12 year old daughter is not as much of a book worm like me, and would very rarely read full novels. On the other hand, she prefers to read little facts of places she visited and recently, we took a trip to Singapore and she brought along her Lonely Planet Kids: The Cities Book and the Lonely Planet Kids’ Unfolding Journeys….to occupy her time when we were at the hotel….and she was really engrossed with the books…

I got the Lonely Planet Kids which I thought was ideal for as it was an interesting book that brings my daughter on a journey through 86 of the world’s greatest cities, from countries she has visited, countries she knows as well as countries she does not yet know about…

She loved the book a lot and was soon in the process of planning and telling me where she wanted to visit next

The Lonely Planet Kids: The Cities Book (hardcover; USD $19.99) is ideal for all older kids aged 8 and above and well, even I am fascinated and browsing through the book myself, I learned many new facts as well, afterall, you are never too old to learn something new right…. hehehe

I love this book just as much as my daughter does too.. it makes a great coffee table book as it is packed with colourful pages with pictures, facts and stats about a host of incredible cities – from Auckland, Běijīng and Copenhagen all the way through to Zanzibar Town.

Like for example… did you know that Mary, the Queen of Scots took baths in sweet white wine so that her skin would be more beautiful… and (yucks) the used wine were then bottled and given to the poor people……

You will find other strange questions/facts such as…. Where might you come across a poisonous boomslang? Which city hosts a famous goat derby? What metropolis has such a hectic transport system, train-stuffers have to help passengers aboard? The answers to all these and more are waiting inside Lonely Planet Kids: The Cities Book. Get one for your kids to  help them take the trip of a lifetime…

My daughter also had the pair of  Lonely Planet Kids’ Unfolding Journeys (fold-out books; USD$17.99 ea.) …

The Lonely Planet Kids’ Unfolding Journeys series presents some of the most breathtaking landscapes on the planet. Each title charts a journey in a sensational fold-out wall frieze nearly two-metres long, which can be removed and displayed.

It is beautifully illustrated in detail on one side and filled with so many fascinating and interesting facts on the other side, these books are definitely a surprise and a delight to have….

 Since we were in Singapore, I brought my daughter to the River Safari there in Mandai and she got to see all the fascinating animals there, and well, among the ‘rivers’ we visited, there were features of Amazon in their Wild Amazonia… there was the Amazon Flooded Forest, the Squirrel Monkey Forest and the Amazon River Quest where she came face to face with the manatee, the arapaima, the electric eel, giant otters, zebra catfish, green anaconda, piranhas, jaguar, capybara and many, many more and she was so excited in reading more about them in the Lonely Planet Kids’ Unfolding Journeys: Amazon Adventure….

Yeah, even if you are not visiting the Amazon or the Singapore River Safari, the Lonely Planet Kids’ Unfolding Journeys: Amazon Adventure will bring you on an unforgettable journey down the Amazon River where you will sail past tribal villages and bustling jungle cities, and come face to face with incredible rainforest creatures in this beautifully illustrated wall frieze.

The other book we had and read was the Lonely Planet Kids’ Unfolding Journeys: Rocky Mountain Explorer

This book brought us and will bring any of their readers on a little journey from Vancouver to Calgary, on an amazing mountain journey past snowy peaks and rushing rivers.  You can learn more about those majestic eagles, sockeye salmon and bears among the trees, spot daredevils on snowmobiles and discover loads of fascinating facts about this amazing part of the planet.

I was just wondering why there were no salmons featured in any of the aquariums I visited and from this book, I realise the reason is because these fish are really strange.. they are born in fast running rivers, and then migrate or move to a lake where it is more placid to grow up…then they will swim out to the ocean to fatten themselves up with the plankton there, and then swim all the way back to a freshwater river to lay their eggs and then die… hmmm…. What a life… hahah

Anyway, yes, you get all these super interesting facts and more with these amazing books….I was just as fascinated with the books as my mini me was… and we got to spend a few hours of quality time together poring over the books and learning a few new things about the places, animals and culture of some interesting places…

 For additional information about Lonely Planet Kids and more, visit lonelyplanetkids.com and Facebook (facebook.com/lpkidstravel), and on Twitter (@lpkids and #lpkids)