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Books have always had the unique power to transport readers to different places and times.

Right now, for many of us, books are the only way we can travel this holiday season.

For children, it is all the more important to keep reminding them that there is a bigger world out there — so they never lose their sense of wonder.

Children’s worlds are getting smaller due to social distancing.

Think of a young child.

What comes to mind?

Playfulness, adventure, an eagerness to understand and interact with the world around them in a child’s earlier years.

Their direct social and physical environments play a huge role in their development.

Now, with confinement, social distancing, and ongoing school disruptions, it is easy to see how almost every aspect of a child’s world is shrinking.

Parents can offset the effects of social distancing and make a child’s world bigger by helping their children to read stories from around the world. By introducing children to different countries, cultures and characters through books, you are reminding them that the world expands beyond the four corners of their bedroom — that the world is full of diverse beauty and provides endless opportunities to feed a child’s wonder.

While reading stories from around the globe with your child, ask questions to help them develop a deeper understanding.

It is important that children learn to empathise with the characters in the stories.

Parents can prompt children to do this by asking such questions as: “Isn’t it interesting that she lives in a small village? Do you think it would be fun to work on a farm? What would that be like?”

Help children identify the differences and similarities between themselves and those characters. “Wow, she likes to dance just like you!”

“He loves his grandpa just like you.” “She stopped going to school to help her mother with chores, what do you think about that?” — worldreder.org.