Posts Tagged ‘book review’

I was running late for my 7 a.m. flight from Denver to Charlotte, en route to the Type-A Mom Conference in Asheville, North Carolina. First, the shuttle from my airport-area hotel was 12 minutes late. Then TSA found a 5-oz tube of facial cleanser at the bottom of my backpack (I’d been looking for that soap for weeks!). I didn’t want to toss the nearly full container, so I took the time to empty it into smaller bottles I had with me. Going back through security took at least another 5 valuable minutes.

But my morning was pie compared to the man I met at gate C-31.

As I made my way to the jetway with the cattle herd of other folks with Zone 4 (last) seating, a handsome, 40-something man in jeans, hiking shoes and graying, closely cropped hair approached. “Is this the plane to Charlotte?” Yes. “Did I miss Zone 3 seating?” Yes. He attempted to blend in with the crowd, and I was annoyed, “Hey, you were here late,” I thought, but didn’t say. “Move to the back of the line.”

Instead, I ushered him in front of me, saying, “We’re all going to the same place.” A few moments passed, and he said to no one in particular, “I just totaled my car.”

Whaaaaa?

Turns out he left his home in the Denver-area foothills early – at 5 a.m. – so he could take his time driving to the airport to catch his flight. Instead he hit an elk (“a 10 pointer”) on Interstate 70, deploying the airbag.

The lanky kid with the guitar next to me piped up, “That was you? I saw that elk. It was huge!”

State police responded quickly. The front of the Toyota 4-runner was smashed – the car was totaled. A woman in the car behind the accident pulled over and offered to drive the gentleman to the airport – she’d just won $1200 at the Blackhawk Casino. What a juxtaposition of two strangers – one celebrating her good luck and one dealing with the consequences of crummy luck.

The man in front of me in the boarding line was certainly on edge, but composed. A little jittery, but not falling apart. I said, “I can’t believe you made it here, for the flight.”

“I had to,” the man said, “I haven’t seen my parents in 10 months. I couldn’t call them to say I wasn’t coming.”

He didn’t want to disappoint his mom and dad. That brought tears to my eyes.

And I was embarrassed – I was annoyed at this guy for wanting to “cut me” in line, when he’d had such a traumatic morning.

Ironically, in my carry-on was a book, Step Back from the Baggage Claim, that I devoured on my two-hour flight. The author, Jason Barger, explains how small changes we might make in the way we behave in an airport, can help improve how we, as a society, can change the world for the better.

Heavy stuff. But so simple. And so right on.

One of the lessons in this short book – based on Jason’s insights gleaned from spending 7 days in 6 different U.S. airports – is to “share compassion with those along your journey.” Jason notes, “We have no idea what tugs at the hearts of the people we sit next to on the airplane, stand next to in security lines, bump into in the food court or box out in baggage claim.”

We don’t know what metaphorical baggage people are carrying with them as they make their way through their days … instead of getting annoyed at folks who want to “cut the line” (!), why not “travel gracefully,” as Jason suggests, with a smile on your face and and kind words and gestures for everyone you meet.

I sure felt lousy after I found out about the incredibly crummy morning my fellow passenger had. And after reading Step Back from the Baggage Claim, that message of sharing compassion sure hit home. (Here’s a more thorough review this thoroughly inspiring book on the Practical Travel Gear blog.)

I sure hope the mystery man can find peace during his visit with his folks – and that he’s got a great insurance company and he can replace his car soon.

Travel gracefully!

Photo courtesy Colorado.com, Matt Inden/Weaver Multimedia Group.

Our friends at Wanderlust and Lipstick have a new book on the shelves: Traveling with Kids is filled with tips from expert authors Michelle Duffy and Leslie Forsberg, as well as anecdotes from more than 40 other moms.

The general guide is geared toward parents who are new to traveling with children. In fact, the book  would make a nice baby shower gift for soon-to-be parents who would like to keep up their on-the-road lifestyle but aren’t sure how that’s going to work with a little one in tow. Chapters include everything from Pre-Trip Planning to Flight Plans to Responsible Travel, which focuses on teaching your children how to respect other cultures and respect the environment.

I like the book’s master packing list, which reminded me I need to update the list I keep on my hard drive. I think it dates back a few years, when I was still packing water-wings and sippy cups for my preschoolers! (The kids are now 7 and 9.) And because I am a list fanatic, I also appreciate the 200 “essential websites” for travel planning and buying gear that makes travel easier (like my beloved Klutz activity books).

Purchase the 349-page Traveling with Kids on Amazon.com for $12.

Did someone say party? Party Across America is actually a book, written by Michael Guerriero, and does it has the scoop on good times – from Anchorage’s Fun Rendezvous to Laconia Motorcycle Week to Hard Rock Rehab Party in Las Vegas and, of course, Mardi Gras. One hundreds and one of the top festivals, sporting events and celebrations are featured, but what I find so helpful about Party Across America is that it’s loaded with all sorts of information like transportation, ticket costs, what to pack and general party tips (who can’t use tips?). The super cool part – the author hit each festival, or party, himself and he has driven cross-country eight times! This guy knows what he’s talking about. If you love a good party – I highly recommend Party Across America!

