You don’t need a passport to see the world. With the books on this list, you can go on a traveling adventure without leaving your couch! You can learn about dozens of amazing places that you didn’t even know existed. You can discover new cities, sites, and vehicles. Plus, we’ve added a few stories of adventure that feature our favorite characters—Peppa Pig, Pete the Cat, and Miss Rumphius, just to name a few. Ready to take off? Let’s go!
This book is a colorful explosion of 15 places on Earth and the things that make each location unique. Kids will explore Hong Kong, New York City, and a few places between the two. Each page features surprising facts, sites that lie beyond the beaten path, and sketch-like illustrations. It’s a large format book, too, which means kids will love the feel of it. A great introduction to the world for kindergarten and elementary kids.
As a little boy packs his suitcase, he includes several items that will help him during his journey. Readers soon see that these items are exactly what he needs to stay warm in the mountains, open a cage, feed a monster, and make his way over land and sea. The story reads almost like a fairy tale, and the illustrations have a whimsical feeling to match. Plus, there are 35 large flaps to lift throughout the book! It’s a fun journey to read with preschoolers.
Explore the fascinating world of air travel! Kids will learn about passenger jets, helicopters, airports, baggage carousels, and much more. More than 50 interactive elements like tabs and flaps help to keep kids engaged as you read. Even though it’s packed with information, the kid-friendly format provides lots of room for illustrations and white space. Preschoolers and early elementary kids will enjoy this one.
Go along with Pete the Cat and his family as they visit some of the most iconic places in America. They’ll see Niagara Falls, the Freedom Trail, New Orleans, Mount Rushmore, and a few others. While you read, get out a map and find each place! This one is a Level 1 book, so you can encourage first and second graders to read it to you.
This sweet, lyrical book about roads portrays a bunny riding a bicycle through the twists and turns of the country and the city. As the road runs on, the words encourage readers to follow their hearts and embrace adventure wherever they go. There’s an overall metaphor for life in the story. Young kids probably won’t pick up on that but will still appreciate it as a soothing book before bedtime.
Open this book and you’ll be opening a guide to every state in the USA. It includes 51 illustrated maps that feature more than 2,000 facts! Beginning with Alabama, kids will learn about the key moments in each state’s history, read some basic facts, and pore over snippets of information about the people, animals, and locations within the state. With top-notch illustrations and facts that will delight any curious kid, this book is a must-have for preschoolers and elementary children!
Pick up this sing-along book and your children will be asking to hear the song every day! Even on its own, the book features sounds and a catchy rhythm. It’s a simple book for preschoolers with cars, trucks, and buses filling the pages. The hand-stitched illustrations give a pop of color to each page without being distracting from the story. Your toddler is sure to love it!
What should a toddler pack in the suitcase? Find out in this book! You’ll follow along as two siblings pack everything they need for their trip. They even try to pack a few things they don’t need: a goldfish, for example! Each page is full of playful artwork that labels each item they’re packing. It’s a great book for developing language skills in little ones.
Julia Donaldson, the author of The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom, brings readers the heartwarming tale of a friendship between a whale and a snail. When the snail wants to see the world, it joins up with the whale to travel across the globe. There are messages of self-reliance, problem solving, imagination, and perseverance woven through the story. Preschoolers and early elementary kids will enjoy this one.
This family is going off on a big adventure! Their first stop? The airport! They’ll check in, wait in lots of lines, and finally get on the plane. In the midst of navigating the airport, the family is also looking for the little girl’s sock monkey. The text doesn’t feature any dialogue, but imaginative speech bubbles let you know what’s going on in each person’s head. Simple watercolor-and-ink illustrations add creative details to the story. Read this one aloud to preschoolers and kindergartners.
A lonely little girl uses a red marker to open up a whole new world of possibilities in this book. It’s a wordless book, so the story moves entirely through the watercolor illustrations. The girl will ride on a magic carpet, captain a boat, travel to a castle, and wind up in the hands of a mean emperor. This adventure has a happy ending and is a great imaginative bedtime book for kids!
Peppa, George, Mummy Pig, and Daddy Pig are headed to Italy! They’ll fly through the clouds and explore this new country. Seeing the sites, making pizza, and shopping for souvenirs is all part of the fun! But poor Peppa keeps losing Teddy as she explores. Will they all make it home? Toddlers and preschoolers will enjoy the simplicity and silliness of this book.
This book is your passport to 100 of the most thrilling places on Earth! Explore caves in Vietnam, gaze at Antarctica’s Blood Falls, and visit mysterious mummies in Japan. Along with these wonders, dozens of countries are featured and a few interesting facts are listed for each one. Imaginative illustrations show kids in the midst of these crazy places and inspire a sense of adventure. Read it with elementary kids.
This classic book includes remarkable illustrations and a gentle story of adventure. Young Alice tells her grandfather that she’ll do three things in her life: travel to faraway places, live by the sea, and do something to make the world a more beautiful place. She accomplishes the first two, but even as she gets older, she’s still unsure of how to accomplish her third task. The secret is in lupine flowers. This makes a soothing bedtime book for preschool kids.
Get ready to take off on a journey through the world of Richard Scarry. This book features dozens of vehicles on each page. Some of the vehicles have funny names like a pickle truck and an alligator car. Throughout the book, readers follow Officer Flossy and she tries to catch a speeding Dingo Dog. They’ll also see the Pig family as they travel to their picnic spot. Of course, lots of slapstick humor comes up along the way! The detailed illustrations will keep preschoolers entertained on their own, but they’ll enjoy hearing the story too.
Mr. Fish is ready for a vacation! He makes big plans, but runs into trouble along the way. He hits a detour, runs out of snacks, loses his luggage, and forgets to pack his lovey. He’s ready to give in and go home, but an encouraging message inspires him to make the most of his vacation. This story is written with the same adorable rhyme and cute characters as the other books in this series. Read it with preschoolers and early elementary kids.
Never miss a beat.