OK, whether these are all actually travel books is debatable. But they all have the spirit of travel, of adventure, of exploration.

And they’re all great!

Young Kids

• Next Stop Grand Central and  Sayonara, Mrs. Kackleman by Maira Kalman.
• Katie and the Mona Lisa,  Katie Meets The Impressionists, and Katie in London by James Mayhew.
• This is Rome,  This is Paris,  This is London and This is Greece by Miroslav Sasek.
• Charlie’s Superhero Underpants by Paul Bright.
• Magic Tree House (Books 1-4) or  the entire series by Mary Pope Osborne.
• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.
• Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett.
• An Extraordinary Egg,  Frederick,  and  Fish is Fish by Leo Lionni.
• Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson.
• Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg.
• The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton.
• The Caboose Who Got Loose and  The Wump World by Bill Peet.
• Andrew Lost On the Dog ,  Andrew Lost In the Garden,  and  Andrew Lost In the Jungle or  the entire series by J.C. Greenburg.
• Madeline and  Madeline’s Rescue by Ludwig Bemelmans.
• Once Upon an Ordinary School Day by Colin McNaughton.
• Paddington by Michael Bond.
• Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! by Dr Seuss.
• Make Way for Ducklings and  Time of Wonder by Robert McCloskey.
• Richard Scarry’s Cars and Trucks and Things That Go,  Richard Scarry’s What Do People Do All Day,  and  Richard Scarry’s A Day at the Airport.
• Pippo the Fool
• Pompeii … Buried Alive (A Step Into Reading book)

Older Kids

• National Geographic Kids Almanac 2012,  National Geographic World Atlas for Young Explorers, and National Geographic’s Wild Animal Atlas.
• Galileo for Kids – His Life and Ideas – with 25 Activities
• Around the World – 3 Remarkable Journeys (a graphic novel)
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,  Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator,  and  James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl.
• Marco Polo – A National Geographic Youth Biography
• The Red Umbrella
• The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis.
• The Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling.
• The Princess Bride by William Goldman.
• Holes by Louis Sachar.
• Alice In Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll.
• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.

I update this whenever we read a good new book. Please offer your suggestions below. Thanks.

Questions and Comments

Hotel Tips

Many readers ask about the best websites for booking hotels. These are my favorites.

HotelsCombined.com – The absolute best for finding deals and discounts.

Booking.com – Specializes in Europe.

Agoda.com – Specializes in Asia.