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Lonely Planet Kids America's National Parks

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Calling all adventurers! Are you ready to explore America's 60 amazing national parks?

From Acadia's seaside cliffs and coves to Zion's enchanting red valleys, take a journey through the United States' most spectacular and exciting landscapes with America's National Parks from Lonely Planet Kids.

With awesome facts, photos and illustrations on every page, you'll discover erupting geysers, exploding volcanoes, howling wolves, soaring eagles, mountains, glaciers, rainforests and more throughout the continental USA, Hawaii, American Samoa and the US Virgin Islands.

America's national parks are bursting with gasp-worthy wonders: the world's largest tree with branches stretching 400 feet into the sky; the planet's grandest canyon 6,000 feet deep; a crystal-clear lake deeper than the Empire State Building.

Meet the animals roaming each park, including gators, bison, gray wolves, spotted salamanders, great horned owls, bald eagles and grizzly bears, and find out the best activities, like snorkeling, white-water rafting, hiking, winter sports, exploring ghost towns and geyser watching.

About Lonely Planet Kids: Lonely Planet Kids - an imprint of the world's leading travel authority Lonely Planet - published its first book in 2011(more...)

256 pages, Hardcover

Published March 19, 2019

3 people are currently reading
67 people want to read

About the author

Alexa Ward

10 books1 follower

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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Profile Image for McKenna.
385 reviews
October 23, 2022
3.75/5

This was very good- it would probably be a good introduction to kids about the national parks.

The mix of photography with little cartoons was a good mix and the photography was absolutely stunning.

My two main critiques is that I wish there was a mini conclusion- not super in depth or anything just a little bit. Also! I wish they had included like a photo of a simple map of the state/country and where in it the park was. I think that would’ve been good to connect that to the opening map!
Profile Image for Tonja Drecker.
Author 3 books236 followers
June 18, 2024
The excitement and variety that America's National Parks comes across in a way, which will have readers wanting to visit almost every single one and discover it themselves.

The main book, America's National Parks, is thick, sturdy, and packed with National Park goodness. It begins with a map of the US, where each park is marked by a colored number. These work together with the Table of Contents to help readers immediately find the parks closet to them or those near where ever they might be headed (and all others, too). Before heading into the main chapters, there is a foreword to inspire and an explanation of S.T.A.R.S. (safety and responsibility). Each park (chapter) begins with a big, lovely photo, a corner with quick facts about size and such, and a short tidbit about a specialty of the park. The next two pages offer a few more photos, a couple paragraph description over the park's highlights, and list of things to do and see. It's short, sweet, and gets across the 'good stuff' about each one without dragging on and on.

It's enjoyable to simply flip through this book and take in the wonderful scenes. The variety each park has to offer comes across clearly, and it awakens the traveling spirit. There are small illustrated animals added in here and there, which add a touch of humor and lightness. But then, this isn't a heavy read, anyway.

The text fits well to the middle grade age group as it stays concise, while still delivering the important facts. It's written as if the author is directly conversing with the reader. It never talks down to the audience, but rather, naturally discusses different aspects of each place in a way, which awakens curiosity. Some even offer a more atmospheric glimpse as to what a visitor might experience. Then, the 'Things to See' and 'Things to Do' drop in with a couple hints to help readers dream or plan of what a visit to the park may look like. These include many free as well as a few money-dependent activities and also make sure the animal/bird life isn't forgotten.

There is an activity book available which partners extremely well with this main one and offers all sorts of puzzles and activities, one to correspond with each National Park.

Anyone who is vacation dreaming and has National Parks in their plans...or wants to learn more about the parks in the US...is in for a fun read with this set.
I received a complimentary copy and am going to be keeping this one in mind as a gift for the little travelers around me.
Profile Image for SoundsPress.
8 reviews
February 13, 2023
BUY THE BOOK HERE ON AMAZON - https://amzn.to/3jCCQTr

America's National Parks by Lonely Planet Kids is a fantastic book that has sparked a love of nature and adventure in me. As someone who has always enjoyed exploring the great outdoors, this book has been a wonderful source of inspiration for my future travels.

The book is filled with gorgeous photographs of America's national parks, each one more breathtaking than the last. The accompanying text is informative and engaging, offering interesting facts and tidbits about each park. I found myself learning new things about these beautiful places that I had never known before.

