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The Read the World Summer Book Club

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Written by Jamie C. Martin of Simple Homeschool

Last week I hinted that you’d want to get your copies of Give Your Child the World: Raising Globally Minded Kids One Book at a Time in hand as soon as possible, so you can use it for something fun this summer.

Well, today I can finally spill the beans! Several months ago I had the idea of celebrating the launch of my book with a summer book club for you and yours.

And because books are always better shared, I’ve teamed up with the fabulous Sarah Mackenzie of the Read-Aloud Revival to create the Read the World Summer Book Club–a club that’s going to take us all around the world this summer, one book at a time!

Take a peek:

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The Gist

Give Your Child the World has eight chapters of booklists in total, each one devoted to a different part of the world. Our book club will spend one week focusing on/highlighting each chapter!

All of your kids are invited to take part, whatever their age! Give Your Child the World includes book recommendations for ages 4-12, but teens are welcome to join in with picks of their own if they’re interested. And if your younger kids listen in as you read-aloud, that counts too!

The Goal

Read one book each week from a different part of the world (according to the calendar below). That’s it!

So on Monday of Africa week, for example, you could read a picture book from Africa at the breakfast table, and boom! Done for the week.

Sarah and I wanted to make the “official goal” super-simple, so that even families who find out about the club after we’ve kicked it off can still catch up and join in.

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But you can also step it up a notch and create your own goal: one picture book a day, one chapter book a week, or have each child choose a book from their age range. With over 600 recommendations in Give Your Child the World, there’s plenty to choose from!

And just to clarify, your book choices don’t have to come from the pages of my book for you to join the club. Anyone is welcome.

But those who do choose all of their book picks from the pages of Give Your Child the World get double entries when it comes time to choose winners for prizes–woot! 

Prizes, you ask? Yes, over $1,000 worth! Keep reading to check out their awesomeness below.

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The Calendar

Here’s the basic plan for the rest of the summer:

Note: If you’re joining us after the club has already started, just jump in according to when you find us! There’s no need to go in order, so you won’t be missing out.

Mon, July 11th – Europe Week
Mon, July 18th – North America Week
Mon, July 25th – Middle East Week

Mon, Aug 1st – Asia Week
Mon, Aug 8th – Latin America Week
Mon, Aug 15th – Australia/Oceania/Polar Regions Week
Mon, Aug 22nd – A global link up for all families to take part in!

For the most part, this follows the order of the chapters in Give Your Child the World, with the exception of North America week, which we bumped up–you’ll see why when that week arrives!

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Each Monday on the dates above there will be a new post up here on Simple Homeschool with extra resources you can easily use to highlight learning about that part of the globe throughout the week.

And since it’s summer, we are keeping this super low-maintenance. Think of it as the “stress-free summer book club.”

Reading, learning, exploring. Done.

The Downloads

We’ve partnered with a talented designer and dear friend of mine, Sarah Whitlock, to create a collection of adorable printables:

  • new regional maps to use each week,
  • a low-maintenance log for your readers to keep track of (and rate) titles,
  • coupons to keep your family motivated,
  • and a certificate you can print out at the end of the summer as a souvenir.

In other words, we’ve done the prep work so you can get straight to the fun! Downloads will be released in each new post on a Monday right here.

Looking for the printables you need to get started with the summer book club? Head here!

The Hashtag

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Keep track of your family enjoying the book club all summer long with the hashtag #GiveYourChildtheWorld on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram–each week Sarah and I will highlight a few readers’ pics to remind ourselves that we’re all in this together.

And if you want to take pics with Give Your Child the World in front of any landmarks where you live or travel this summer, that would be fun to include as well!

The Prizes

Oh yes, back to those prizes. Thanks to the generosity of several sponsors, we’ve gathered over $1,000 worth of amazing prizes that celebrate the world!

Please visit these companies and their offerings below as you check out the prizes and plan your upcoming school year. I’m so grateful to them for participating.

Just check out the loot (one winner per prize!):

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A complete set of Pin It Maps, value $220
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Multi-cultural children’s books/Bibles from Zondervan, value $150
The Adventurous Mailbox Explorer Package
The Adventurous Mailbox Explorer Package, value $100
A customized book collection hand-picked for your family by Jamie, value $100
A set of global books hand-picked for YOUR family by Jamie, value $100
A year's subscription to Around the World Stories
A year’s subscription to Around the World audio stories, value $95
6 month subscription to Little Passports
A six month subscription to Little Passports, value $85
A Story of the World Bundle from Well-Trained Mind Press, value $65
A Story of the World Bundle from Well-Trained Mind Press, value $65
A six-in-one Geography Puzzle set from Geotoys, value $57
A six-in-one geography puzzle set from Geotoys, value $57
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An Africa Montessori Brainy Kit, value $50
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An Asia Montessori Brainy Kit, value $50
A North America Montessori Brainy Kit, value $50
A history/geography wall set from Educents
A history/geography wall set from Educents, value $35
Great States! Board Game via Educents
A Great States! Board Game from Educents, value $28

Every participant who reads at least eight global titles during the summer (one for each region) can be entered to win a prize at the end of the book club. And if all your book selections come from Give Your Child the World you’ll get double entries!

