Tandem Team

  • Mindy
    Mindy is a librarian (MLS '01) with a background in working with teens. She loves to read all over the map and has been blogging about books since 2003.
  • Vanessa
    Vanessa is a teacher who is nearing completion of her MS Ed. degree from the University of Minnesota. She especially enjoys humorous picture books.
  • Anne
    Anne is a librarian (MLS '02) who has worked in publishing and libraries for 11 years. She loves YA fantasy, historical fiction, and chick lit.
  • Kelly
    Kelly is a teacher with experience in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and abroad. She is always looking for books with classroom connections!
  • Emily
    Emily is a librarian (MLS '02) who has worked in school libraries and a children’s literature collection at a university. She particularly enjoys realistic fiction and stories about traveling.
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November 26, 2007

Itchy Feet? Take a Trip with a Book!

If the holiday season has you itching for travel but you can’t actually get away, check out these great travel-themed books. 

             Abundance_2    Tallulah_2  Search_mock_3    Red_glass_2

John Green’s Printz Honor winning An Abundance of Katherines takes us to Tennessee with Colin and Hassan since, of course, a road trip is the ultimate cure for a broken heart.  They end up in Gutshot, TN, a town as unique as the name makes it sound.  If you like Tennessee, you can also find yourself there in Tallulah Falls by Christine Fletcher when Tallulah gets stranded there on her way to Florida.                                                                 

If you’re feeling spontaneous, you might hop a bus to Alabama like Erin in In Search of Mockingbird   by Loretta Ellsworth.  Harper Lee has been her hero for a long time, and she is determined to meet the reclusive author.  Erin finds more than she was looking for on her trip.  Much like Sophie in Red Glass, who travels to Mexico with her great-aunt, but soon is on her own in Guatemala.  It turns out she’s much stronger than she thinks she is.

   Wanderer      Year     Rainstorm

Another Sophie takes a trip in The Wanderer by Sharon Creech.  This Sophie sails across the Atlantic with her three uncles and two cousins to see her grandfather. We read Sophie’s journal of the trip as she talks about her grandfather and the sea, but we also get her cousin Cody’s journal entries, which provide a much different look at the trip and give us a different perspective on Sophie.  This is a personal favorite of mine, great for upper elementary or middle school readers.

Don’t leave the kids behind!  The Year I Didn’t Go to School, Giselle Potter’s autobiographical picture book based on the journal she kept while her family traveled around Italy when she was seven, proves that travel is just as exciting for kids as it is for adults.  This book is a great opportunity to share the idea of keeping a “travel journal” with kids. 

Or take a trip in your imagination with Rainstorm. In Barbara Lehman’s latest picture book, a boy finds a mysterious key, which leads him on a magical journey one rainy day.  This wordless story will change the way you look at gloomy days. 

Whether it’s a real vacation or just an afternoon daydream, happy travels to you!

Posted at 01:38 PM in Book Round Ups, Mindy's posts |