Our favorite books for each country

For general reference resources:

• The Foundations of Western Civilization by Dr. Thomas Noble - DVDs through www.thegreatcourses.com - hands down family favorite for those 11 and older
• Nystrom Atlas of World History - they also have a "Map Champ" Atlas for younger kids, but not as useful
• The Story of Western Civilization by Alan W. Riese and Herbert J. La Salle – a series of four workbooks that complements information in Nystrom Atlas & Western Civ DVDs with reading comprehension/vocabulary focus
• Inflatable political and topographical globes from www.ultimateglobes.com – great resource for on the boat
• Eyewitness books on Judaism, Islam and Christianity

Egypt/Israel/Jordan:

• Walking the Bible by Bruce Feiler
• Ten Commandments move by Cecil B. DeMille

Turkey:

• Portrait of a Turkish Family by Irfan Orga

Greece:

• The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan – a series of three books, great way to learn about Roman and Greek gods
• The Trojan War by Olivia Coolidge
• Mary Pope Osborne's Odyssey - a series of eight books, we listed to the Audible version. 
• Usborne's Greek Myths for Young Children
• Greek Pottery: A culture captured in clay by Ioanna Phoca and Panos Valavanis - good reference book for kids in the Acropolis and National Archeological Musuem 

Morocco:

• The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles (and movie) - definitely not a unanimous decision to put this on the adult favorites list

Portugal:

• The Mysterious Benedict Society & the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart - the kids in the book go to Lisbon - fun to go the the Castle of St. George and look for the cannon described in the book.  It's a series of four books.

Azores - great place to get on an "island kick"

• The obvious ones:  Gulliver's Travels, Treasure Island, The Swiss Family Robinson and Robinson Crusoe
• The Unknown Island by Jose Saramago - great children's fable by a Portuguese author
• Bad Island by Doug TenNapel
• For movies, we liked Jack Black in Gulliver's Travels, 20,000 Leagues under the Sea (the Whale of a Tale sea chantey is now a favorite family song), and the Journey to the Mysterious Island

Atlantic Ocean - basic sailing/ocean/geography-related books

• Adventure on the High Sea! A Family’s Sailing Voyage Across the Atlantic by Susan Barry Blair – great book for the kids to compare to their experiences
• SeaLife by Smithsonian and Ocean Almanac by Robert Hendrickson - good reference books, SeaLife book is better of the two
• Gulf Stream – Tiny Plankton, Giant Bluefin, and the Amazing Story of the Powerful River in the Atlantic by Stan Ulanski
• Eyewitness Book on Oceans
• Skywatching: Seeing and Understanding Cosmic Wonders  (DVD from www.thegreatcourses.com)
• National Audubon Society Field Guide to Night Sky
• Seabirds by Peter Harrison – our most common visitors all across the Atlantic were black capped petrels, storm petrels and tropic birds
• The Arts of the Sailor by Hervey Garret Smith - good intro to rope work