** The ironic truth is that the majority of these global-themed prizes can only be shipped within the United States. There are a couple of exceptions, though, so international readers are welcome to enter to win! If you do, I’ll be sure to choose a prize that would be available for your location.**

What you need to do for now

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Go ahead and order your copy of Give Your Child the World if you haven’t already, and you’ll be all set!

When you have my book in hand, choose your titles for whatever week we’re currently on (see the calendar above).

Request them from the library or order your own copies so you’ll have them ready.

Can’t wait to travel the world with you and yours!

Would you like a little note dropped in your inbox when new downloads and updates are ready on Simple Homeschool?
Just head here to sign up!

About Jamie C. Martin

Jamie is an introverted mom of three, who loves books, tea, and people (not always in that order), and avoids answering the phone when possible. She co-founded SimpleHomeschool.net in 2010 and began IntrovertedMoms.com in 2020.

Jamie is the author of four books, including Give Your Child the World (reached #9 on Amazon's Top 100 Best Sellers list), and her latest release, Introverted Mom (an ECPA bestseller). Her work has been featured by LeVar Burton of Reading Rainbow, the Washington Post, Parents, Today Parenting, and Psychology Today.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Amy

    Love it! And this will flow perfectly with what we’re already doing through our local library’s summer reading program.

  7. Amanda

    You know we are in! The girls and I are excited to get started. How do we access the printables?

    • Jamie Martin

      No need to sign up, Quinn – just get the supplies you need and be ready to dive in back here on the 27th! The printables will be available then right here.

  11. Sarah O.

    This is great! Ordered my book, can’t wait to get started! It’s exactly the antidote to the extreme television watching we’ve had going on whenever we aren’t outside ????. I even order some cardstock lol. We’re all in!

  12. Cat

    Oh yay! I’m so excited!!!!! I requested a bunch of books from our library for the first chapter as soon as I got my copy of the book last week (pre-ordered!), I probably got enough to stretch it out the next couple weeks til this starts! I’m super excited about this!! Thanks for ALL the hard work you’ve put in!!!

  13. Julie

    I got the book last week and went to the library two days later. We have been enjoying lots of books from the Africa section in the past few days. Read all about Nelson Mandela this morning. LOVING this book!!!

  14. Cheryl

    This is great! I’ve been carrying your new book around with me everywhere since it arrived. We are going to have some fun traveling the globe with all of you this summer 😉

  15. Deborah West

    Just got the kindle book and super excited to get started! Because of scheduling, we’ll be starting this week! Any chance the printables will be available early?

    • Jamie Martin

      We won’t be officially releasing the printables until the 27th, Deborah, but if you want to email me I’ll try to see if I can hook you up with what you need!

  16. Rachel B

    I just received your book, last week, and this looks like the perfect way to make sure we utilize it fully. 🙂 Thanks for all your hard work!

    • Jamie Martin

      You don’t, Heidi! Just get everything you need to get ready and come back here on the 27th! The post that day will kick things off and have all the downloads you need to get started…

  21. Carrie

    Thanks so much. We were already planning on making our own atlas for the countries we study. This will be a fun way to keep us motivated.

  22. Amanda

    This book looks AMAZING!! Any chance it will come down in price in the Canadian Amazon store (it’s double the US price)? I really wanted to get the printed book rather than the Kindle version. 🙁

  23. Rosemarie Paulson

    I was planning on doing a chapter a month but this will be a great start for us. The only thing is I am not on any of the social media that you talk about. Will we still be able to enter?

      • CabotMama

        I had the exact same question. Thank you for allowing us social media shirkers to still participate and enter for prizes!! This Summer Reading Book Club sounds awesome!!! We love to read and we love to learn about other parts of the world. I wish we could take our family on global field trips – but this will be a great substitute.

  24. Sarah H

    As an international/adoptive/expat family we are really excited about this! I love the highlight on the world and getting out of our own little confort zones through books! I just ordered my copy of your book and cant wait to start it and this book club! Thank you! 🙂

    How does one sign up/register?

    • Jamie Martin

      It will be wonderful to have you, Sarah! No need to register; just get any supplies you need (plus my book) and come back all ready to read on Monday the 27th to get started!

  25. Kirsty

    Brilliant! Thanks ladies. I enjoyed the RAR podcast Jamie and Sarah -and especially loved that little old Audrey of the Outback rated a mention. We love the Audrey series! Hope you enjoy your northern summer while we enjoy our southern winter, which will be made that mush nicer once my copy of GYCTW arrives. x