The Child's Gift of Art
This was a very smart set to bring with us as Mozart loves them and rereads them over and over. There are actually four books in this set, one each about DaVinci, Picasso, Degas and Van Gogh. In a fun, child centric way they teach a lot about the artist and their art. They are also tiny books, so great for travel. I just happened to buy these at a museum a few years before leaving, so glad I did now.

Linnea in Monet's Garden
Simply a wonderful book to help a young child prepare for Paris, Monet, Giverny, museums, history and gardens and encourages her to appreciate the beauty of all. It will also keep the memories alive years after the event. We even got the doll of Linnea while at one of the Paris museums and Mozart carried it with her all over France and still plays with her from time to time. We wrote about how we used it to plan part of our Itinerary here & I don't think Mozart will ever forget Angelinas.

Zoe Sophia's Scrapbook
This is  wonderful book to prepare for Venice and Mozart has always enjoyed the story of this 9 year old girl's trip to Venice. We used it to make up a kid's itinerary during our time in Venice which Mozart got a real kick out of, as you might recall from this post.

Michelangelo's Surprise
This is a lovely picture book that Mozart has had for a long time which I picked up by chance one day long ago. She has always liked it and it was particularly nice to have it with us in Florence. Her connection to the story and beautiful pictures helped her feel more familiar with Florence, the Medici's and Michelangelo.

Babar's World Tour
This is a sweet book that is a must for a young child going on a world tour and a nice educational tool for any child, especially one that is following us. Lovely pictures and story like all the Barbar books.This was a great book to use to help prepare Mozart for our trip. They have simple words in different languages (and how to pronounce them) which adds to the value.

Alan Rogers Europe
This is my second favorite camping guide for Europe. I wonder if Church based his book on this one in some ways. What I like about both is there is more information and it is laid out very clearly. Many times in an RV, you do not know where you are going to spend the night and it really helps to have all the information at your fingertips. Many camp directories have so many abbreviations that they are hard to decipher. This is a good one and clear. I do wish they had more choices for every area.

Adventuring with Children
I love this classic book and think every family should own it! The subtitle says it all" An Inspirational Guide to World Travel & the Outdoors". This book is just chock full of gems and great information. She really covers everything from how to do hand laundry to keeping up violin practice while adventuring as a family. She has twin boys and a girl, so lots of practical experience over the years in many different modes from yachting and camping to hiking and biking on short and long trips.

Exotic Travel Destinations for Families
This is a great how-to book for exotic family travel. When I first looked at it I was inspired and some of the trips looked quite exotic to my eyes, but now that we have been to Morocco and Turkey as a family, most of it looks rather tame and we know we enjoy travel on the exotic side. If you have not done any exotic travel as a family, this book is an informative place to start your research.

Special Places to Stay Spain
I really like these books and the special places that they list. We have not used the one for Spain yet, but I like to pour over it and dream. Perhaps we will at least stop at some of these places for a meal soon or maybe do a week end. We did use the Morocco edition to find places there and were pleased with our choices.

What Your Doctor May NOT Tell You
About Children's Vaccinations
Written by an MD who is an expert on pediatric
vaccinations, this is an excellent book to help one
make this very important and difficult decision.
It is essential to get informed, even more so for
families that travel. Travel clinics have a vested
interest, so unlikely to give you the whole picture.
This book is a good starting point. Sometimes the
vaccine can be more harmful than the  disease and
there are many precautions a parent can take to
make this a safer choice.