BootsnAll Travel Community

We just returned from camping thru parts of Europe for almost four weeks with our five children. I wanted to mention Diane Stanley books. I loved her book on Michelangelo, Leonardo DaVinci and read the Joan of Arc one after we visited Rouen France.
Here is a link to her books
http://www.dianestanley.com/Books/Biographies/Biographies.htm

Just thought I would put my latest idea on here, although I don't know too much about it or how it would work for kids.

Maybe someone else can pipe in and tell us more ( or I will when I have more info).

They will probably have this down great by the time you go Mamoo.

I am talking about e-readers.. there are a couple cool ones just coming out one by sony and one by amazon. They are expensive, but I think they will get refined and there are cheaper things on the market.

One of our problems is books, we love them and we have a ton and I want to order a ton more for next years travel.

BUt even in an RV, you only have so much room. My child is like a starving book banchie now that we are back in Spain and we have all her books out of storage.She is devouring everything in sight.

I took a ton, but it still was not enough for my compulsive reader for 7 months, so she had to do lots of repeat reading. NOt that is bad, but more variety would be better.

Thus I am trying to come up with another approach...like maybe an e-reader of some sort.

Anybody out there used something like this for kids? What are the pros and cons?

We too have a bunch of prolific readers here and it's the one thing concerning me - more than money or itinerary
We have noticed a lot of books are available online (see www.amblesideonline.org for lots of links) We haven't done it yet, but are going to see if we can download the books onto our lappy and take them that way. Of course that won't solve the problem entirely (ever seen 8 kids trying to read the same book at the same time?), but at least we'll be set for family-read-aloud sessions, which we do every day at home and expect to continue on the road. OTOH, we might be so busy writing our own book that we don't have as much time for the hours of reading we do ATM!!!

You amaze me mama-to-many!!

You are going to need the books probably more than at home. It IS a bigger challenge than money or itinerary.

I have heard from a friend that lives in China, that one can sometimes use an International school's library. She has done that, but I have not found in successful yet ( haven't tried too hard as we do have lots of books with us).

I know about the online books, but we have not used them yet. We are thinking about getting our child her own computer as we are often busy on the other two when we have down time.

I can not even wrap my mind around a multi year RTW trip with 8 kids who are prolific readers and are homeschooling. Just dealing with one is a headache. The books and music lessons are our biggest challenges.

I do know a RTWer who had books sent to her at various locations and then sent the others back to grandma but that sounds like too much of a hassle for us. My mom sent us a ton last year which was stressful for her and now she has to deal with her husbands cancer.

I just met an expat who has a cheap one of those e-readers which keeps her in endless books.

We do lots of family reading, but my little one would be lost with out a book in her hand and it is so handy on things like long bus,train,ferry rides. I took a ton this year ( took up most of our storage in the small RV) and she went thru them all quickly so was rereading and rereading. Which is ok up to a point, she was like a hungry bear when we got back to Spain and she had a big fresh supply that we stored.

We use to get bagfuls of books every week ( sometimes twice a week) at the library and that is the one thing we really miss. When we see an English language bookstore, you would think my child had discovered the greatest thing on earth.

If you travel slow, books are really needed. I am still brainstorming this one.I would love to hear any and all ideas!

quote:

Just dealing with one is a headache.

What I mean is dealing with the challenges. Now the trip itself is wonderful...the best thing we ever did and much of it is easier than we expected.

I think you will be doing some travel and some staying in one place for a while and that is a great way to do it with kids.

Perhaps you can have someone mail you some books for your long stay places and you can mail them back when you leave?

I flew my 13 year old daughter to Bangkok this summer. I was concerned about what she'd do on a 18 hour, non-stop flight and also concerned about entertaining once she arrived. I bought a family ebook at travel with kids. It helped quite a bit and guided me on where to take her and where not too go.

Thanks Dert, that looks like a fun link!

Mama-to-many
I have been doing more research on ebooks and audio books and i am really pleased with all that is available.

There are tons of great things available for free and even many low price options. It will be a really big help for us in coming years of travel.

It will be harder for you with all those kids and just one laptop, but it will work for those family read alouds. I am not sure what the various smaller e-reader options are or cost, but that might be something you could look into for them to share. My understanding is that you can find some good ones ( maybe second hand) for fairly cheap. Just a thought.

Thanks ST3...there really is quite a range out there, isn't there? We're still getting our head round the logistics....but worst case scenario is that our kids go read the world for a year or so!

I don't know if this has been mentioned. G.A Henty wrote some nice books on History or stories that could have happened in History with some accurate information within the story.

I know nothing about ebooks...but his books were mentioned on my homeschool board as being free on this site to download (does that make it an ebook????) I am clueless.

Just thought I would share
http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/h#a1032

If you go to wikipedia I think they list his books in two ways, from the time he wrote them and also a list on when they happened in History.

We are reading our first one "The Cat of Bubastas". The writing is so rich, it leaves us with a list of words to look up and we are loving it!

I think it is above all of my children but my 9 year old, however my 4 (almost 5) and 6 (almost 7) year old are without a doubt understanding enough of it to atleast enjoy and ask some questions.

Neve

Thanks Mamoo,
I have just fallen in love with gutenberg and free online books, but it is always good to hear personal experience. I knew about this source before, but I did not look as deeply as I have to now.

We have just too many books as it is for a traveling family, so I can not buy any more books, yet I have a reader who has endless thirst.

So e-books have become our new best friends for the road! We will take as many good books that we can fit into the RV ( but it was not enough last year) and will use the free ( or other wise) e-books to supplement.


