Best Travel books for kids

This list of best travel books for kids are my go-to option for any travel and I highly recommend these 10 airplane books for toddlers. I use books for stories, games, read-it-myself options, story songs and what not..

Read this post to know more ideas on keeping kids busy during long journeys or check out this one for ideas to keep them engaged during vacations.

Reading a book in a moving car is definitely not something which I am recommending here. For a drive, hence the kind of books you could take are picture books, large font books (the ones with just 1 phrase etc in one page with large pictures). I prefer Hardboard books if there is no constraint on space and baggage weight.

I also enjoy the books which I can read to my kids on our journeys together. Another great option is carrying a big book of stories in your luggage, reading the story beforehand and then retelling the story to the kids on the way. That way you can sort out the luggage issue and still be able to tell the kids stories from the book.

I recommend taking a mixture of books and the following list of 10 airplane books for toddlers which I find to be the best travel books for kids. These are actually 10 categories of books which I recommend, with multiple title options in some of them. One advice: Preferably do not read the books before your journey that you plan to travel with.

So here goes:

1. That’s not my Snowman
   1. A delightful series in Usborne touchy feely books, I have 6 or 7 of them. They go by the titles of That’s not my Snowman, Thats not my Fairy, That’s not my Teddy, That’s not my Duck, That’s not my Bunny, That’s not my Plane, That’s not my Bear and the list goes on.
   2. Meant for younger age groups (18 months onwards), you can pick the one or few that relate to your trip. Like when we are going for an airplane journey, I take along That’s not my Plane, or when we plan to go in the snow, I take along That’s not my Snowman etc.

Babies never get tired of touching and feeling the book and you may just need a lot of protein shakes to read these over and over again
Inspired by some of the books, you can even make up one of your own like That’s not my snack box or something crazy.

Julia Donaldson Story Books
My all time favourite for the wonderful stories written in an equally wonderful rhyming and sing along style. Meant for ages 3+, the children start enjoying the song like structure of the book before they understand the story.
Some of the titles I recommend are Room on the broom, What the Ladybird heard, The magic paintbrush, Snail and the Whale.

By now actually I don’t even need to carry some of them as my daughter and I practically know the whole book like a song and we sing that to the younger one who loves the actions and the rhyming.

Folk Tales
Connecting our children to our roots is best done by stories. And that is why these books feature in best travel books for kids. I pick Indian classic folk tales, which are interesting for all the members of the family, try reading them before hand when the kids are asleep and then during the journey tell them the story. Benefits of this practice are many: After 2-3 retellings, I know the story so I don’t need to carry the book later, I can stuff it with my checked in luggage and make space in my carry on and best while story telling i can really come alive with all the expressions and actions which is difficult when reading it from a book.
Recommended titles: Jataka tales, Akbar Birbal stories, Arabian nights, Tenali Raman, Panchatantra etc

When we were on a road trip in South India, I told my kids stories from Indian mythology and they could immediately relate to some as we were visiting temples within the next day or two. You may like to visit my recommendations on what to see in Ooty and Kodaikanal. You might also like my post on 2 days in Madurai and visiting Meenakshi temple.

General Knowledge books

For travels, I like the Usborne Starting Point Science Series. These are really small and thin books that can fit in almost anywhere. Best part is while reading the book may take 20-30minutes, its the discussions afterwards that we can keep the kids busy in. Also relating to anything that they see around them with the book they are reading helps a ton.

Bucket Filler books
I am not sure what category will these books fall in. Starting with the title Have you filled a bucket today, these are excellent books for a vacation. More than just reading, these are doing books. Every time our children act up, we can raise a concern about dipping into our buckets. Similarly, every time we do not do enough things for them to have a fun time, they can mention likewise. End of the day, if as a family we can ensure a filled bucket for everyone, the trip is bound to be memorable.

Out of sight, out of mind and hence carrying the book (which hardly weighs anything) ensures it remains in full view.

Brown Bear Brown Bear
Another one for the babies. Easily converted into a game, this book goes as follows: “Brown Bear Brown bear, what do you see?”. Next page goes “I see a red bird looking at me”. And this goes on with the next one being “Red Bird Red Bird, what do you see?”. Look at the pictures below and you’ll get a better idea.

For the academically oriented, this gives the 2yr olds a chance to revise their animals and colors. It also helps them get all creative as you extend the game to anything that you see around when traveling.

Ladybird Read it yourself Classics
This one doesn’t need an introduction as most of the children listen to these stories in their playgroups, nurseries and as they grow older. Read it yourself is for 6yrs+ who can spend the travel time reading a book of their choice. Some title options are The Magic Porridge Pot, Pinocchio, The Big Pancake, The Enormous Turnip etc.

Peppa Pig Books or any character books that your child is fond of
Purely what your child is fond of. Just in case he/she doesn’t watch any of the series, it may still be a good idea as some of the books have simple 3-4 word sentences with simple stories and nice big pictures, which even younger ones (2yr old) enjoy.

Titles like Fun at the Faircan be read by the elder one herself/himself and for the younger one its a picture story book. Being paperback its quite light anyways.

Cloth Books
Excellent option for traveling light with babies. Cloth books are almost weightless and can be scrunched up and fit in wherever you like.
The ones i have are Priddy books – Fuzzy Bee and friends and Squishy Turtle.

Pick the ones that you babies like and after reading, you can leave it even at their bedside itself, to replace the need for a good night book

Bed Time Stories or Good Night Books
If there is a specific bed time story book which you read to your child, its recommended you take that. If not, any nice bed time book like Good Night Moon or Rhyme around board book (for babies) is a fantastic idea.
Following the routine gives the babies and children comfort. Well slept kids are less irritable and ensure a better trip!

Hope the above list helps you in some of your travels with kids. Do put in a comment to add the books you like to carry with your kids.