Teething Travels

Sleepless nights are all the rage in our house at the moment, if it's not cognitive development keeping Joel awake (which means he goes to bed but cannot switch his brain off to figuring to how to walk) then it's six teeth all on the move at once.

This means that the once short and sweet bedtime story has now been extended to the larger books on his shelf. I thought what better way to forget your troubles than to learn of far away places. Joel is too young to see the world but he can still hear all about it.

So I've been reading him the 'This Is...' range of books by M.Sasek. First published in the 1960's this series of books feature some of the finest illustrations I've ever seen. They are laid out in a fun and informative way and feature all the details about a place which children love to hear. I only have four of the books so am thinking as each birthday comes up we can buy him a new one until he has the full set.

 Last night we learned about Paris.

Places to visit of cultural interest, like the bird market. Pet birds aren't as popular over here.

Unusual places, like the cemetery for dogs. Which includes the odd cat too.

The illustrations mix in some very tactile bits of print, like tickets for the Metro.

He makes shopping look so much fun! I want to be in that flea market right now, buying French junk and having Myrtle clipped like a posh poodle

All the while encouraging children to see for themselves what the world has to offer.

We are really enjoying the books. I like to think that when he finally goes to sleep his head is full of the facts and sights of wonderful cities which one day he'll visit with us.