Ten Travel and Adventure Books for All AgesPin

Ten Travel and Adventure Books for All AgesPinAh’ summer reading. It makes me think of long hours in a tree, getting lost in the illustrated Hobbit.

Or sitting in bed as it got dark, reading until my eyes burned with fatigue.

Or lugging books from the library, three blocks to the local park where my siblings and I took swimming lessons.

Or reading in a “secret spot” on that old wooden playground next to the pool, waiting for my turn to get in.

You too? Great! Let’s get started!

I am so excited to come on this summer reading adventure with you. I can’t wait to hear all the wonderful new books you and your children discover as a result of Traveling through the Pages with us! Don’t forget to join our Facebook page where we will be keeping up with all of your great finds and handing out prizes….

Reading has always been a way for me to “get away,” but as I grow older and dream less and less of actually traveling the world, reading takes me where I could not go otherwise (as Gladys Hunt puts it in Honey for a Woman’s Heart: Growing Your World through Reading Great Books — a great book, by the way if you are stuck in a reading rut.)

Today I would like to share with you some delightful books for the whole family, that will do just that; take you on a trip to someplace you may never or could never go! You will find that many of these will not only fulfill your traveling square on the passport but many of the other squares as well, so go with the theme and choose a few.

Travel and Adventure Picture Books

Granny’s Clan: A Tale of Wild Orcas – Don’t you just love it when science books are told in story form? I love how much we learn about killer whales and their journey of life just by reading a picture book story!

The Journey – Travel from another’s point of view. What does a city look like to a young Amish girl? She finds it simply amazing! The things we take for granted are what Hannah writes home about.

This is Paris – My daughter declared over a year ago that she was saving to go to France.  Ever since we have been dabbling in all things French!  This book along with others in the series such as This is London, This is Rome, are sure to delight your youngest travelers without boring you to tears.

Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore – This last one is about books and where they can take us. I love books about books, don’t you? This one has language I adore. “…Morris saw a lovely lady. She was being pulled along by a festive squadron of flying books.” Where will your festive squadron of flying books take you this summer?

Travel and Adventure Chapter Books and Read Alouds

Bartlett and the Ice Voyage is a new fairytale-type story that will thrill the whole family. To me it is the best kind of literature; entertaining as well as edifying.  The characters grow in wisdom, there is wit in the narration, and an adventure to boot.  Also, there it is a sea voyage, and I am a sucker for sailing adventures! Perhaps it is because I get very seasick, and sea voyage books take me places I just could not go myself.

Bed-Knob and Broomstick (A Combined Edition of: “The Magic Bed-Knob” and “Bonfires and Broomsticks”) – Travel first to the island of Ueppe and then back in time.  If you love British humor then you will love this great short adventure with lots of character!

Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars: Miss Pickerell Books #1 is out of print, but you can get the Kindle edition for only $.99. It is the wildly unbelievable tale of Miss Pickerell going to Mars on a rocket ship in her pasture.  I thought it was a fun and silly — if a few space vocabulary words and concepts are learned all the better!

God’s Smuggler – An amazing story of Brother Andrew, a missionary who smuggled Bibles behind the iron curtain. Full of adventure and danger this edition for older kids is sure to thrill.

The Story of Doctor Dolittle – You may have heard of Dr. Dolittle, were fortunate enough to see the movie when you were very little, or unfortunate enough to have seen a more recent movie bearing that name.  At any rate, if you have not read this series, you should!  Dr. Dolittle and the sequel The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle are fantastic read alouds.  My kids demand to hear the audio version when we go on long trips. (Note from Pam: These two books are Olivia’s all-time favorite audio books too. I can not begin to count the number of times she has listened to them!)

Travel and Adventure Book for Moms and Dads

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower (Hornblower Saga) – The series is one of my favorites, so I wanted to throw in a recommendation for a good summer read for adults. It starts with a young Horatio as a midshipman in the British Navy during the time of the French Revolution, follows him through war with Napoleon, and finishes with him a decorated retiring admiral.

Honor is a constant focus for Hornblower, who always strives to have honor guide him, but who fails in this area with matters of the heart.  It is excellent, and I think that any mom who appreciates Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, Flora Thompson or any other period writer will appreciate the Hornblower novels.

It did seem strange to me that I would enjoy a series with a male protagonist, but a friend asked to borrow my copies, is reading the first one, and is loving it too!

What are you favorite travel and adventure books? Plan on traveling through reading this summer?

Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog HopPinLinking this up with The Thoughtful Spot. Lots of great summer ideas there!