• Zekmet the Stone Carver - by Mary Stolz.  Chosen to design a magnificent monument for a vain and demanding Pharoah, an Egyptian stone carver conceives of and begins work on the Sphinx which still stands in the Egyptian desert today.  Not the "true" story of the Sphinx, but one person's imaginative tale of how it may have been.  (We'd read this tale before, so it
  made the "cut" for Egypt this go around.)
• The Egyptian Polar Bear - JoAnn Adinolfi.  A lonely polar bear is swept away on an iceberg and winds up in Egypt where he becomes the royal playmate of Rahotep the boy king.  The cover page indicates that one of the Egyptian royal tombs included plans for a burial chamber for a polar bear!  This is the "story that had to be told" based on that discovery.
  

Science:

• The Magic Schoolbus All Dried Up video reviews how animals survive in the harsh desert.  We also did the activity connected with the story on the MSB Website.

Art and Extras

• Dover has several booklets of animal stickers, including some from Africa.  We created a savannah "scene" using construction paper and these stickers to illustrate the variety of animals found there.
  

Literature:

• The Magic Tree House: Afternoon on the Amazon - Mary Pope Osborne
• The Beginning of the Armadillos - Rudyard Kipling.  Kipling is so well-known for his stories set in India, but this is a great one in similar style.
• The Great Kapok Tree - Lynne Cherry. The animals living in a rainforest tree convince a man not to chop it down.
• Amazon Diary - Hudson Talbott. A terrific fictional adventure story about a young boy's temporary stay with the Yanomami tribe of the Amazon.  Begins with a plane crash (both passengers survive) and the eventual rescue of the
  passengers, but not before they rescue a member of the tribe!
• The Thunder God's Son (from Ecuador) - Ariane Dewey. A nice morality tale about kindness with bright stylized illustrations.
  

Science:

• The Magic Schoolbus Rainforest video.  A wonderful review of the "web of life." 
• We began a tropical terrarium, but have had difficulty finding the right types of plants, in the correct sizes, for our container.

Art and Extras:

• Patagonia: Life at the End of the Earth (Argentina) - video.  An excellent video about the unexpected harshness of animal life in the region east of the Andes and west of the Atlantic.
• Dover has several booklets of animal stickers, including some from the rain forest.  We created a rainforest "scene" using construction paper and these stickers to illustrate the variety of animals and habitats found therein.
• Be sure to enjoy some really fine chocolate, preferably with at least 55% cocoa content to get the "real" flavor.

Activities

• We made pepperkakor (gingersnaps) and saffron buns, both traditional Swedish foods. 

France

General Topics

• Welcome to France
• Fiesta! France- by Grolier Educational

Literature

• "Puss in Boots" - Usborne's Stories from Around the World
• "Bluebeard" - Golden Treasury
• Toads and Diamonds - by Huck.  Wonderful illustrations of this traditional fairy tale.
• Madeline - by Bemelmans. 
• The Cows are Going to Paris - by Kirby.  A silly story, but a neat overview of the highlights of Paris.

Activities

• I found a website with Lego instructions for the Eiffel Tower . This worked out really well and my 5 year old daughter could follow the instructions.

The Netherlands

General Topics

• Festivals of the World: Holland - Gareth Stevens Publisher
• Welcome to Holland - Gareth Stevens Publishing

Literature

• "Brave Hendrick" - Usborne's Stories from Around the World
• Katje, the Windmill Cat - Gretchen Woelfle.  A delightful story of
  a cat saving the day when the dike breaks.
• Boxes for Katje - Candace Fleming.  Based on a true story of an exchange of boxes between young people after WWII.

Biographies

• M.C. Escher - we also did a craft on tesselations and played with
  foam tesselation lizards.

Italy

General Topics

• Fiesta! Italy - Grollier
• Welcome to Italy - Gareth Stevens Publishing

Literature

• "Buried Treasure" - Usborne's Stories from Around the World
• Clown of God - de Paola.  A talented juggler grows old and gives
  his final gift to the Virgin.
• The Wonderful Eggs of Furicchia - Anne Rockwell. 
• Days of the Blackbird - de Paola 

Spain

General Topics

• Fiesta! Spain - Grollier
• Welcome to Spain - Gareth Stevens Publishing

Activities

• We listened to classical guitar by Angel Romero  and flamenco music!

