Who we are

Story and Mission

Globe Smart Kids is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and the maker of the One Globe Kids program. Our mission is to make the foreign feel familiar to children worldwide.

One Globe Kids is the brainchild of Anne Glick, created to empower parents and educators to share the world with our children.

The idea for One Globe Kids was born one afternoon while I read the children’s book Joyce’s Day* to my 3-year-old son in our apartment in New York City. Printed in South Africa in 1974 and given to me as a newborn present by my Aunt Joan in 1975, its photos and simple text made Joyce’s day in South Africa relatable to me, a young, white girl living in small-town Illinois.

I am convinced that this early exposure to other people and places, however insignificant it seemed at the time, has helped to shape my view of the world and my engagement with it. From beginning foreign language study in middle school to studying and working abroad, my preparation for life in a globalized world can be traced back to the simple curiosity I had for Joyce and her family.

I went looking for more “Joyce-like” books for my son Sebastian and found several beautiful, but basic, books about children in other countries. I did not find the personal, intimate, rounded stories that would make these children more familiar than foreign for him. And thus began my journey to make the international story series that I want to share with my kids, Sebastian and his two brothers, Willem and Josef.

Even when foreign travel is unrealistic, and I can’t teach them the words and sounds of a new language, I have the power to help shape how they see our globe and how they interact with it.

I hope One Globe Kids empowers you to share the world with your children. And that in the future, all of our children are kinder, wiser, and happier because they know more about the globe we share.

Anne K. Glick, Creator of One Globe Kids

*The book Joyce’s Day was written by Joan Solomon with photography by R. Harvey. Published by Biograph Film Co. in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1974, Joyce’s Day is unfortunately out-of-print. Limited copies are available via select online vendors.