A Travel Inspired Booklist
Rebecca from Thirteen Red Shoes is with us today to with another one of her inspiring books lists. This time she is taking us all over the world with her favorite travel inspired picture books.
I am like the Bowerbird. When it comes to filling my home with things that I love, literature is at the top of my list. I seem to do this organically without even noticing until I look about me and there are beautiful books filling every possible place in the space.
Books about different countries and far off cities intrigue me and always seem to find me when I am pottering about my local boutique bookstore.
Over the last 18 months I have collected a lovely little library of books about the world, both fiction and non fiction, for my littles to enjoy. Some are more appropriate for when they are older (mine are aged five and two) but others are lovely picture books to share and enjoy at any age.
Below are a few of my favorites from our family library:
Berlin: A Three-Dimensional Expanding City Skyline by Sarah McMenemy. I adore this little pocket book guide to Berlin. It is tiny, small enough to fit in your handbag, but is expands to over 1.5 meters. Covering 12 must see locations including Potsdamer Platz, Gendarmenmarkt, Museum Island, and Alexanderplatz. Other titles include Paris, London, and New York.
Lonely Planet, Not for Parents Series. We have a few books from this series and they are delightful and brilliant research books for older children who are writing reports and gathering information. They have been created by the clever folks at Lonely Planet and the cities and countries covered range from London, Paris, to countries such as Australia, China, and the USA. Each title is full of quirky facts as well as detailed information including significant dates in the country or city’s history, native flora and fauna, and different events for which the city/country may be famous. These guides are full of photos and amazing facts that would be wonderful as a traveling companion for little ones. I am personally in love with The Not For Parents Travel Book as each page is dedicated to a different country. The book is divided into continents and then each country is represented with a map, flag, official language, population, currency, area and more. A brilliant resource for school aged children and inquisitive parents! I love flipping though books like this. There is also a sample free download available on iTunes. It is just a sample overview though, so don’t get too excited!
A Life Like Mine by UNICEF and DK Publishing. This is an amazing resource which i have used countless times in the classroom. This non-fiction text visits children from around the world sharing their interests and hobbies, family members, as well as daily rhythms. It is insightful and helps children relate to others whose life and circumstances may be so very different to their own.
This Is… series by Miroslav Sasek. I can’t get enough of this series. I adore the old school illustrations and the quirky dated facts and styling. At the back of each book is a new updated list of facts for those that are now outdated. We have 6 in the series, including, This Is The Way To The Moon (Little R’s favorite). I am always on the look out for more!
My Village by Daniellle Wright, illustrated by Mique Woriuchi. This is a delightful collection of 22 poems from around the World. From Iceland to Samoa, Iran to Switzerland. Each poem is written in both English and the original language. This is a beautiful, open ended and thought provoking book, which can be shared with many different age groups and at many different levels. I love the idea of sharing a poem and then finding it on a large world map pinned up on the wall or drawn with chalk. You could mark the location of each poem, over time, reflecting back on poems shared when a new mark is added.
Are We There Yet? by Alison Lester. A delightful book all about the people and places that make up the country of Australia.