Literature

• Story of Ferdinand - by Munroe Leaf
• "The Contented Priest" - The Lion Storyteller

Science

• We read online about cork at http:www.corkqc.com/cqfrst.htm
  This was more interesting than one might expect! (As an updated note: more than three years have passed since we read this and DD - now 9yo - still remembers much of the cork information!)

Germany

General Topics

• Fiesta! Germany - Grollier
• Welcome to Germany - Gareth Stevens Publishing

Literature

• "Simple John" - The Lion Storyteller
• The Brave Little Tailor - Vivian Sathre
• The Porcelain Cat - Michael Patrick Hearn (A sorcerer's apprentice has to complete several tasks to get an ingredient - a chain story)
• Bach's Big Adventure - by Sallie Kethcam

Science

• Johannes Gutenberg - Fran Rees

Activities

• One must listen to Bach when studying Germany.  Maybe Wagner.
• Good German food - brats and kraut!

United Kingdom

General Topics

• Fiesta! Ireland  - Grollier
• Welcome to Ireland and Welcome to Scotland - Gareth Stevens Publishing
• Festivals of the World: England - Gareth Stevens Publishing

Activities

• Ahhh, the beauty of shortbread.
• Fish and chips, preferably wrapped in newspaper

Literature

• "Silly Jack", "Polly and the Frog", "The Brave Bull Calf", "The Clever Mouse", "The Clever Baker", "The Greedy Famer" - all from The Lion Storyteller
• The Ghost of Greyfriar's Bobby - Ruth Brown
• "Dick Wittington" -  Usborne's Stories from Around the World

Literature

• Chin Yu Min and the Ginger Cat - by Jennifer Armstrong (wonderful illustrations with a lot of detail about Chinese culture and life.)
• Daisy Comes Home - by Jan Brett (Brett's books always include a puzzle.  In this one, set in modern-day China, all the animals of the Chinese zodiac are hidden in the landscape, in calendar order.)
• The Chinese Siamese Cat - by Amy Tan (The original Sagwa story with beautiful illustrations.)
• Wishbones: A Folk Tale from China - by Barbara Ker Wilson (The Chinese version of Cinderella.)
• The Emperor's Garden- by Ferida Wolff
• The Willow Pattern Story- by Allan Drummond
• The Boy of the Three-Year Nap - by Dianne Snyder
• Everyone Knows What A Dragon Looks Like - by Jay Williams
• 33 Multicultural Tales to Tell- by Despain.  Includes the Chinese folktales "Ah Shing Catches a Ghost" and "The Officer of Heaven."
• All the Way to Lhasa: A tale from Tibet - by Barbara Helen Burger

Science

• Cub To Panda - Jason Cooper
• Giant Pandas- by Jenore Franzen
• A snow leopard conservancy page with many images.
•  I found sloth bears VERY hard to research, but this, and the following, link seem to be reputable.

Korea

General Topics

• Welcome to South Korea - by Karen Kwek and Johanna Masse
• Fiesta! Korea- by Grolier Educational
• The Usborne Introduction to Asia IL
• Usborne's Peoples of the World

Activities

• We made a fan for Tano Day from the Festivals of the World book.
• Jin-Ju sticker paper doll from Dover.
• We *attempted* to make Kkaegangjong (a sesame seed pastry) from the Festivals book, but it didn't quite work out.  Still tasty, though!

Literature

• Magic Spring: A Korean folktale - by Nami Rhee (A wealthy, yet greedy, neighbor takes advantage of the generosity of an older couple, but learns a lesson the hard way.)
• The Firekeeper's Son - by Linda Sue Park (The story of the hilltop lights used to signal the Korean emperor that "all is well."  We enjoyed this one very much.)
• 33 Multicultural Tales to Tell- by Despain.  Includes the Korean folktale "The Mirror."

Japan

General Topics

• Fiesta! Japan - Grollier
• Welcome to Japan - Gareth Stevens Publishing
• The Usborne Introduction to Asia IL
• Usborne's Peoples of the World

Activities

• We made lots of origami, including a jumping frog (a bit tough) and a whale (great for K level) from Enchanted Learning.
• Fiesta! Japan has several craft activities, including a samurai newspaper hat and Shichi-Go-San paper dolls (these are origami-like and are really neat when finished.)
• We played the "Cherry Blooms" song from the Usborne  Round the World Songbook

