Are you hoping to start teaching your kids about the world? Find out about my favorite baby and toddler travel books for kids that talk about the world. Keep scrolling for the list!
This post about baby and toddler travel books was written by family travel expert Marcie Cheung and may contain affiliate links, which means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.
My family loves to explore the world, but it’s not something we can do all the time. So, we also like to learn about places from around the world from the comfort of our home through toddler travel books.
However, it can be tricky to find age-appropriate toddler travel books about world adventures for babies and toddlers.
Most of the travel books I see are geared toward elementary-aged kids. This will be fantastic when my kids get older, but right now, they just don’t have the attention span for those books.
Thankfully, three authors have remedied this by offering engaging board books that highlight different countries. These are some of the coolest baby books about travel!
We love keeping these travel books for our kids, especially since they make flying with a toddler stress-free that will keep kids entertained. Plus, they’re perfect travel gift ideas for toddlers for your friends who often go on a family vacation with their children.
Building up a collection of kids books related to travel is also one way to create a travel-themed nursery for your kids as they grow older.
We’ve owned these books for almost 4 years now, and my kids STILL like reading them! My oldest can now read them to my youngest, which is awesome!
Amazing Toddler Travel Books
Hello, WorldĀ Series by Ashley Evanson
There is a travel board book series written by Ashley Evanson called Hello, World that feature destinations such as New York, San Francisco
This series is published by Penguin Books and they sent us copies of all the books to review. The illustrations are bright and it’s easy to clearly make out each landmark.
Out of these places, our toddler has only been to San Francisco and Paris. It’s been fun to show him photos of our family touring around and seeing the same sights as in the book.
The San Francisco book focuses on numbers, which is perfect for my toddler, who enjoys counting things.
TheĀ theme of the New York book is colors, which is my son’s other passion. I’ve always thought of New York as being black and white, so it’s refreshing to see the colorful images. My son’s favorite thing to find is the yellow taxi!
My personal favorite is Paris (and its theme of shapes) because I spent my 18th birthday in Paris on a school trip and have wonderful memories of the city.
When I look at this book with my son, we talk about my experiences at different places (Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Notre Dame, etc.) Read about what to do in Paris with Kids.
We do the same thing with the London book. It’s fun to tell him about my time there and what I thought of the landmarks. Check out our London with kids 4-day itinerary.
The London book focuses on opposites, which is fun because my son is developing his sense of humor. He likes to say big things are little and vice versa as a joke to see if I will laugh. It also features a red, double-decker bus!
And these are some of the prettiest children’s travel books we’ve seen!
All Aboard series by Haily Meyers
Along those same lines is a travel book series by Haily Meyers called All Aboard where they show destinations accessible by trains such as California
This series is published by BabyLit, and they sent us the London, Paris, and California travel books to check out.
I really like this series of adventure books for toddlers because there aren’t very many words, so my toddler can “read” the story to me by telling me what he sees on each page. Again, the artwork in this series is really beautiful!
The last page of each book also offers a bonus educational component. For example, the Paris book lists French/English translations of key things in the book. It’s a great way for this series to grow with babies and toddlers.
My son has been to California a few times, so we like to point out where relatives live and what we did in each city. My toddler is a big fan of trains, so one of his favorite things is to look for the train or the train conductor on each page.
Sometimes the trains are in random places, but we find that really funny!
All Aboard London by Kevin & Haily Meyers (From All Aboard! Series)
The London book is really cool because there are trains AND double-decker buses, which is the best combination for my toddler! I like that the pages feature travel-related items like passports and suitcases in addition to significant landmarks.
My toddler is able to point at the items and tell me what they are and how we use them. It’s a great conversation starter about international travel.
The Paris book is my personal favorite in this series. I minored in French in college, and it’s fun to pass along some basic French to my toddler (who’s currently learning Mandarin). He’s at the perfect age to pick up a few words in several languages.
I like that the French is optional since there isn’t much of a story. You can talk about the fun places with babies and younger toddlers and then add the French element later on to refresh the book.
These are some of the best travel books for kids who are obsessed with trains!
Tiny Traveler series by Misti Kenison
Misti Kenison writes the Tiny Traveler board book series that covers Egypt
I like this series because it includes places outside of the U.S. and Europe. The illustrations are also clear and vivid. I really hope China is next on her list of books to write!