This is an amazing resource for a traveling family and we have been enjoying reading some together as we get our self use to the format.

We go in and out of internet connection on the road, so we will load up a bunch on her laptop for those occasions where we will not have internet.


We are eclectic homeschoolers, but like much about classical education, so it is great for that too. There are tons of wonderful books available for free.

hey all,
what a fountain of info i have found on here!!! we are just now in the planing stages of our future rtw or vagabonding lifestyle.( i'm going to be posting lots of question on other threads) just wanted to add a nifty item that i gave my husband for xmas, though i believe it is still backordered on amazon. The Kindle. It is amazing!! now understand that this is a man that didn't even like reading paperbacks, he was a hardback diehard....always said he didn't feel like he was holding a book. But this thing has transformed the way he is able to travel with books. You can instantly download books from amazon...it uses cell technology and not wifi. it holds up to 160 books and all your books are held on amazons server just in case you lose it break it. it doesn't use back light so there is no wear on the eyes with that....it just means you have to have light at night just like you would need with a regular book. we are already planning on buying both of our kids (11 and 14)one before our trip and loading on books (which buy the way are a fraction of the price) Certainly changes the way you can pack light

I'll have to look into that bbtz thanks for the rec...

It makes me wonder if we should market some kind of simple wooden book cover, hard cover, very basic then when you open it up you have a computer screen with an ebook. This would let you feel like you are opening a book and reading it and holding it...hmmmmm there must be someone thinking up such a thing....

I have to get use to reading books on the screen. My problem is I always have kid crawling up my leg...or some cat in my lap...

hey mamoo,
it does have a hard cover case that you open and it protects the screen...but it is sooooo lightweight. the good thing about it is it always keeps your place-you never lose your spot. so even if you had to throw it down quick, it keeps your place. he loves it and it has changed the way he travels with books.

Hi, my children are little (5,3 and 1) and we love the publisher Barefoot Books. They publish traditional stories from around the world and also books about journeys. Our favourite is one called "My Granny went to Market to Buy a Flying Carpet", it has a funny text and gorgeous illustrations.

Welcome Wallop!

We have some of these books with us, but I was not aware of their URL:

http://www.barefoot-books.com/site/pages/choice.php

I just added it to my soultravelers3 delicious group ( just starting it as a place to put all the great links that I keep finding).

They are great! We should not buy anymore, but perhaps we will this year when we go to UK & Ireland.

bbtz...
Nice to hear that you are enjoying the kindle!! I am watching that one ( and the sony) to see when the prices will come down and bugs get worked out.

Keep us posted on how it works out on your RTW!

If you are going to London WT, you should visit Stanfords which is, I think, the worlds largest map and travel bookshop. It's got three floors of just travel books, games etc, including a children's section. Also, if you need any recommendations for good things to do with children in London, I can help!

hey wallop,
my kids would love that!! they could spend hours in the barnes and noble here! we are starting our open ended rtw in the UK, so i will take any info you have. my kids are 11 and 14 and love museums, historical sites and anything different!
peace,
b

Hi bbtz
Gosh where do I start? A few quick suggestions...
Hampton Court Palace and the Tower of London both have actors doing historical reenactments, which can be fun. If you are here in winter, you can also ice skate at both palaces.
Polka and Unicorn are two children's theatres, which also do shows for teenagers.
Duck tours is a tank/boat hybrid that drives round the sights then launches into the river Thames for a ride along the river - a bit touristy but fun
Most of the galleries and museums are fantastic (and free!) and have kids programmes. Our favourites include Tate Modern (great exhibits in huge turbine hall), V&A, Science Museum, Natural History, National Portrait Gallery (great for British History - all those portraits of Kings and Queens), Imperial War Museum (good on holocaust if you are heading to Holland, FRance, Germany later) etc etc
Borough Market on Friday and Saturday
London Eye
Royal Mews - this is the Queens stable at Buckingham Palace and you can visit most days to see the Queens personal horses
Dennis Severs House in Spitalfields market - this is a Georgian House that has been kept as it would have been 250 years ago - try and get on one of the twilight tours when it is lit just by candlelight

Sorry to go on and on. These are all things that my kids enjoy or I enjoyed as a child. If you want any more tips, you could PM me, or we could start a new London thread...

I'm very jealous of you leaving so soon. We're planning to go in about 3 years on our RTW trip if we can sort it out.

Best wishes Victoria

thanks so much victoria!!
excellent suggestions! my daughter and i were looking at the eye last night online and she can't wait!!! it's killing them they can't tell friends yet!
do most of the museums have the kids audio? my kids still love that here in nyc even though they have done it over and over. i, frankly, enjoy the kids one as well....as it seems to have a really organic, fresh approach to all that you are seeing (especially for the first time)
love all the info! and considering we will get plenty of time in the UK (less time restrictions than schengen) we should have plenty of opportunity. fabulous!!!!
peace,
b

Hi bbtz
I think they mostly have kids audio, but not sure as my kids are still at the art trolley stage. Some of them are really good at getting kids to join in - my friend took her son to do sculpture at Tate Modern the other day. They had a gallery tour with an artist then went to a room full of modelling materials and were let loose. The museums and galleries do have lots of story telling and treasure hunts etc - I don't know if your kids are too old for that. When you go to Hampton Court Palace, you can be shown round by an actor pretending to be a friend of Henry VIII or see them cooking in the kitchens. I used to visit NYC a lot as a child - it's a fabulous city. There is just as much to do in London - we do something different every weekend and always enjoy ourselves.
Better go, the little one is waking up...