Literature

• The Village Tree - by Taro Yashima
• The Adventures of Matamoro - retold by Ralph McCarthy (The "peach boy" story, told in rhyming couplets.  A fun read aloud!)
• The Moon Princess - retold by Ralph McCarthy
• Yoshi's Feast - by Kimiko Kajikawa (reminiscent of "The Deer Mouse's Wisdom" from the Lion Storyteller collection.)
• Grandfather Cherry-Blossom - retold by Ralph McCarthy
• 33 Multicultural Tales to Tell- by Despain.  Includes the Japanese folktale "The Listening Cap."
• The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks- by Katherine Paterson

India

General Topics

• Fiesta! India - Grollier
• Welcome to India - Gareth Stevens Publishing
• The Usborne Introduction to Asia IL
• Usborne's Peoples of the World

Activities

• Dover has a set of temporary henna tatoos in beautiful floral patterns.  My daughter enjoyed wearing these while we studied India.  We also enjoyed "Maya," a sticker paper doll by Dover.
• Paper plate peacocks from Enchanted Learning.
• We made Samosas, Indian toffee (burfi).

Literature

• Kipling, Kipling, Kipling - Rudyard Kipling wrote his stories to be read aloud and they are a delight to read.  My daughter loved them!
• "Snake Charmer" - Usborne Stories from Around the World
• Seasons of Splendour - Madhur Jaffrey (folk stories of the Hindu faith).
• "Little Babaji" - 20th Century Treasure of Children's Literature
• Mother Theresa - by Demi
• One Grain of Rice: A Mathmatical Folktale- by Demi
• "The Mouse Deer's Wisdom" - The Lion Storyteller (which is even more fun if you research Mouse Deer online!)

Israel

General Topics

• Festivals of the World: Israel - Grollier
• Welcome to Israel - Gareth Stevens Publishing
• The Usborne Introduction to Asia IL
• Usborne's Peoples of the World
• DK Bible Lands
• Place of Worship: Jewish Synagogue

Activities

• We learned and danced the "hora" from Festivals of the World: Israel.
• Using a pattern from Enchanted Learning, we made a driedel and played this for days.
• Baking Challah was a big hit!
• Enchanted Learning has a donkey printout to color with some
  general information.
• We watched Fiddler On the Roof.
• We explored more music from Israel by listening to the music of Itzhak Perlman's Jewish band, "The Klezmatics" - In the Fiddler's House.  Great stuff!

Literature

• Chicken Man - by Michele Edwards (a humorous story about life on a kibbutz)
• The Spotted Pony: A Collection of Hanukkah Stories - Eric Kimmel (telling stories on the eight nights of Hannukkah is a tradition that is captured in these traditional stories.)
• And Shira Imagined - Giora Carmi (A delightful tale of a young visitor to Israel who imagines "what if....")
• Old Noah's Elephants - by Warren Ludwig (a family favorite of long-standing.)
• Kingfisher's Jewish Stories - ed. by Adele Geras (modern stories for Hannukah)

Russia

General Topics

• Festivals of the World: Russia - Grollier
• Welcome to Russia - Gareth Stevens Publishing
• The Usborne Introduction to Asia IL
• Usborne's Peoples of the World

Activities

• There are a couple of good coloring pages for St. Basil's Cathedral - see *this*  and *this.*
• We explored  music from Russia by listening to the music of Tchaikovsky and other Russian masters.  One of my favorite cd's is "Russian Spectacular."

Literature

• "Baba Yaga" - Usborne's Stories from Around the World
• Told in Russia - (a collection of Russian folktales)
• Babushka Baba Yaga - Patricia Polacco (What happens when Baba Yaga wants to become a babushka?!)
• The Enourmous Turnip - by Alexie Tolstoy; one of the chain-story forms popular in Russian folktales
• The Giant Carrot -  by Jan Peck (another chain story, set in America, but based upon the Russian original.  Great humor here!)
• Luba and the Wren - Patricia Polacco (a wonderful tale with a great moral)

Science

• The Best Book of Wolves and Wild Dogs - Kingfisher Publications
• Taiga - by Elizabeth Kaplan (most of Russia is covered in either taiga or tundra; we're saving tundra for our Polar Regions study.)
• Siberian Tiger - by Jason Cooper
  

• Butterflies and Moths (Usborne First Nature)
• Creepy Crawlies (Usborne First Nature)
• Insect Sticker Atlas (Usborne)
• We colored and labeled several butterfly and insect printouts from Enchanted Learning covering the butterfly life cycle, the body parts of insects, and the "accurate" depiction of a Blue Morpho butterfly.