Grades 3–5
Letters, folk tales, poems, and stories from Peace Corps Volunteers around the world will enchant young readers.
- The Blind Men and the Elephant
- Long ago six old men lived in a village in India. Each was born blind. The other villagers loved the old men and kept them away from harm.
- Cuisine and Etiquette in Sierra Leone
- In Sierra Leone, the staple food is rice. "If I haven't had my rice, I haven't eaten today," is a popular saying. Sierra Leoneans eat rice at least twice a day. Only women and girls prepare the food.
- Cuisine and Etiquette in Uganda
- In Uganda, the staple food is matoke (cooking bananas). Other food crops include cassava (manioc), sweet potatoes, white potatoes, yams, beans, peas, groundnuts (peanuts), cabbage, onions, pumpkins, and tomatoes.
- Cuisine and Etiquette in Zambia
- Zambia's staple food is maize (corn), and Zambians eat maize in several ways. When the corn is ripe but still green, it can be roasted or boiled. When it is dry and hard, it can be fried or boiled.
- Day-to-Day Life in a Small African Village
- My name is Richard Lupinsky and I'm a biology teacher and a school health educator in a small village in Tanzania. There are about 7,000 people in my village.
- Enough to Make Your Head Spin
- "I'll have coffee," I tell the waitress at a cafe during my first week in Bulgaria. She shakes her head from side to side. "OK, tea," I say, thinking that maybe there's something wrong with the coffee machine.
- Just Like the Old Days
- Take an imaginary trip with me for a moment. Think of where you live right now. Now imagine it a thousand years ago.
- One Step at a Time
- We each have our own idea of what's right and what's wrong. We each judge for ourselves whether something is good or bad, fun or boring, worthwhile or pointless.
- Respect for Authority
- For most of the 20th century, Mongolia was a socialist state under the strict shadow of the Soviet Union. When the Russian influence and aid ended abruptly in the early 1990s, Mongolia was left to start a market economy on its own from scratch.
- Soneka's Village
- I would like to tell you about my special friend Soneka and his people in Tanzania. Soneka is 10 and a member of the Maasai tribe.
- This Is Tanzania
- Karibu! Hamjambo marafiki yangu? That means, "Welcome! How are you doing, my friends?" in Kiswahili.
- To Your Health
- Many customs and traditions in Bulgaria are related to hopes for good health. When you make a toast, you say "Na zdrave," or "To health." On your birthday, friends, colleagues, and even perfect strangers tell you "to be full of life and health."
- Water in Africa
- The narratives from Water in Africa characterize the interconnectedness of water in the daily lives of African people and the Volunteers who serve in their countries.
- What's Mongolia Really Like?
- No matter how much an outsider researches and studies another country, it's difficult to really understand what's going on there until you're physically present.
- Working With Environmental Issues
- I have parasites. They live in my stomach. I can feel gurgling after I eat or when I lie down to rest.