We took our toddler to Italy last summer, so that’s been a fun book to read because he remembers a few of the places.
The theme of this book is numbers, which is fun for my count-a-holic toddler. Our favorite page is the one where we can count pizza because then we can talk about yummy food!
I also like the page about paintings because art is a huge part of world culture.
His cousins go to Japan every summer to visit family, so he’s also been interested in the Japan book because he knows that’s where they go.
This book’s theme is nature, and it features bamboo, cherry blossoms, and a Zen Garden. This is nice because we frequently visit a Japanese Garden in Seattle.
He’s able to use the information from this book out in the garden. I love it when travel books encourage children to make connections to the outside world!
These are super cute toddler adventure books to read aloud.
Lonely Planet Kids Pop-Up Travel Books
When my husband and I travel, we like to bring hard-copy guide books so we have something to reference, especially when staying places without wifi.
Lonely Planet is one of our favorite guide book companies, so we were both intrigued to find out they had a line of pop-up books for kids. Destinations they have include New York
The nice thing about these pop-up travel books is that they seem pretty durable. They are recommended for kids ages 5-8, but I think they are also suitable for younger kids.
I don’t think the pop-up features will be easily torn off. I also like that the pop-ups are somewhat subtle. They add a dimension to the book without feeling like it’s going to pop out in my toddler’s face.
Any of these travel books would be great to take on your airplane ride to that destination to show your child what they might see on your trip.
My oldest likes to read the books over and over again and point out the landmarks from each country. What’s really cool is that now he recognizes these landmarks when we see them on TV, in other books, or in photos!
These books look so fun! I miss when my brother was little and I used to read books like this to him.
Marissa, that’s so sweet! I remember reading to my brother, too!
Now I know what to get my kids, if I ever have some =)
Yes! And they make awesome baby shower gifts.
Ugh, so cute! I think reading to little ones is SO important. Reading books about travel may not only inspire them to want to travel, but it also gives them an awareness around other cultures. It is good for children to know that other perspectives exist in the world.
Exactly, Jessica. These books are a great way to start conversations with young children about other cultures and places.
Such a informative post! I have a 3 year old and I was thinking him to introduce to books and this post couldn’t have come at a better time. Loads to take away from the post. Good work!
Fantastic, Ashwini! They are perfect for 3 year olds! The illustrations in all the books are really beautiful.
I wish adult books were as colourful and filled with pcitures like children’s book. Cliched as it may be but ‘Oh, the places you’ll go is my favourite’
Venkat, I wish I would have thought to add ‘Oh, The Places You’ll Go!’ Great book to inspire a desire to see/do as much as possible!
Thanks for sharing, my toddler is almost the same age and I am just starting to get her interested in books. I will try these books with her
Neha, that’s great! Glad to help!
I love this! I never really thought to read travel books to children. I will be having my first baby this July, and I know I want to travel with her, this could be a great way to explain the process of visiting an unfamiliar place.
Yes, it normalizes traveling. Congrats!
Thank you for this AMAZINGGGG list of books! I love them all! And the photos are amazing! We love this Map book too https://www.amazon.com/Maps-Aleksandra-Mizielinska/dp/0763668966
Ooh! I hadn’t heard of this Maps book! I’m going to check it out! The illustrations are gorgeous!
How awesome are these books!! When I have a little one I shall be purchasing these to read to him/her. I never even knew they made travel books for children. Great reviews as well!
I am so getting this for some kiddos in my life! I love to teach kids to take an adventure.
Yes! Inspire them to take an adventure!
I love this! My daughter is only 8 months old but I’ve already made reading an important part of our routine. I hope she grows up with a love to read and travel š
It’s always best to get in the habit. My youngest is now 8 months, too! Congrats!
These books look like so much fun. My little 3 year old loves his books and i think i need to do alittle update on his collection to offer more interactive books. Thanks
These books are a great way to spark some wanderlust!
Very cool! I’ve written and illustrated 3 travel guides for kids: The Travel Adventures of George and Paolo: Italy ?? Thailand ?? and Hong Kong ??
That’s awesome! We’re hoping to head to Hong Kong in 2 years!