Kids Go Global, One Book At A Time

The Southampton Free Library's Book Club not only keeps kids reading during the summer so their skills are up to par, but teaches them about unfamiliar cultures.

On Monday, about 20 children and seven parents learned that in Peru, teachers move from class to class, some people raise guinea pigs for food and canned food is far from commonplace.

Hilda Diekman, a Southampton resident, said at one of her frequent visits to the Southampton Free Library, she was asked to come speak about her culture to the summer reading program for kids.

The Go Global Book Club, for children ranging from second grade to fifth grade, aims at keeping kids reading during the summer months.

"The goal here is to keep kids reading so they don't lose any ground," said Assistant Children's Librarian Amy O'Neill.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, summer reading setbacks are common, and children who have free access to self-selected books do significantly better on reading tests.

The book club allows children to pick any book they want and log the amount of time they're reading each day. The more time the kids spend reading, the faster they can "travel" around the world—or move paper suitcase cutouts around large paper continents.

Children receive small prizes each week for their achievements, but the ones who reach Australia—the last continent in the reading journey—by the time the summer program is over get to enter to win a drawing for a larger prize.

But it's not all about prizes. The kids—and the parents—come weekly to listen to a speaker talk about a different culture.

O'Neill said speakers usually bring a cultural food or teach the kids a game.

"He learns a lot about different traditions and cultures," said Maya Vulis, who came with her son Viktor. "And he can interact with other kids."

Diekman spoke about what Peru is like geographically, what Peruvians eat and how they go about their daily lives.

Afterwards, she taught them a Peruvian dodge ball-like game and gave them Peruvian wafers and Inca Kola—a soda that many children said tasted like bubblegum.

Viktor said he enjoys coming to the club and sampling new treats.

"I liked the Inca Kola," he said. "I've never tasted anything like that."

Diekman, who said she teaches Spanish at Bucks County Community College, said one of the best parts for her is being able to teach kids little tidbits of Spanish.

Diekman said she observed children making sure they carefully and correctly pronounced all the words for the goodies she brought.

"They can learn to speak Spanish with learning the culture," she said. "It's a fun way to remember."

The Go Global Book Club meets every Monday from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. until August 15, with the exception of July 25. Children may join at any time.