Book Review: How to Build Your Own Country

I think most kids think about what it would be like to run their own country from time to time, and How to Build Your Own Country by Valerie Wyatt helps kids to do just that, whether their nation is their bedroom, backyard or even a corner of the Internet.

The best part? It only takes three simple steps!

First, you stake out your identity, including your country’s name, flag and other national symbols. You’ll learn how to attract a population, design a passport and make a Mad Libs-style national anthem.

Second, run your country by choosing the style of government (some of the choices are described in the book), holding elections, writing a constitution and making laws. It covers the services your citizens might expect from your government and why taxation is a popular way to make provide services.

Finally, you’ll meet the neighbors with some facts about nations (biggest and smallest, oldest and newest, etc.), different organizations of nations you can join and how to keep the peace in your nation.

Funny stories and cautionary tales are sprinkled in about tiny nations from around the world, voting mishaps, ridiculous laws and more. There’s a fact file for the fictional nation of Bathmatia, which you can use to develop your own information about your imagined nation.

This would be a fun book to read in class or at home and have kids develop their own nations, whether they imagine an undiscovered island to be their kingdom or start a new nation in the bedroom. Great for social studies classes or patriotic unit studies around national holidays.

Along the way kids will learn about the basic systems of government and the basics of what it takes to run a country.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Kids Can Press, suggested retail price $11.99.

Next Plan Idea:

Learning about Bosnia and Herzegovina for Kids

The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

Next Plan Idea:

Have you read?

Leave a Reply