The UK has a thriving children’s book industry, with around 10,000 children’s books published every year. So why should we look overseas for stories to read with our kids, when the pickings are so rich at home?

Reasons to read

Why read to your kids at all? It’s a great form of entertainment, sure, but it also helps them to learn. And it’s not just about learning to read – although there’s nothing better than the first time you watch your child pick up a book and start reading all on their own.

Books help children to learn about the world around them. A good story will draw you in, help you to see what its characters see, feel what they feel. And while it’s obviously vital that kids learn about life in their own culture – reading about societal norms and expectations as well as embracing difference helps a child to grow up into a fully rounded adult – reading about the experiences of children in other parts of the world can give them an empathy and understanding that is difficult to recreate.

Unconscious learning

Some kids love to learn, but others are immediately put off by the sight of a textbook or worksheet. Even if your child is an avid learner, consider the difference between learning about the horrors of World War Two in school, and reading Anne Frank’s Diary or Judith Kerr’s When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit.

When a child is fully immersed in a story, they become the character they are reading about, just for a short while, and when that happens, everything that happens to that character becomes part of their own story, and so sticks in their minds much easier than facts learned by rote.

Children are the future

Clichéd but true: the kids of today are the leaders of tomorrow (well, some of them are, anyway) and if we don’t want the planet to descend into WW3, it’s important that our children learn to understand and relate to other cultures, to advocate for peace, not war.

We need to learn from the past, too – not just from the wars in Europe, but from more recent atrocities committed under military dictatorships in Latin America, in Asia and the Middle East.

Reading takes you places

WorldKidLit doesn’t have to be serious though – reading is about adventure, exploration. Reading a book set in the Amazon rainforest or in a village high up in the Andes, written by someone who actually lives there, is the next best thing to going there yourself.

So if you’re looking to expand your child’s horizons, why not visit WorldKidLit to find the best new children’s titles from across the globe.