I love lists. And I especially love Top 10 lists. So, National Geographic’s 10 Best of Everything for Families: An Ultimate Guide to Travel was appealing to me from the get-go. The book’s colorful collage of cover photos and its square shape also made me just want to start flipping through the pages. (I’m the crazy girl who insisted on square-shaped wedding invitations, even though they cost twice as much to mail.)

Inside are lists that range from the 10 best ice cream spots in the Northeast to the 10 best family-friendly St. Patrick’s Day celebrations nationwide to the 10 best packing tips — and hundreds more lists in between.

Some lists are grouped by geographical region of the United States, others by interest (Ski Spots, Art Museums, Amusement Parks, Asian Events). The focus is definitely on the U.S., but there is a small section listing great places for families to visit around the world.

The good thing is that all of the information is indexed in the back of the book. So I can flip to the “C” section and find out what the author recommends to see and do in my home state of Colorado. And I love the section on tips for recording family vacation memories, which includes suggestions for road-trip music playlists, arranged by genre.

Does this book cover a lot of ground? Absolutely. Will all of it apply to your family? No way. It really is a potpourri of information that  absolutely whets my appetite for travel, but it also has a lot of extraneous information that I can’t see using in my lifetime of traveling with kids.

Would I buy this book for myself? Probably not. It retails for $21.95, and there is just too much in the book that doesn’t apply to me and my family’s travel plans (as much as I’d love to pack the kids in an RV and take off for three months to see our country, it’s not a reality right now).  But I would recommend it as a gift for any family who’s embarking on a multi-state road trip this summer or who regularly travels to different regions of the United States.

Here’s a great new gift for a young child who likes to learn about different parts of the world — without ever having to leave home!

Laura Ljungkvist’s brightly colored Follow the Line Around the World, for ages 3 and up, takes readers from Australia to the Amazon, Sri Lanka to the Sahara. A single black line, which morphs into elephants, camels, burros, cacti, evergreens and other shapes along the way, literally flows from page to page. Each two-page spread profiles a different area of the world, and captions are chock full of facts.

For example, “A taiga [which covers a large part of Russia] is an evergreen forest with very harsh winters and warm, humid summers,” and “Nearly 170 different languages are spoken in New York City,” and “Female donkeys are called jennies.” I liked the factoid on a page about space, where it says straightforwardly, “Pluto used to be considered a planet, but now it’s not.”

A simple message at the end of the picture book reminds us all to be gentle to Mother Earth — so we can continue to enjoy all the flora and fauna found in the various countries around the world.

Other books by Swedish author/illustrator Laura Ljungkvist include Follow the Line and Follow the Line Through the House.

Rome with Kids: An Insider’s Guide, by JM Pasquesi, is different than the straightforward, dry, “just the fact, ma’am” style of most guide books. International family travel anywhere can be a trial; try adding sites of historic interest, and it doubles. Rome might be boring for young kids who don’t care about or understand the historical context of attractions like the Colosseum or Forum, and aggravating for parents who want to see said attractions without their children whining and complaining. Interesting travel can’t all be about the gift shops, after all! That being said, Rome with Kids: An Insider’s Guide helps makes a family vacation in Rome fun and exciting for children. In an interview with the author, JM Pasquesi told me that the key to easy European travel with kids is “spacing and pacing.” Slow down the pace, and take time to experience sites. Parents need to adjust their expectations: Changing the pace of a trip to Rome may mean not getting to see everything on a parent’s list, but those that are seen, are appreciated much more. Children benefit from taking time in the same surroundings, to feel comfortable.

Rome with Kids is a great family guide, with suggested itineraries and tips for how to explain Rome’s long history in accessible ways. “Kids enjoy touring when information is presented in entertaining ways,” says the author, who has taken her boys for extended vacations in Italy several times. The guide book includes creative treasure hunt style games, and doesn’t shy away from some of the more grim tales of gladiators and other aspects of Rome that have built-in appeal for older kids. With these older children (especially boys, for some reason), the bloody stuff is the most interesting – and since it’s part of the history of Rome, it’s legitimate to talk about it with the older set.

The Forum, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Vatican and more all get their sections in this book, which manages to wrap 3,000 years of Roman history in its easily comprehensible manner. You don’t have to travel with kids to appreciate all that this guide book has to offer (although it’s a good excuse). The creative suggestions for children can also be fun for adults getting to know Rome – I think it would be fun to try to find many of the “Can You Find” highlighted sections for kids. Finding Michelangelo’s signature on the Pieta, for example, would be quite a thrill. I wholeheartedly recommend this new travel guide (published by Synergy Books, July 2007). A family planning a vacation in Rome would benefit greatly from this book. Children will enjoy the tips and creative suggestions for having fun in Italy, and when the kids are happy, so are the parents.