Topic: Transport & Travel

It’s the Journey, not the Destination is a non-fiction book that encourages the reader to travel the world but at a slower pace, to take the time to explore through walking, cycling or traveling by boat or train. This ethos of the book resonated with me as a key message important for children and adults alike – life can be so busy sometimes, it is important to create new experiences, taking the time to enjoy these at your own speed.

Split into four sections, this book focuses on 40 slow adventures to take, each through the four different ways to travel. Within each section is a map of the world, with a split pin identifying the location, then a further route map reference for each individual place. This is a clever and interesting addition that children could spend plenty of time exploring and discussing.

Within each of the four sections, various locations around the world are included. Some may be well known to children (for example, the river Nile and Los Angeles) but other places they may not have heard of at all. This in itself is appealing as this book could be used to develop speaking and listening skills (which location should be visited first and why?) as well as further develop geographical understanding.

The illustrations from Kevin and Kristen Howdeshell help to support the information given in the text. The pages are presented in a variety of ways that the reader will be able to interpret and understand, with text sections ranging from small paragraphs to just a couple of sentences. The information about each place covers historical facts, key places to visit and what is life is like for the locals living there.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable book that would appeal to UKS2 children and those curious about the big wide world.