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Sunday, February 1

Week-Long Love in Literature Unit Study for High School (FREE PRINTABLE)

 Love in Literature

This unit is appropriate for grades 9-12, but can be tailored to fit a family-style learning format.  It is designed to be used in a single week OR in a Fun Friday format, completing one day of the unit each week of the month.  Visit the Subscribers Page for a printable PDF version.

For extra enrichment, study The History Behind Valentine's Day.  To tailor for additional middle or elementary school family members, head to the library with the Valentine's Day Booklist.

DAY 1: Defining Love — What Is It Really?

Activities:

  • Discussion Starter:

    • Define different types of love: romantic, familial, platonic, self-love, forbidden love, tragic love, obsessive love. Find an example of each from stories and movies.  Record in your notebook.

  • Background:

  • Writing Prompt:

    • “Which type of love do you think is most commonly misunderstood — and why?”s

DAY 2: Romantic Love — Idealized vs. Realistic

Readings (Choose One):

Activities:

  • Compare & Contrast:

    • Create a chart comparing two romantic couples from different eras or genres

    • Research how time period and culture influence romantic expression and add this to your notebook

  • Discussion Questions:

    • Does “true love” exist in these stories or others you have read?

    • What do these characters sacrifice for love?

  • Creative Writing:

    • Write a dialogue between a modern teen and Juliet about her choices

DAY 3: Tragic & Forbidden Love

Background:

Activities:

  • Analyze character motivations and consequences for one of the above pieces.  Add to your notebook.

  • Discuss: What makes love destructive?

  • In your notebook, define each of these and provide an example: unreliable narrators, irony, tragic flaws

Writing Prompt:

  • “Should all love be pursued — even when it’s forbidden?”

DAY 4: Love Beyond Romance — Family, Friendship, and Sacrifice

Background:

Discussion Topics:

  • Which is more powerful in literature: romantic or non-romantic love?

  • How do acts of love define character?

Creative Task:

  • Write a letter from one character to another expressing unspoken love or gratitude

  • Whip up a modern-classic symbol of love - a box of chocolates - in your kitchen

DAY 5: Love as Growth and Transformation

Background:

Final Project:

  1. Essay:

    • “What is the most powerful depiction of love in any work we've studied, and why?”

  2. Creative Piece:

    • Write your own short story or poem that reflects one of the love types explored this unit

  3. Visual Project:

    • Create a visual representation (digital collage, poster, etc.) showing three faces of love in literature



These units are appropriate for grades 9-12, but can be tailored to fit a family-style learning format.  They are designed to be used in a single week OR in a Fun Friday format, completing one day of the unit each week of the month.  Each day takes 1-2 hours. This bundle includes the basic twelve, tailored to each month of the year, plus EIGHT bonus units!
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Thursday, January 29

Explore Literature with MultiCultural Book Day 2026

Read Your World 2026 (1/29/26) is in its 14th year! Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen founded this non-profit children’s literacy initiative; they are two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural diverse books and authors on the market while also working to get those books into the hands of young readers and educators.


Read Your World’s mission is to raise awareness of the need to include kids’ books celebrating diversity in homes and school bookshelves. Read about our Mission and history HERE.


Mazel Tov, Baby! (Dara Henry)

In this adorable novelty format perfect for tiny hands, readers will have fun celebrating all of the wonderful―and sometimes hidden―things that make each baby special and unique. With seven full-sized flaps that lift up, down, and sideways, and surprise mirror at the end, this sweet book is an ideal gift for baby showers!

It’s a wonderful way to welcome a new baby while introducing a little bit of Jewish joy and tradition. The book feels both personal and universal—great for parents, grandparents, or anyone looking for a meaningful (and adorable!) baby gift. Mazel Tov, Baby! Is an adorable board book that celebrates that milestones in a baby’s life — from tummy time, to crawling to walking. A congratulatory refrain of “Mazel, Tov Baby! will delight readers as will the mirror included at the end where they get to check out their own reflection and see how they have grown. It’s especially nice to see a book that uses “Mazel tov” in such an inclusive, joyful way — it feels rooted in Jewish tradition but welcoming to everyone.

Passing the Mic (Young Poets DC SCORES)

Passing the Mic: Building a Poet-Athlete City represents thirty years of poetry from the poet-athletes of DC SCORES. For the last three decades, through soccer, poetry, and service, these young people have made their marks on history, claimed their power, and brought to bear their visions for improving this city’s future. This book honors their pain, celebrates their joy, and crystallizes the many ways in which they grew, both on the field and on the page.

