Robin Rector Krupp’s Let’s Go Traveling is the story of a young girl, Rachel, who journeys around the world, exploring the real-life mysterious landmarks of 6 different countries. She travels to France to see pre-historic cave drawings, to England for Stonehenge, to Egypt for the pyramids, to China for the Great Wall, to Mexico for Mayan ruins, and Peru to see Machu Picchu. Rachel’s trips are narrated in first person, and the book is designed somewhat like a scrapbook, full of pictures, postcards, and journal entries written by Rachel. Along with the narration and “scraps,” there are random tid-bits of facts and vocabulary words scattered throughout the book. There is a lot of information in Let’s Go Traveling, so this book would work well for students who just want to quickly flip through pages and still learn something, or for those who are really interested in travel and ancient world cultures.
Curriculum Connections
Let’s Go Traveling is filled with facts and stories about important locations that are often used when students are learning about geography (VA SOL 2.4, 3.5). In additon to the maps and info about the countries, the author also explains some of the history behind some of the facts included in the book. Because Let’s Go Traveling covers very different locations, the book could be read for an introductory lesson on how landscapes and cultures vary depending where in the world a person is; or, only certain sections of the book could be used to focus on specific lessons (like Egypt).
Additional Resources
- The Children’s Author Network provides a nice short bio of Robin Rector Krupp and the other books that she’s written.
- At the National Geographic for Kids website, the People and Places section supplies a good amount of information in a kid-friendly format about anywhere in the world. I enjoyed the “What school is like in (featured country)” segment, where a video highlights what it is like to be a student in a different country.
- A fun way to help kids practice their geography and map knowledge is offered at KidsGeo.com, where a student can play games ranging from learning the locations of states and countries, to knowing capitals, to reinforcing latitude and longitude.
- The National Council for Geographic Education is a good resource for teachers who are looking for additional support with their geography skills and lessons.
Book: Let’s Go Traveling
Author and Illustrator: Robin Rector Krupp
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication Date: January 1992
Pages: 38 pages
Grade Range: 2-5
ISBN: 0590485768