A few weeks ago, I discovered this delightful book at the Draper UT Savers. The store had so many great books that day! I took advantage of the buy 4, get 1 book free sale and had to say no to other books. Here’s the haul below.

It was a delightful mix of functional and beautiful storage solutions as well as homeschooling happiness, plus a hat for summer fun. I’ll use the baskets for toy storage for the grandchildren, the plastic bins for either my homeopathy medicine bottles or first aid stuff, and the books for homeschooling or delighting my heart (the glamping book by Mary Jane Butters is for that). I finally got some shelves for this bungalow since our move a year ago to house all my cardboard boxes and plastic bins of toys that I’ve kept for the grands. Gradually, I’m replacing these boxes and bins with baskets.

Moving on, let’s talk about my featured picture book of the week. I don’t remember where I had heard about this book, This is the World a Global Treasury, by Miroslav Sasek, but as soon as I saw it, I thought, “Oh, I’ve been wanting this book! I’ so lucky to find this today!”

I probably heard about it from a homeschooling vlogger. I had looked for it my local public library and was disappointed that it wasn’t there. That disappointment dissolved when I discovered this treasure! With my 20% off coupon, I paid $4, instead of the current full amazon price of $37.

The author/illustrator is Czech and has such a fun vintage style full of 1950s-60s vibes. The video below shows what the book looks like inside.

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Here is the history of how he came to write these books.

This book is a compilation of excerpts from the following titles done by Mr. Slavek: This is New York, This is Paris, This is Greece, This is London, This is Australia, This is Texas, This is Munich, This is Rome, This is Britain, This is Hong Kong, This is Israel, This is San Francisco, This is Edinburgh, This is Venice, This is Washington D.C., and This is Ireland. Below is the New York book.

It’s such a simple format and great idea! With this book, you can travel the world with your child and see the most iconic landmarks from each of the above places. The simple succinct text tells you why each landmark is important. It’s a great primer for geographical literacy. I’m excited to add it to my homeschooling Morning Basket! Starting in the fall, we’ll probably do one city a day. I’m also excited to read this to my grandsons as well! Hooray for thrifting! This book almost fills the void I have this summer of not traveling anywhere. Almost, but not quite. I got to go to NYC, Boston/Concord, and Maine last summer. (Go here about NYC, here about Maine, and here about Boston/Concord, if you want to see my posts about that.)

Go here if you want to read more about my thrifting treasures.

Go here if you want to learn more about what Morning Basket is.

Go here to my other website if you want more picture book recommendations, arranged according to seasons. Picture books, thrifting, and homeschooling are some of my many passions!