{"id":58344,"date":"2017-09-05T13:38:24","date_gmt":"2017-09-05T17:38:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/?p=58344"},"modified":"2022-06-03T03:54:01","modified_gmt":"2022-06-03T07:54:01","slug":"traveling-tips-the-best-books-for-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/58344\/traveling-tips-the-best-books-for-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"Traveling Tips: The Best Books for Kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trips with kids can be a delight or a terror, and likely both. With screens such an easy way out of the sturm und drang, it is nearly impossible to resist them. But, remember books? Glorious, informational picture books<\/a>, full of facts, illustrations and tales that can be fun for everyone in the family.<\/p>\n

With a mix of entertainment and delightfully educational tidbits, these non-fiction picture books serve up plenty of conversation starters that relate to life away from home. From animals and nature, to cities and states, there are delicious titles to explore as the world outside the train window whizzes by. Learning while traveling is a great trick to instill in kids while they are young.<\/p>\n

The Natural World<\/strong><\/p>\n

Julia Rothman, a writer and illustrator known for her lush, amusing drawings, appeals to both young and old. Her series of books, Food Anatomy<\/em>, Nature Anatomy<\/em> and Farm Anatomy, <\/em><\/a> draw attention to simple objects, like a chicken or a mushroom and transform them into objet d\u2019art. What one might simply label a bird, Rothman meticulously diagrams, breaking the animal up into numerous parts, like the tertials and scapulars. The books are exquisite and perfect to page through.<\/p>\n

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Geography<\/strong><\/p>\n

Serious trips call for serious information. The 50 States<\/em><\/a>, by Gabrielle Balkan includes facts, both esoteric and amusing, about each of the United States. The illustrations, by Sol Linero, are a worthy accompaniment. For example, check out Minnesota, with its Shakopee\u2019s Memorial Park. The park contains burial grounds for the Dakota, and the picture showcases the tribes\u2019 buffalo-hide tipis. There are other books in this series, like The 50 States: Fun Facts<\/em><\/a>, and The 50 States Activity Book<\/em><\/a>, that go more in-depth for those with insatiable minds. Maps and puzzles help anchor the trivia in place.<\/p>\n

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Adventure<\/strong><\/p>\n

While you likely aren\u2019t driving around the jungle, unless you\u2019re touring Hawaii or Mexico, maybe your family dreams of doing just that. Sometimes a small trip, even a daycation, can lead to great daydreaming of future journeys. The Life on Earth series, from Wide Eyed Editions helps kids fantasize about the greater world with books like Dinosaurs<\/a>, <\/em>Jungle <\/em><\/a>and Farm<\/a>. <\/em>This interactive series asks questions like, \u201cWhat did Proceratops do with its sharp beak?\u201d and then provide an answer under a flap. Of course there are many states that have discovered fossils, so dinosaurs are a perfect creature to learn about, while imagining them roaming the earth, or buried just under the surface.<\/p>\n

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History<\/strong><\/p>\n

History naturally comes up when you’re traveling, whether near or far. Visiting monuments, reservations and battlefields<\/a> can really awaken the past in a concrete way. Kathleen Krull and Paul Brewer\u2019s \u201cLincoln Tells a Joke<\/a>,\u201d takes a potentially boring subject and makes it effortlessly fun. Don\u2019t get me wrong, the facts are there \u2013 the log cabin, stovepipe hat and Gettysburg Address, but did you know Lincoln collected jokes too?<\/p>\n

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Future World Travelers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sometimes travel can be an end to well, more travel. Get your kids\u2019 itching to go with the Lonely Planet Kids series. \u201cWonders of Egypt<\/a>\u201d and \u201cFollowing the Great Wall<\/a>\u201d operate like unfolding friezes, allowing the journeys to be read about and visualized. Isn\u2019t awakening a child\u2019s curiosity it one of the great thrills of being a parent? \u201cThe Lonely Planet Kids Travel Book\u201d also pushes kids toward the greater world, with tours through 200 countries.<\/p>\n

Sometimes the delight that can be found inside a book, translate perfectly to the delight that can be found visiting a place. Helene Druvert\u2019s stunning \u201cParis Up, Up and Away<\/a>\u201d effortlessly transports you to the City of Light. The intricate cut-outs showcase a whimsical side of the city, with balloons, merry-go-rounds, stars and shops that make it ideal for children.<\/p>\n

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Art<\/strong><\/p>\n

Traveling with children can be a terrific time to check out art museums \u2013 whether silly (Burlingame, CA. Museum of Pez Memerobilia) or divine (Barnes Foundation in Philly). If art is your jam, bring along Claire d\u2019Harcourt\u2019s \u201cArt Up Close<\/a>.\u201d This giant picture book focuses on the details, of 23 masterpieces from around the globe. Hunting for these details provides a sort of \u201cWhere\u2019s Waldo\u201d game. There are also interesting bits of info to digest. For instance, did you know that Arabs began using paper in the 9th<\/sup> Century, a Chinese invention?<\/p>\n

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Looking for great trips to take? Check out our list of the Best Family Getaways from NYC <\/a>– car optional.<\/em><\/p>\n

Header photo by Ashton Bingham.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Trips with kids can be a delight or a terror, and likely both. With screens such an easy way out of the sturm und drang, it is nearly impossible to resist them. But, remember books? Glorious, informational picture books, full of facts, illustrations and tales that can be fun for everyone in the family. With […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":58409,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[757,833,829,1881,1057,844,316],"tags":[1942,233,1941,261,102,391,246,1943,497,697],"class_list":{"0":"post-58344","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-activity-2","8":"category-books-culture-2","9":"category-culture-2","10":"category-gift-guide","11":"category-museums-culture-2","12":"category-science-culture-2","13":"category-weekend-getaways","14":"tag-best-books","15":"tag-books","16":"tag-children","17":"tag-education","18":"tag-family","19":"tag-history","20":"tag-kids","21":"tag-learning","22":"tag-museums","23":"tag-reading"},"acf":[],"mv":{"thumbnail_id":58409,"thumbnail_uri":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Child-reading-by-andrew-branch-180244-e1504640852991-350x197.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/121"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58344\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}