What I appreciated most about this book was the way it encouraged a sense of adventure and a love of nature in me. The authors do a fantastic job of highlighting the unique features of each park and making them feel like a place that is just waiting to be explored. I found myself daydreaming about visiting each park and experiencing their natural beauty for myself.

Overall, America's National Parks by Lonely Planet Kids is a fantastic book that has become a favorite of mine. Whether you're a nature lover, a traveler, or just someone who appreciates beautiful photography, this book is sure to inspire and delight. I highly recommend it!

BUY THE BOOK HERE ON AMAZON - https://amzn.to/3jCCQTr

LISTEN TO MY PODCAST ABOUT THIS BOOK - https://anchor.fm/soundspresscom/epis...
Profile Image for Stephanie Bange.
2,061 reviews23 followers
September 24, 2020
Dip your toes into America's National Parks in this book from Lonely Planet Kids.

A wonderful introduction of these parks, with suggestions of things for kids to do and see at each site. (Note that 2 more were added in 2019 for a total of 62 parks now.) Nicely formatted, it opens with a map of the U.S. with locations of all of the National Parks noted, includes an introduction about the National Parks, S.T.A.R.S. (rules of safety and responsibility tips for kids to remember), diving right into the parks. Arranged alphabetically by park, each has 4 pages dedicated to it. The first two name the park, give its number on the map, uses the 2-letter abbreviation for the state, features a two-page spread full color photograph of a major site in the park, and includes a paragraph summarizing what is to be seen there. Turn the page to learn more detail of what can be seen, highlights to see and why, things to do, and captioned color photographs of a few highlights. Cartoonish illustrations are added to appeal to kids and keep things light.

Full color photography is stellar and sure to draw in interest. This would be great to whet the appetite for arm-chair travellers to want to get out to go see it.

Recommended for grades 3-8, although older children and adults will also enjoy this.

Profile Image for Evan Hays.
639 reviews11 followers
August 10, 2020
Really fun summertime read during Covid. Instead of traveling to these amazing places, a book had to do. The kids are a bit young for it anyway, so we will build ourselves up with WI camping for a few years and then be ready for the big boys. I have been to a decent number of these, but always want to go to more, and this book did an excellent job of selling each in a short number of pages. Jackson loved reading this book during lunch times, and I hope it inspires an insatiable desire to visit more and more of these over the years. All that was missing was kind of the larger perspective on regions and how parks compare and contrast.
Profile Image for Laura Gardner.
1,836 reviews125 followers
March 11, 2019
America's 60 national parks, including one on American Samoa and one on the U.S. Virgin Islands are explored in fascinating detail with gorgeous images. With a conversational text and cute illustrations, the book is highly engaging and fun to read. Each park has similar information listed such as the park in numbers (total area, highest point, # of mammal species, etc), things to see and things to do. Includes a short glossary and an index. This book is lots of fun to browse and is likely to be a big hit with students interested in travel.
Profile Image for Avneendra.
17 reviews
December 29, 2019
Surprising good read

Glanced through this book in 15 minutes. This was surprising refreshing compared to the adult's version which was pretty dry.

Maybe that reflects the kid in me but really liked the colorful illustrations and lively theme of this book.
Profile Image for Denielle.
223 reviews3 followers
July 11, 2021
This is a great resource into the national park, for kids. This should be on every bookshelf of kids who like travel and adventure. Don't miss the tiny diamonds that tell your which state these parks are in, I did!
Profile Image for Bethe.
6,944 reviews69 followers
August 4, 2021
Very engaging and kid friendly format covers our country’s wonderful national parks. A full map is at the beginning of the book, wish each park had a mini map showing its location in the state. Penguin characters drawn on glacier bay and there aren’t any in North America. Glossary & index.
187 reviews
December 29, 2020
Enjoyed the introduction to each of the parks as well as lists of Rhings t0 See and Things to Do. Lovely photos.
Profile Image for Stasia.
1,038 reviews10 followers
September 17, 2022
Fun book, we are currently still using it in our homeschool this year!! I personally love the little cartoon doodles added into the real pictures. 😂
Profile Image for Corrie.
77 reviews1 follower
July 22, 2023
I really enjoyed this book. It presents information in a concise manner with great pictures and little bits of information that are really interesting. I felt it was a great way to learn about each of our National Parks!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews

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