In a celebration of diversity (eg, "Our skin is like a box full of crayons..."), this book features the voices of young students living in Washington DC.  They discuss their challenges, resiliency, and experiences as young black adults growing up in the city.  The poets are part of a community-building program featuring soccer and service-learning, and this book is a testament to the growth and success of the program in fostering self-worth among the community members.

Barbed Wire Between Us (Mia Wenjen)

Barbed Wire Between Us is a powerful reverso poem that tells two deeply resonant stories across time. It begins with a Japanese American girl sent to an internment camp in Oklahoma during World War II. Read in reverse, it reveals the journey of a Latina girl detained in the very same camp decades later, during the U.S. policy of migrant family separation. Harrowing and emotionally charged, this poetic narrative compels us to confront a haunting question: What have we truly learned in the past 80 years about how we treat the most vulnerable among us? With haunting symmetry and striking parallels, Barbed Wire Between Us is a moving meditation on justice, memory, and the echoes of history that still shape our present.

A reverso poem tells a story and then uses the same words, but in reverse, to tell a completely different story.  In this book, Wenjen tells the stories of Japanese immigrants who were detained during World War 2 in the first part.  In the second part, it also tells the story of a modern day immigrant girl being detained.  Both of these groups were detained in Fort Sill, Oklahoma.  The book takes some very heavy issues and couples them with illustrations and age-appropriate context to share their stories with a younger audience.  It is also worth noting that the author is Japanese American and the illustrator is Latina (Cuban) American to further reflect the backgrounds of the girls portrayed in the book.


 --> Snag the FREE Read Around the World booklist below <--



Pick up eight unit studies for your tween/teen readers in the Diversity Literature Unit Study Bundle!


Bring modern history to life with living literature that represents several different groups!  Includes eight unit studies covering cultural stories from around the world. Each unit addresses a historic era from a new perspective, and these are told in living history format.  Each unit has introductory text, which will give the student basic background information about the topic at hand.

Product sample:   The Button Box

Includes:

  • The Year of the Panda
  • The Button Box
  • Men of the 65th: Borinqueneers of the Korean War
  • Killers of the Flower Moon
    • Indigenous People insert
  • Genius Under the Table
  • Anna Strong & the Culper Spies
  • Inoyo of the Congo Forest
  • The Forgotten Finca



Read Your World is honored to be Supported by these Medallion:

FOUNDER’S CIRCLE: Mia Wenjen (Pragmaticmom) and Valarie Budayr (Audreypress.com)

🏅 Super Platinum Sponsor: Author Deedee Cummings and Make A Way Media

🏅 Platinum Sponsors: Language Lizard Bilingual Books in 60 Languages and Jeanne Walker Harvey 

🏅 Gold Sponsors: Publisher Spotlight 

🏅 Silver Sponsors: Red Comet Press 

🏅 Silver Corporate Sponsor:  

🏅 Bronze Sponsors: Fabled Films Press

🏅 Corporate Sponsor: Crayola Education 


Read Your World is honored to be Supported by these Author Sponsors!

Authors: Audrey Barbakoff, Federico Erebia, Stephanie M. Wildman, Maritza M. Mejia, Authors J.C. Kato and J.C.², Eugenia Chu, Dorktales Storytime Podcast, Josh Funk, Frances Díaz Evans, Gaia Cornwall, Maria Wen Adcock, Diana Huang, Gwen Jackson, Gea Meijering, Amanda Hsiung-Blodgett, Karin Fisher-Golton, Kathleen Burkinshaw, Tami Lehman-Wilzig,  Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou, Nancy Tupper Ling, Teresa Robeson, Crystal Z. Lee, Karen Leggett Abouraya, Elly Swartz, Shifa Safadi, Lisa Stringfellow, Sylvia Liu, Kimberly Biddle, Robbin Miller, Eric Clock, Tonya Ellis, and Lisa Chong.


Read Your World is Honored to be Supported by our CoHosts and Global CoHosts and by our Partner Organizations! 


Check out RYW’s Multicultural Books for Kids Pinterest Board!

📌 FREE RESOURCES from Read Your World Day


📌 Register for the Read Your World Virtual Party:  https://readyourworld.org/virtualparty 


Join us on Thursday, January 29, 2026, at 8 pm EST celebrating 14 years of  Read Your World Day Virtual Party! Register here.   


This epically fun and fast-paced hour includes multicultural book discussions, addressing timely issues, diverse book recommendations, & reading ideas.


We will be giving away a 10-Book Bundle during the virtual party plus Bonus Prizes as well! *** US and Global participants are welcome. **


Follow the hashtag #ReadYourWorld to join the conversation, and connect with like-minded parts, authors, publishers, educators, organizations, and librarians. We look forward to seeing you all on January 29, 2026, at our virtual party!


