Bright Ideas | August 2025
World Kid Lit Month Sparks Reading Adventures
September is World Kid Lit Month, an ideal time to introduce young people to diverse stories from around the globe! Exploring world literature helps young readers broaden their literary horizons, discover new places and perspectives, and develop as world citizens.
The World Kid Lit Month website provides a wealth of resources targeted to libraries and schools, including book lists, reading challenges and prompts, translation lists, free social media graphics, and more. And, the World Kid Lit blog and social media provide international children's/YA literature news, reviews, and reading ideas.
Kid Lit challenges meet readers where they are. For instance, the Starter Challenge sets a goal of reading one book from—or set in—another country or translated into English from another language. For the Explorer Challenge, bingo charts (for each age group & all ages) provide suggested reading categories. Kids can set their own goals: complete a line of three, a color category, or cover the whole card by reading nine stories during September. There are also Team and Family challenges and a new Reading Challenge Award for Schools.
Ready to start a new reading adventure at your library? Celebrate World Kid Lit Month this September and maybe even beyond! Find everything you need at the Kid Lit website.
Free Printables Deliver Mealtime Fun
Highlights for Children collaborated with HP on a free, new resource that sparks curiosity, conversation, and family connection. Twenty researched-backed printables (think: the kid-friendly placemats you find in restaurants) pair quintessential questions —Why do onions make you cry? How do airplanes stay in the sky?—with playful, colorful graphics to inspire learning and mealtime fun.
Bite Sized Lessons are geared to children ages 5-10 and were developed by Dr. Elizabeth Bonawitz, associate professor of Learning Sciences at Harvard University, whose research focuses on how children learn through exploration, curiosity, and explanation-based thinking in everyday environments.
“We may underestimate the value of simple conversations. Moments like mealtime, when families naturally gather, can become powerful touchpoints for learning and curiosity,” said Dr. Elizabeth Bonawitz. “The more kids feel safe to wonder and share ideas, the more confident they are to act on their natural curiosity, which is essential for lifelong learning. When adults show genuine interest in a child’s thinking, it validates their ideas and inspires more exploration. That’s a powerful dynamic.”
The placemats are available and free for libraries and families to download at the HP website.
Adapted from "Highlights for Children Inspires Learning at the Table with New Printable Bite Sized Lessons" press release.
Graphic courtesy of Highlights for Children. Used with permission.
