Travel to Paris with 5 Children’s Books

If you’ve already exhausted the Babars, Fancy Nancys and Madelines, here are a few more to take your kids to Paris whether you have your tickets booked or not. Even without any travel plans, books are one of the best ways to travel to new cities without spending a cent.

Everybody Bonjours! by Leslie Kimmelman

What’s not to love about a girl going around the city seeing everyone greet each other? And isn’t the title charming enough to get young children excited about Paris? The illustrations cover all important landmarks and simple text points to different places and people who Bonjour. Toddlers and preschoolers will love this introduction to sightseeing in the beautiful City of Lights.

Come Fly With Me by Satomi Ichikawa

Tired of being contained to a toy box, Cosmos—a wooden airplane—decides to take off. Woggy, his stuffed doggy companion encourages him, navigates and rides along. They fly over tall buildings and also survive a cloud monster. At one point, they even get wet and hit the earth. But they are in the air again and don’t stop until they settle down for a good view of the Eiffel Tower from the top of the Panthéon dome. Now, that’s how we get to sit in the comfort of our home and fly over Paris!

A Spree in Paree by Catherine Stock

Let’s set aside the image of high fashion and modern art for a bit and travel to a barn in the French countryside. That’s where Monsieur Monmouton is preparing to finally visit Paris after hearing fascinating urban stories from Parisians he’s been hosting in his farm for many summers. But why is his trip a disaster? What is his horde of farm animals doing at the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe and on the Seine? A riot is an understatement. But now that he is back in his farm house, does Monsieur Monmouton miss city life

Dodsworth in Paris (A Dodsworth Book) by Tim Egan

This is an early chapter book series featuring Dodsworth, the globetrotter, and his silly companion, Duck. And in this one they take us to the street cafés and all major attractions in Paris. Kids will love to see the city through their funny experiences and will learn a few words in French along the way. As in every book in the series, Duck is up to mischief of all sorts and the story twists and turns until all ends well.

Belinda in Paris by Amy Young

It’s rather odd not to have a ballet one in a pile of books on Paris. So here’s one from the Belinda series in which the ballerina’s pointe shoes are still missing while the entire city is gearing up for her performance that night. But little Gabrielle helps out a worried Belinda. The two hit the streets of Paris to find Belinda the perfect shoes. Read and find out how a couple of baguettes, a piece of fine silk and a talented cobbler come together to make Belinda’s recital a grand success. All while taking a quick tour of the city. If you love Belinda, you’ll also love “Eloise in Paris” and “Charlotte in Paris.”

Interested in more ways you can travel to France?

Food

How about cooking something French with your child?. Make a whole unit of learning out of it!

Try some croque monsieurs.

Music 

Lango’s French CD is an excellent introduction to or reinforcement for French. It’s not clear though if you can buy their CD without enrolling in their class but their classes are a great introduction for children to learning another language.