Are you planning to teach students about celebrations for holidays around the world? Of course you need great books to pair with your lessons right?! Well you’ve come to the right place! I’ve gathered 15 amazing, diverse books to learn all about holidays around the world that students are sure to enjoy.
Importance of Learning About Holidays Around the World
I truly believe that children who are aware of, understand, and appreciate other cultures are more likely to become compassionate, kind, and empathetic adults. Celebration is universal and there are so many cultures that have various holidays that many of us may have never even heard of. When you look at the faces in your classroom, I’m sure they are diverse. As a result, they all come with their own traditions, beliefs, and ways to celebrate different holidays. Learning about holidays around the world helps open their minds and get new appreciation for how others celebrate.
Take Students on a Trip Around the World
This holiday season, what would be more fun than to take your students on a trip around the world to learn about how various cultures celebrate different holidays?! This project learning based lesson is one of a kind, engaging and teaching students an array of holidays. Students get to grab their suitcase full of materials to do research and board a flight for an adventure of learning!
Want to make your trip even more special? Create an airplane for the students to take off from, find a virtual flight to simulate it, or decorate your room with pieces from every country! You could also wrap up the week with a day-long celebration with your entire grade level team. Your students can rotate from room to room with special celebrations from each country! Involve your community by allowing them to provide authentic foods and activities for students to participate in. Grab the boarding passes FREE by subscribing below!
So let’s get into the amazing books! This post contains affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Diverse Books to Celebrate Holidays Around the World
Diwali
The first books on the list all celebrate Diwali, a Hindu festival of lights celebrated around October and November.
- It’s Diwali by Kabir Sehgal is a simple, yet engaging counting book that teaches about the traditions that make Diwali so much fun.
- The Best Diwali Ever by Sonali Shah is a story of sibling love during the magical time of Diwali. Students learn a great lesson on celebrating those you love just as they are.
- Binny’s Diwali by Thritty Umrigar tells a story of a girl who is nervous to talk about Diwali in front of her class. She ends up sharing so many special parts about this holiday and her classmates love it all. Another great story to learn about this beautiful festival of lights!
Dongzhi Festival
The next books on the list celebrate the Dongzhi Festival, also known as the Chinese Winter solstice.
4. Winter- A Solstice Story by Kelsey Gross is a story that follows a group of animal friends celebrating the magic of the longest night of the year.
5. The Shortest Day by Cooper Susan is a beautiful poem that shares the lesson of joy and community found during the mystery of life when we celebrate light, thankfulness, and festivity at a time of rebirth.
6. The Shortest Day: Celebrating the Winter Solstice by Wendy Pfeffer is another great book that explains what the winter solstice is. It shows how various cultures celebrate this shortest day of the year.
Los Posadas
The third set of books to celebrate holidays around the world focus on Los Posadas. This is a nine day festival celebrated in Mexico, in addition to other Latin American countries, from December 16th to the 24th.
7. In Nine Days to Christmas by Marie Hall Ets, the story follows a little girl named Cece and her growing excitement as the holiday approaches.
8. Meanwhile, Carlos, Light the Farolito by Jean Clavonne tells the heartwarming tale of young Carlos, who must overcome his shyness to participate in the traditional Mexican Christmas pageant, Los Posadas.
9. Uno, Dos, Tres, Posada: Let’s Celebrate Christmas by Virginia Kroll takes us through all the steps of things to do the nine nights before Christmas. Students will learn so much about this holiday with this book!
Christmas
We have to have Christmas in the mix and these titles are sure to be a hit in your classroom!
10. Everybody’s Tree by Barbara Joossee is about a spruce tree throughout its eighty years of life. Its journey from sapling to evergreen follows a young boy from childhood to becoming grandfather. The tree is then chosen to be the focus point of the city’s holiday celebration. There’s fun onomatopoeia and colored penciled illustrations that students will enjoy.
11. I Got the Christmas Spirit by Connie Schofield-Morrison is a beautiful positive story where a mom and daughter enjoy all the sights and sounds of Christmas.
12. Green is for Christmas by Drew Daywalt is just as fun as his other books! When Green Crayon declares they are the color of Christmas, he gets many reminders from all the other crayons who make this holiday special as well!
Holidays Around the World
These last books are books that cover many different holidays and celebrations around the world that are full of information for students to gain.
13. What Do You Celebrate? Holidays and Festivals Around the World by Whitney Stewart is a great diverse book to read. This book teaches students about 14 different special occasions that various cultures celebrate.
14. Happy ALL-idays by Cindy Jin is a holiday card inspired board book that packs in a lot of information. It covers holidays such as Chanukah, Kwanzaa, and more.
15. Celebrations Around the World by Katy Halford allows students to go on an exciting journey. They’ll learn all about festivals, celebrations, and holidays enjoyed by people around the world.
Each of these books go PERFECT with the Holidays Around the World pack, as students learn all about these holidays and more!
The Ultimate Holidays Around the World Trip!
Want to take your students on the ultimate trip around the world celebrating all of these holidays and more?! Well you absolutely can with VERY LITTLE work from you! Pair these books and others you find work for your class with the Editable Christmas and Holidays Around the World PBL Unit. It includes 12 holiday guides that are all paired with adorable crafts. Your students will embark on a journey equipped with their own passport, boarding pass, and suitcase to store all their keepsakes from the unit. Furthermore, they will work hard to research, gather, and synthesize information about different holidays and cultures. By the end of the week, they will use all that newly gained knowledge to create a travel brochure about a holiday of their choice. Overall, it’s so much fun and definitely a memorable way to celebrate and learn about holidays. Check it out below!
Editable Christmas and Holidays Around the World PBL Unit
Even More Holiday Spirit!
The fun doesn’t stop here because the celebrations only stop when school lets out! We love getting into the holiday spirit. You can find us reading by campfire (yes in our classroom!) or crafting our hearts away. Check out some of our favorite ways to wrap up the year in a relaxing, educational, and fun way before winter break HERE!
If you loved all of these ideas, check out these posts below for even more winter fun in the classroom.
Christmas Math Craft: A Fun and Festive Activity to Boost Math Skills
5 Engaging Winter Math Activities
5 Engaging Winter Literacy Activities
I really hope you enjoyed learning all about 15 diverse books to celebrate holidays around the world! Also, don’t forget to subscribe to my email list! Not only will you get the most up-to-date tips, tricks, and classroom projects… and of course, more fun FREEBIES, including the Boarding Pass FREEBIE! Even more, you will have exclusive access to tons of digital how-to videos! If you want to learn about this and other things happening in my classroom follow me @sweetnsauerfirsties on Instagram.
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