My Globetrotter Books Review

My Globetrotter Books – Bangkok, New York, Paris, Quebec & Montreal, Tokyo

When I had kids 10+ years ago, I knew that I wanted to teach them about the world. I wanted them to understand different cultures and different languages. My parents made it clear to me growing up that travel, and understanding people from all over the world was very important. So, when it was time for me to have my own children, I talked to my husband at length about the values my parents instilled in me when I was a child. It was important to me that we both instill a love of travel and understanding in our kids. Of course, we both love travel and other cultures so it wasn’t a surprise when I brought it up to him about 5 months into our pregnancy. Seeing his face light up when I talked about taking our kids internationally, and showing them other cultures was priceless. His family was in the military, so he spent a significant amount of time in other countries, including Singapore, France, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, and Germany.

When I had the opportunity to review books about Globetrotting, the My Globetrotter Book series, I was ecstatic. I love finding books about travel, different cultures, etc for kids. There aren’t enough out there in my opinion, and it’s always neat to come across one. My kids and I read, drew, decoded, found, colored, associated and quizzed our way through Bangkok, Paris, Tokyo & New York! To say that we had a blast is an understatement. My kids have been to New York, Paris & Tokyo. They have not been to Bangkok. Even though my kiddos had been to some of these places before, these books kept them engaged and excited. They recognized a few places in each book, and also learned more about the city, the culture, and the history.

Bangkok – City of Angels – My Globetrotter Book

Over 8 million people live in Bangkok, Thailand. It’s a place where you’ll see a mix of both traditional Thai culture and architecture next to ultra-modern high rises.

 PARIS – My Globetrotter Book

Paris, the City of Lights! It is one of the great capitals of the world, with centuries of history everywhere you look, a mecca for fashion, fancy cuisine, and art. More than 2,000 years ago, a tribe called the Parisii, settled their small fishing village here on an island in the middle of the Seine River. Fast-forward to today, and you are now in a bustling metropolis of over 12 million people!

 TOKYO – My Globetrotter Book

Tokyo is the capital of Japan and the most populous metropolitan area in the world. Just think: in Tokyo, you are 1 among 37 million other people who live and work in this grand city! It is the seat of the Emperor of Japan and of the Government of Japan. Japanese culture and history are rich and complex. You can see, feel, and taste it wherever you go in the city.

 NEW YORK – My Globetrotter Book

New York is an iconic city! Just think about how many firms take place in the Big Apple, how many songs have been written about it. You probably also know about these New York City landmarks: the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Times Square, Central Park and so much more. It is the most populous city of the USA!

What my kids loved about these books:

• They are about 24-28 pages long…giving them a good chunk of history and culture but not becoming too overwhelming
• They have activities that are fun — not just mundane. Some activity books like these have some very “young” activities in them and my kids get bored. These books kept them engaged (my kid are 6, 8 & 11).
• There is a certificate at the end that my kids got to put up on their wall. They thought that was so cool. My youngest even asked for his to be framed. Of course, I obliged. 🙂
• There was an answer key in the back. If they were stumped, they would ask me to look up the answer and we’d talk about it together. It was a fun way for us to explore things they didn’t know.
• These books have great illustrations and thick pages. The kids were in awe of how interesting the books were and that’s in part because of the illustrations and the packaging of the books.

Why I loved these books:

• It was an easy way for me to introduce my kids to a different culture/part of the world.
• The activities were age appropriate and sometimes a little challenging for them. They had to ask for help a few times and I love it when that happens! It stretches their brain!
• The illustrations and packaging are top notch. They look and FEEL high end and like they will last.
• They included history, but also games & puzzles to keep the kids interested.
• They weren’t too long (24-26 pages each), so it was a great car ride activity or waiting room activity.
• My kids asked to read the books after their normal school work was done. (SCORE!)
• My kids started doing their own research on Bangkok after reading and participating in the books!

When I come across books that are special, I want to tell everyone I know about them. This is how I feel about the My Globetrotter Book series. Not only are they high quality, the author does an incredible job making the history and culture of these places shine bright. My kids are so excited about Bangkok that we are doing a 2-week unit study all about Bangkok, starting next week. This is in no small part because of these books. Seeing my kids get so excited about a new place and wanting to learn all about it brings tears to my eyes. Travel, culture and understanding of other parts of the world is a value that my husband and I share deeply. It’s something we’ve always wanted to instill in our kids, and seeing them react this way makes my heart so happy. If you or your kids are interested in travel, learning about different cultures, the history, and what makes them special, I highly recommend these books. The My Globetrotter Book series is something special, and I hope that you get the opportunity to read and draw, decode and learn about each city in this series. It’s something special when I get goosebumps seeing my kids engage with a book in this way, and I hope that you’ll get to feel the same thing with your kids when they read and interact with these books.

You can purchase them directly on Amazon, or by going to http://myglobetrotterbook.com/index.html. These titles are also all available in French on the Canadian market. The French versions will soon also be available worldwide through Amazon.

Happy travels!

Katie, Mom of 3