You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
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Wednesday, January 14

Babe's Bucket List Challenge #1 - Travel to Europe with Son

Welcome to Babe's Bucket List Challenge, where I'm tackling twelve of the thirty things on my bucket list and writing about the experiences...won't you join me?


Remember my dad (from the Word of the Year post)?  Dad's joie de vivre was unmatched -- he loved life!  Music, surfing, engineering, strong coffee, and family were part of his core.  He loved tinkering with ideas and often worked with his grandsons on projects such as building a siege tower, designing and building a chicken coop, and designing and shooting off rockets...plus going fishing.  He lived life with an engineer's precision, a surfer's spirit, and a drummer's soul.  Even as his health declined, his spirit, sense of humor, and love for ice cream never wavered.

In his honor, this year I have created a bucket list - a compliation of dreams and aspirations - to work from.  My husband (who grew up in our town and interned with him as a teen) has also written down a bucket list, and we're going for it!  You can download your own Bucket List template at the Word of the Year post.

Traveling to England

This month I'm checking off the box for "Travel to Europe with Son."  If you remember the Word of the Year post, your bucket list should include some quick things you can check off and some longer, lifelong goals.  This month I'm checking off something that had been a lifelong goal but was recently accomplished, making it a quick-check-off.  As an added bonus, after we made this trip, we relived the experiences by reading London, by Edward Rutherfurd, concurrently.


After looking at several potential destinations, he settled on England for his 'trip of a lifetime.'  With two weeks to explore as much of England as possible, we set off on an overnight flight, hitting the ground running the next day.  For the first few days, we parked at an AirB&B in London, near St. Pancras Station so that it would be easy to navigate the city.


We did plenty of touristy things...visiting several museums such as the V&A and the British Museum, walking across Abbey Road, and attending high tea.  We also spent a few days just wandering around on foot, exploring the older parts of the city and digging into history.  Part of our experience was simply cultural, enjoying the food and the people, but learning a few things we didn't know...like you can't buy Tylenol over the counter and there are no urgent cares open on a bank holiday weekend (which, I still don't understand what a bank holiday is)...

From London, we headed to York and Leeds, where we learned about Viking history and made multiple visits to the Royal Armouries.  As a blacksmith and swordsmith, this was something my son was very interested in...he studied each artefact in depth.

From Leeds, we hopped a train north to Haltwhistle, where we enjoyed a bit of downtime, hiked Hadrian's Wall, and explored architectural ruins.  One of my favorite parts of this trip was keeping a daily journal entry with him so that we had a record of all the small things we experienced along the way.


After Haltwhistle, we headed to the town of Alwick, home of the Harry Potter castle, Poison Garden, and a really amazing bookstore!  While we did some tourist things here (see the list above), our time in the northern part of the country was more about interacting with people and experiencing the area.

Rounding out the trip with a visit to the North Sea before heading home, we reflected on all we had done and seen in such a short time.  It's a trip neither of us will ever forget and I hope that we are able to explore the world even more in the future.  We did it all with two small carry-on backpacks and smaller, daily-use backpack.  We also got to enjoy some of the best (and cheapest) chocolate we've ever tasted!  (Side note - if you're traveling to England, we'd love you to bring us back some.....just sayin')



Unit Study - Exploring England with Teens

Explore the art, history, geography, food, and culture of England in this cross-curricular unit study….perfect for families getting ready to travel abroad or folks who want to travel via unit studies!  Each stop along the roadschooling trip covers a different facet of history and culture with unit information, resources, worksheets, activities, and more...  

YES!  I want 122 pages of FUN STUDIES!

Table of Contents:

  • o Introduction & Geography of England
  • o Portsmouth
    • o The Mary Rose & naval archaeology
  • o London
    • o The British Museum & archaeology
    • o The Wallace Collection & medieval history
    • o The Tower of London / London Bridge & the Tudors
    • o Buckingham Palace & royalty
    • o Victoria and Albert Museum & medieval art
    • o Thames / Globe Theater & Shakespeare
    • o Sherlock Holmes Museum & British Literature
    • o Abbey Road & British Invasion
  • o Leeds
    • o Royal Armouries & middle ages
  • o York
    • o Jorvik & Vikings
    • o York Castle & archaeology
  • o Haltwhistle
    • o Hadrian’s Wall & ancient Celts
    • o Vindolanda & archaeology
  • o Alnwick
    • o Alnwick Castle & architecture
    • o Poison Garden & herbs
    • o Barter Books & WW2 history
  • o Alnmouth
    • o North Sea & train history
  • o Newcastle o Segedunum & ancient Romans
  • o Tips & Tricks for Travelling in England
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