Armchair Traveling with books

When I was a kid, one of my favorite things to do was pretend I was exploring new places. These two books provide plenty of armchair traveling, from a small town to around the world.

Theme: geography, community, storytelling

All Around Bustletown: Spring
by Rotraut Susanne Berner 
14 pages; ages  2-5
Prestel, 2020

Usually I begin with the first lines of a picture book. But this book is a wordless board book filled with such detail that you’re sure to find a new story each time you open it up. Spring has come to Bustletown, and Grandma is off for a hike. George is cleaning the house, Clara is riding a scooter through town, and … what is the fox doing?

What I like about this book: From one spread to the next, you can follow the various characters around Bustletown – to the farmer’s market, the metro, the town square, the park. Along the way, you might notice that the new Kindergarten is finally under construction.

The cool thing: this book is part of a series showing the seasons of Bustletown. So if you have all four, you can see how the town is changing over time. In Winter, a steam shovel was breaking new ground for the Kindergarten, In Spring the bricklayers are putting up the walls. By Summer they’re putting solar panels on the roof and planting gardens, and Fall shows children getting ready for a parade. Each spread contains so many potential stories that kids will want to return to them again and again.

Little Kids First Big Book of Where
by Jill Esbaum
128 pages; ages 4-8
National Geographic Children’s Books, 2020

You know when you open a National Geographic book, you are heading off on an adventure. This one takes you all around the world in four chapters exploring natural wonders, animals, inventions, and cool places to visit. The pages are filled with colorful photos, pop-up facts, interactive questions, hands-on activities, and a map-themed activity at the end of each chapter.

What I like about this book: Each spread introduces a topic with a question:

• Where is the Longest River? (Is it the Nile or the Amazon?)
• Where does the loudest insect live? (with instructions for how to make your own loud insect noise)
• Where was pizza invented? (with a list of interesting toppings from around the world)
• Where are the twistiest roads?

And of course, there is Back Matter! Tips for parents to help their children travel, whether in real life or virtually. Activities range from geography to math to art to science.

Beyond the Books:

Explore your town – or your neighborhood. If you have a camera, take photos of certain places at different times of the year. Or draw a picture of what you see. Are new buildings going up? Are people planting gardens or selling tomatoes? How do things change from spring to summer and from summer to fall and winter?

Explore the world. Look at a globe or atlas and make a list of places to visit.

• Make yourself a Passport. You’ll need a cover, and some interior pages. On one page you need your photo and address. The other pages are for collecting “stamps” from the countries you virtually visit.
• Using books, old National Geographic magazines, or online resources, visit one of the countries on your list of places to see. See if you can find any virtual museums to visit. If you can find a map, trace your travels. When you’re finished visiting, have someone in your family draw a Visa stamp in your passport. Then head off to explore another place on your list.

Today we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers.