kubler,
Caroline Formby
Annie Kubler,
Caroline Formby
Annie Kubler,
Caroline Formby
Annie Kubler,
Caroline Formby
Eric Maddern and
Adrienne Kennaway
Philippe Dupasquier
Child’s Play / Oxfam
Rural
Children from over 30
countries exploring
similarities and differences
RA 7 - 11
Discovery flaps
Child’s Play / Oxfam
Discovery flaps
Child’s Play / Oxfam
Discovery flaps
Child’s Play / Oxfam
Discovery flaps
Frances Lincoln 2009
Science and locational
knowledge, KS1
A little girl writes to her
father who is working
abroad. KS1
Dinosaurs and all that
Rubbish
Eco Cash
Michael Foreman
Picture Puffin
Terrance Dicks
Edmond Went Far
Away
Going Shopping
M. Bax and M.
Forman
Sarah Garland
Piccadilly (Changing
Universe series)
Walker 1988
Global warming;
environments
Rural, KS1 / 2
Bodley Head 1985
A family go to the
Come and Play with us!
Come and Ride with
us!
Come Home with Us!
Curious Clownfish
Dear Daddy
Harper Collins 1982
Victor Gollancz
Red Fox / J Macrae
1991
Little Mammoth 1991
Dorling Kindersley /
UNICEF 1995
Picture Puffins
1992
KS1 UK urban and rural
 QLS Staffordshire - Some geographical story and non-fiction books
- 19 -
Grandfather and I
Helen Buckley and
Jan Ormerod
Harper Trophy, 2000
High Tide, Low Tide
How the World
Began: And Other
Stories of Creation
Mick Manning
Andrew Matthews
Franklin Watts
Macdonald Young Books
1996
Journey to the River
Sea
Kensuke’s Kingdom
Kim and the
Watermelon
Let’s Eat! Children
and their food around
the world
Eva Ibbotson
Michael Morpurgo
Miriam Smith
Beatrice Hollyer
supermarket
A little girl and her
grandfather walk and talk,
KS1
20 stories from around the
world all trying to answer
the question How did the
world begin? RA 7+
Brazilian Rainforest
Picture Puffins
Lima’s Red Hot Chilli
David Mills, Derek
Brazell
Mantra, 2002
Little Polar Bear and
the Brave Little Hare
Mama, Do you Love
Me?
Michael Recycle
Morning Mollie
My Grandpa and the
Sea
Nani’s Holiday
One Day we Had to
Run: Refugee children
tell their stories in
words and paintings
Penguin Small
River Story
Hans de Beer
North South Books
Explore the world through
they eyes of 5 children and
the food they eat (Mexico,
South Africa, India, France
and Thailand)
Australia, Bangladesh,
Brazil, Canada, China, Costa
Rica, France, India,
Indonesia, Italy, Jamaica,
Japan, Kenya, Mexico,
Pakistan, Spain
Dual language book (e.g.
Urdu and English) but many
languages available
Arctic
B. Joose
Chronicle Books 1991
Arctic, KS1 / 2
Ellie Bethel
Shirley Hughes
Katherine Orr
Meadowside 2008
Picture Lions
First Avenue, 1990
Lisa Bruce
Sybella Wilkes
Mammoth
Evans with UNHCR and
SCF 1994
Mick Inkper
Meredith Hooper /
Bee Willey
Pat Hutchins
Hodder
Walker Books 2000
Letters from Around
the World series
Rosie’s Walk
She is Born – A
Celebration of
Frances Lincoln /
Oxfam
Evans Books
Cherrytree books,
Red Fox 2001
ISBN 1-84089 114-9
KS1 – story about
sustainable farming
Stories and pictures from
Sudanese, Somalian and
Ethiopian children RA 9+
A poetic journey of a river.
KS2
Set in a farmyard, no text.
KS1
Describes the traditions
used to welcome daughters
 QLS Staffordshire - Some geographical story and non-fiction books
- 20 -
Daughters
Shark in the Park
South and North,
East and West
Swallow Journeys
into the world.
Phil Roxbee Cox and
Stephen Cartwright
Michael Rosen
Usborne 2002
Vivian French
Evans Books
Taking Action!
Tales from Around
the World
That’s my Mum
The Barefoot Book of
Animal Tales; from
around the world
The Fantastic Flying
Journey
The Great Round the
World Balloon Race
The Journey of the
Snow Geese
The Kidkadee Queen
Walker Books, 1992
Heinemann library /
Oxfam, 1998
Evans
Henriette Barkhow
and Derek Brazell
Naomi Adler
Mantra, 2001
Barefoot 1996
Gerald Durrell
Sue Scullard
MacMillan
Deborah King
Collins
F. Faustin
Blackie 1991
Mary Medlicott
Kingfisher
Diana Ross
Andre Deutsch 1952
Edited Michael
Rosen
Walker Books
Margaret Mayo
Orchard 1995
Red Fox
Puffin 1996
Story Sack Ltd.
The Wild Woods
Colin Thompson
Joanna Troughton
Scott Mann and Neil
Griffiths
Simon James
Titch Out and About
Pat Hutchins
Red Fox, 2002
Toffee’s Night Noises
Sally Chambers
Piccadilly Press 2002
The King with Dirty
Feet and other
stories
The Little Red Engine
Goes to Town
The Oxford book of
Children’s Stories –
South, North, East
and West
The Orchard Book of
Creation Stories
The Paperbag Prince
The Tiger Child
The Journey
Walker Books, 1993
25 stories from many parts
of the world, including
Africa, South America,
India, Nepal, Bangladesh
and Vietnam. RA 4 - 11
Follows migration route of
swallows
RA 7 – 11 About the work of
Oxfam
Collection of famous tales
from many countries.
The true story of Mia, a
child of mixed parentage
Nine stories from different
cultures including India,
Kenya and Brazil. RA 7+
KS2
KS1 /2 Global
Africa, India, Caribbean.
America
6 stories from around the
world including India, Ghana
and Guyana. RA 7+
Stories from Africa and
Central America RA 7+
Environment
Rivers
A starting point for looking
at habitats and
environments
Titch gets lost and finds his
way home
Toffee the cat loves
 QLS Staffordshire - Some geographical story and non-fiction books
- 21 -
Noises
Tom and the island of
Dinosaurs
Wake up World
exploring at night!
Ian Beck
Beatrice Hollyer
Frances Lincoln with
Oxfam, 1999
W is for World: A
Round the World ABC
We Come From ….
series
Kathryn Cave
Frances Lincoln, 1998
We’re Going on a Bear
Hunt
When Grandma Came
Who will save us?
Michael Rosen and
Helen Oxenbury
J Paton Walsh
Rebecca Morch
Wayland
Walker 1989
Viking 1992
Rebecca Morch
Publishing Ltd, 2007
A day in the life of 8
children from each
continent
In association with Oxfam
Brazil, China, France,
Germany, India, Jamaica,
Japan, Kenya, Nigeria,
South Africa.
Rural, various terrains
Worldwide
Story of 5 Antarctic
penguins, exploring climate
change simply and how
children can be part of the
solution.
Books for teachers
Primary Geography Handbook, GA, 2010, Sheffield
Place in Story-time, Geography through stories at Key Stages 1 and 2,
Heather Norris Nicholson, GA, Sheffield
Start with a story - supporting young children's exploration of issues,
KS1, TIDEC~
www.tidec.org/Publications/Publications.html
A Different story - literacy to open up the world at key stage 2
TIDEC~ www.tidec.org/Publications/Publications.html
 QLS Staffordshire - Some geographical story and non-fiction books
- 22 -