How to Build Your Own Country is an interactive and original learning experience that guides kids through the fascinating process of creating their own country from scratch. This book, the only one of its kind, is both enchanting and educational. It offers children the expertise and advice they’ll need to plant their flag in the backyard, in the bedroom, or online. Kids will be amazed to discover that anyone can do it.

Nation-building advice is peppered with examples of events that have shaped countries throughout history, teaching young readers about government, elections, geography, and global issues. Backed up with lots of amazing examples of real micronations—some established or ruled by kids—How to Build Your Own Country promises to inspire, entertain, and inform young nation-builders.

Wyatt’s writing is engaging and clear, making complex concepts accessible to a young audience. The book begins with the basics, such as choosing a name and designing a flag, and progresses to more intricate aspects, like forming a government, writing laws, and understanding diplomacy. Each chapter is structured to build on the previous one, providing a comprehensive guide that remains easy to follow.

Karen Fredericks’ vibrant and playful illustrations complement Wyatt’s text perfectly. The artwork not only adds visual appeal but also helps to clarify and enhance the content, making the book even more engaging for young readers. Fredericks’ illustrations bring a whimsical touch that keeps the subject matter light and fun.

One of the book’s greatest strengths is its interactive approach. Wyatt includes numerous activities and thought experiments that encourage readers to actively engage with the material. This interactive element reinforces learning, as well as stimulates creativity and critical thinking.

How to Build Your Own Country also emphasizes important values, such as democracy, justice, and cooperation. Wyatt introduces these themes in a digestible way for young minds, promoting a deeper understanding of civic responsibility and global citizenship. A delightful and insightful guide combining education with entertainment, it’s an excellent resource for young readers who are curious about governance and want to create and imagine their own worlds.

This is a nice addition to the compendium of "kids design" type books: the information is organized well, the illustration style is clean and bright, the activities are understandable, enjoyable, and scalable.

My only issue with "How To Build Your Own Country" was that it didn't have anything to make it stand out from earlier examples of this type of book, including no overarching idea of what a kid would get out of the enterprise.

This was a great book to introduce students into what it takes to create a country. As a fourth grade teacher who teaches a unit on how our government was established and what it provides for us, this book would fit in really nicely to our class. I can see making a culminating project whereby by the end of the unit students has a full developed government created to compare to our Government. It could be fun to have viewers of our projects drop fake passports into the government they would most like to live under. My only wish is that a bit more explanation of each US Government was further explained so we could use this more of a main resource. It would be easy to make a note guide to go along with it so by the end the students had their government fully developed. I recommend this if it fits your curriculum.

An excellent way to introduce kids to the basics of government structure and civics. Wyatt uses the concept of micronations to walk the reader through the steps needed to start a nation and government. The book cites examples along the way of the history of both nations and micronations, both good and bad, and shows how much more fluid countries are than nationalism would have you think.

Brilliant! This book gives clear instructions for how to start your own country, from finding some land to claim, through to how to put someone in charge and how to attract and satisfy your citizens' wants and needs.

Throughout the book, real-life examples are used, for example Emperor Puyi of China, who came to the throne in 1908 at two years old on the page about child rulers, alongside examples relating to the fictional country of Bathmatia. I can already see which children in the class will want to sit down and create their own country following this guide, just as I would have done when I was younger.

As a homeschool mom I found this book to be both informative and funny which is super helpful when trying to get my kids to learn. Sometimes social studies can be boring, but this book makes it fun.
Useful as an adjunct to any lesson on government!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Have you ever thought about starting your own country? Of course, getting international recognition might be a problem, BUT you can get started today using the guidance in “How to Build Your Own Country.” Detailed descriptions and whimsical illustrations guide you through the process.

I loved that kids could decide what kind of leader to be and what kind of government to have. If I was setting up my own country I might have forgotten about currency or passports, but “How to Build Your Own Country” will walk you through the process. There are so many aspects of setting up a country that might be forgotten if not for this book. I think this would be a fun summer project for an older elementary student.

This book has a great (and important) concept, but sometimes the descriptions seemed too long. My only other quibble is that I found the description about why countries change their names to fall flat in 2024 since it danced around colonial naming legacies.

This book is great for older elementary kids who are interested in geography or starting their own country.

I received an advance review copy from NetGalley and Kids Can Press for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I would highly recommend kids read this in school. It's such a fun way to learn about countries and governments. You can learn about everything from how to find the space to make your own country, to how to come up with a national anthem (there is a fill-in-the-blank model) to how to interact with other countries. Simple and idealistic, this book goes through all the basics and gives some hilarious examples for when things go wrong.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this ARC