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Today (03/03/22) is World Book Day: A day for children to celebrate books in a wide variety of weird and wonderful ways. My boys will be having breakfast with a book at school, and taking part in a school-wide book-themed quiz. Other schools have dress-up days and competitions (the header photo is of the boys in their World Book Day costumes from last year!).
I am a vicarious reader with two degrees in English Literature: I just love books! It’s a trait I can already see that I’ve passed on to the boys. So I thought it would be fun to honour the day with a list of my favourite books for kids that spend a lot of time travelling.
Travel Books
I only recently learned that Lonely Planet made travel books for kids: life-changing! We got Boy9 the Lonely Planet Tokyo City Trails book and it has really brought the trip to life for him, helping him plan and visualise where he wants to go. They make these books for loads of different countries, and cities, and we will definitely be buying more for upcoming trips.
We are definitely big fans of travel books (for kids and adults) and if you’re just dipping your toe into the water of this genre then I definitely recommend looking for travel activity books for younger children. This Let’s Learn About Japan colouring book is a great example, allowing children to colour and complete activities whilst also learning key facts or a few words about the country they are visiting. Young children learn through play, so this book makes the perfect travel learning tool.
Practical Books
Want to help your kids learn something new? There’s a book for that! I’m a big fan of practical books with illustrations that help to introduce and explain new concepts: I’m pretty sure we would never have mastered potty training for either of the boys without Princess Polly’s Potty, for example.
Now that Boy6 is a little older, our current project is teaching him to tie his shoelaces: he needs to do it to earn a coveted Beavers badge, so we’re really focussing on it right now. Luckily, we found a book for that too! Boo’s Shoes: A Rabbit and Fox Story – Learn To Tie Shoelaces is a new favourite in our house? Who knew a subject as mundane as putting on your shoes would make such a great book? You can find this at The Rabbit and The Fox Book Store.
Other practical books we often turn to, particularly when travelling, are the iSpy books. These are a great way not only to teach the kids something but to entertain them too. We have iSpy on the ferry, iSpy at the airport, and iSpy in Nature, all of which are highly recommended. The next book on my wish list is iSpy on a road trip, which will be perfect for our drive to France in May. Books are small, space-saving, easy to transport. That means it’s easy to impart knowledge and teach your kids new things when you’re away on adventures with the help of a book.
Story Books
Finally, when we’re not travelling the boys like to read about travelling. Planes, trains, automobiles, foreign adventures, we read about it all. We transport ourselves around the world, thanks to a good book and a little imagination. Here are our tried and tested recommendations for storybooks that my boys that love to travel really enjoyed:
Spot Goes on Holiday Boy9 got this book as a baby, and Boy6 enjoys it so much we still read it occasionally. A great way to introduce the holiday concept to younger children.
Jehvon Goes to Jamaica If you’ve never been to Jamaica then be warned! This book will make you want to. It’s a great story, also for younger readers, about travelling and family relationships.
To The Edge of the World Boy9 has just finished this book and I can only say, one word: brilliant! Set in the Outer Hebrides (an area we have visited a lot) this story is about adventure, bravery, friendship, and has so many brilliant descriptions of the natural world that you’ll want to fly to the Hebrides immediately!
Do you have any book recommendations for travelling kids? We’d love to hear them, we’re always looking for inspiration!
That Mum Travel Life 