Renew your family's zest for learning with these captivating books.

These reads will help expand child-size and adult minds alike, while keeping everyone thoroughly entertained. And whether you read them alone on the sofa, or with your kids after supper, they're bound to leave a lasting impression.

If the World Were a Village
by David Smith
Recommended for ages six to 10

This engaging book invites readers to imagine the world’s population as a village of just 100 people (each of whom represents 62 million people in the real world).

Smith boils down complicated statistics and lets the numbers tell the story. If the world were a village of 100 people, only 24 would regularly have enough to eat. Only 31 of the 38 school-aged children go to school, and those who don’t are mostly girls. While 76 villagers have electricity, there are just 24 television sets and no more than seven computers in the village.

Readers of all ages can learn something about global inequities from this truly enlightening book.

Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales
Various authors, compiled by Nelson Mandela
Recommended for all ages

Nobel laureate Mandela compiles 32 African folktales in this richly illustrated book. Colourful birds, seven-headed snakes, mischievous children and giant elephants populate the book, which teaches lessons about cooperation, obedience and perseverance.

Say You’re One of Them
by Uwen Akpan
Recommended for adults

This collection of five stories by Nigerian-born Akpan humanizes poverty and violence in Africa.

The stories are told through the eyes of children, from eight-year-old Jigana, a Kenyan boy whose older sister works as a prostitute to support her family, to Jubril, a teenage Muslim from northern Nigeria who flees violence in his country.

A Thousand Splendid Suns
by Khaled Hosseini
Recommended for adults

This novel paints a tragic, yet hopeful, picture of the plight of women in war-torn Afghanistan.

Mariam is the scorned and illegitimate daughter of a wealthy businessman who is forced into marriage at 15. Years later, her husband takes another wife, 14-year-old Laila, who is no longer allowed to attend school simply by virtue of being a girl.

The two women develop an uneasy alliance, which grows into an unbreakable bond, against the brutality and violence of their husband. Mariam and Laila’s resilience and enduring hope stands in stark contrast to the unending despair caused by war and poverty.

Three Cups of Tea
by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Redin
Recommend for adults

This non-fiction gem recounts Mortenson’s efforts to build schools across rural Pakistan and Afghanistan.

After his failure to climb K2, the world’s second tallest peak, Mortenson recuperates in a rural village in Pakistan. In return for the community’s hospitality, he promises to build the village its first school, which takes him on an unexpected, yet rewarding, journey.

The book argues that collaborative efforts to alleviate poverty in the region must start with improving access to education, especially for girls.

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