Written by Jamie C. Martin of Simple Homeschool and Introverted Moms
Never, when I dreamed up the Read the World Summer Book Club back in 2016, did I imagine it would become an annual event–one that readers would ask me about as May rolled around each year.
If you’re new to the concept, it’s when we visit and learn about each region of the world with our families through the summer–using books as our passports and plane tickets.
It’s brought me so much joy to serve as your global tour guide, as over 10,000 families from six continents have taken part since we first began!
Would you rather listen to this post?
And never, when I first created this club, did I ever envision a summer where so many of us would not be going on our planned vacations, and that some of us might not have even left our homes in over 60 days.
I think a virtual adventure is exactly what we need, don’t you?!
2020 marks our 5th summer book club, and this year there are TWO options for how to participate:
Option #1: A Self-Guided Tour–open for registration!
This option is open to anyone who owns a copy of my book, Give Your Child the World: Raising Globally Minded Kids One Book at a Time.
Those who sign up for the self-guided tour will receive:
* Specially-designed book club printables, including a log to keep track of your family’s summer book reading, motivational coupons, printable maps, and an end of club certificate of completion
* Access to a private page with global books for all ages–available electronically (via YouTube, Audible, Kindle, or the library app Hoopla) so you can enjoy the world this summer even if you can’t get to a library (Plus you’ll be able to find more using my book!)
* My Give Your Child the World downloadable coloring book
Find out how to sign up for the self-guided tour at the bottom of this post!
Option #2: A Global Group Tour, with Jamie as host and guide–currently closed
Our global group tour will take place within my Introverted Moms’ membership site, which just reopened for enrollment, and will remain open for new members through Sunday, June 7th!
Those who choose this option will receive all of the benefits in the self-guided tour, as well as these special features:
* We’re spending longer in each region, and heading in a different direction
In the past I heard again and again from participants that one week was not enough to visit a whole continent! So this year I’ve spread out our eight stops to allow for more relaxed exploration.
Also, the last time I ran the club, members suggested that it would be fun to begin in Australia and end with Multicultural Week (instead of the other way around). That’s the plan this year!
Check out the calendar (PDF version here):
- June 8th – Australia, Oceania, & Polar Regions
- June 18th – Latin America
- June 29th – North America
- July 9th – Middle East
- July 20th – Asia
- July 30th – Europe
- August 10th – Africa
- August 20th – Multicultural Week
* 3 emails each week, with the day’s itinerary sent straight to your inbox
You’ll get reminders three times a week, pointing you to that day’s book links, video clips, and beyond (think recipes, music, and more)!
This will be less overwhelming that getting an ENTIRE unit study for each region in one big chunk, and having to figure out what to do when.
I know I don’t want to have to think TOO much in the summer; I’d prefer someone to tell me: click here, then click here, then click here, LOL. I’ve got ya covered!
* A Pen-Pal Exchange
Sign your kids up to exchange at least one note, postcard, or letter over the summer with another book club member their age. (You could also call this a “postcard exchange,” but I know it might be tough to find postcards right now.)
Maybe some of them will enjoy writing to each other so much that they’ll continue and form a lifelong friendship!
* 2 Live Author Visits
We’ll have visits with Caroline Starr Rose and Mitali Perkins, authors of May B. and Rickshaw Girl (both titles are family read-aloud picks for the summer), where we’ll get to chat about their books and the globe together. (These ladies have lived so many places!)
Your kiddos will even be able to ask them questions!
* A Multicultural Celebration
At the end of our club we’ll have an event where we join in from our corners of the world to celebrate our successful adventure around the globe. More details coming soon!
* A Special Introverted Moms’ Book Club Pick
I hadn’t originally planned on choosing a special title for mamas to read this summer, but I just couldn’t help myself! After all, summers are for moms, too.
We’ll read and discuss in our forum a beautiful YA novel throughout the summer, Forward Me Back to You (also by Mitali Perkins), and if you happen to have teens, it’s the PERFECT book to invite them to read along with you!
* 8 mini-outreaches that go along with our adventure
Each stop on our journey you’ll have the chance to give back in some way–whether it’s to your neighbors or someone on the other side of the globe.
These are simple challenges your family can complete, even if you are not able to leave home.
* Our private (not on social media!) Introverted Moms’ forum
A safe space where you can discuss the book club, yes, but also chat, meet kindred spirits, and get advice on all things motherhood, homeschooling and beyond, AND…
* Access to all the content from the 1st semester of Introverted Moms
As soon as you sign up you get immediate access to ALL the content from our first semester of Introverted Moms’ membership! This includes:
4 video mini-workshops on a variety of topics, one live event replay, 9 episodes of my members-only Literary Snapshots podcast, one extensive unit study on Victorian England, and more!
How to sign up:
To Sign Up for Option #1: The Self-Guided Tour
First, order your copy of Give Your Child the World if you don’t already have one! If Amazon is out of stock, you can find it at: ChristianBook, Book Depository, Rainbow Resource, or of course Kindle!
After you’ve ordered, fill out this form and you’ll be all set!
Check your inbox (& spam/junk if necessary) to find an email with everything you need to get started! It should arrive within 24 hours of filling out the form.
for Option #2: The Global Community Tour
In these very unusual times, I’m so grateful that we can still connect with the globe–and each other–this summer. I hope you’ll join me!
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The enemy of homeschooling: Guilt
Good morning Jamie,
I did the Read the World book club with my children the first two years you started it and we loved it so much!! I am teaching a co-op class starting in two weeks using your book Give Your Child the World for book titles, and I signed up for this summer’s book club to get the printable downloads as well as the order of what countries to do first. Would I be allowed to use the printable downloads to make copies for my co-op class this fall? I hope you have had a beautiful summer so far!!
Absolutely–feel free to use the printables, Annalisa!
Wonderful, thank you SO much! We’ll have a delightful time using them at co-op this fall. I have one more question 🙂 The first year of the summer book club there were links to short little videos about children from different places around the world. They were absolutely adorable. I have tried to remember who put them out but I’m not having very much success finding them on YouTube. I think it was something like Little Planet or Little World. Could you help me with this? I hope you have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!
There are some great YouTube videos called Are We There Yet? that might be a help! You can find them here: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=are+we+there+yet+national+geographic
Will this be happening again this year??
Hi Lisa! All the summer book club materials (including new content from last year) now reside in my Introverted Moms community – membership will reopen this Friday if you want to add your name to the waiting list here: https://introvertedmoms.com/join/