My Adventure in London: Guidebook and Souvenir

This bright, glossy book from Leo Publishing looks like it d work well for 7-10 year olds who are visiting London for the first time. Follow Leo, a flower-shirted tourist with a goofy rictus, as he visits some of the capital s bigger attractions. The fun facts are entertaining (the London Eye rotates at a speed twice as fast as a tortoise sprinting ). But the book really comes into its own as a scrap book for London stuff. Kids are cajoled into stick in tickets, photos, and grass from the park; the book stops thankfully short of certain messy possibilities on the page about full English breakfasts. The selection of attractions is perhaps a little too mainstream, missing out obvious child-friendly treats like the Museum of Childhood and Pollocks Toy Museum in favour of the usual A-list, but any book that encourages you to paste in your first fish and chip fork is alright by us. --Londonist.com - Matt Brown

If you are planning a visit to London with your children, this new guidebook by Leonardo Acero and Silvia Calo is a must-have. This unique book is both a guidebook and scrapbook in which your children can record their visit to England's capital. The book explores the main sights and attractions of London with Leo, a funny-looking tourist. Every two page spread is dedicated to a different place of interest featuring fun facts, pictures, activities and plenty of colourful graphics. However, what really makes this guidebook so special is the fact that children are able to collect mementos (such as tickets, maps, pictures, etc) and stick them to the book. By doing so they create a personal souvenir they can add to with every visit, and read and enjoy in times to come. As every parent knows, city visits can be tiring for children who may feel overloaded with information. This book will keep them interested and involved every step of the way. I will certainly take my copy with me when I visit London this summer. The only trouble is I may need to buy another copy as they have yet to master the art of sharing! I feel the price (currently £10.79 on Amazon) is good value considering that it will keep the children so well occupied. Well done to the authors - now we need a version for Rome, Paris, Madrid... --Familiesonline.co.uk - Angela Pearce

My Adventure in London, by Leonardo Acero and Silvia Calo, is a children's guidebook and souvenir scrapbook. Aimed at children aged six and up the book introduces the popular attractions in London using a double-page spread for each location with full-color photos and bright illustrations. There's a tourist character on each page called Leo to help children imagine themselves visiting the places in the book. What makes this different from other children's guidebooks is that it's a scrapbook and not a listings book. As well as highlighting the top attractions in London, children are encouraged to collect and stick items in the book creating a personal souvenir of their time in London with stronger connections to their memories of each visit when back at home. The book gives children a reason to go to the places included and I've already used it to encourage my six year old daughter to choose days out and to collect the suggested items. The authors intend the book to be more than something just to read but to inspire and get you involved, therefore remembering more of what you see and do. Fun Facts As well as the photos and illustrations, My Adventure in London has plenty of fun 'Did you know' style facts for each attraction and there are plenty of number facts as children love to quote stats to impress their friends. The excellent ideas include the memorable fact about the London Eye rotating at a "speed twice as fast as a tortoise sprinting". But I would have liked to see some London icons used in picture comparisons such as Big Ben is as tall as X London double deckers or red telephone boxes. Bring A Camera The scrapbook ideas encourage lots of photo taking with suggestions such as pose like a statue at the V&A or stand next to a Royal Guard at Horse Guard's Parade. The ideas do give children a reason to take photos but in the world of digital photography we don't often get prints of our pics so a more diverse range of things to stick would be preferred. My daughter loved the suggestion to stick her chip fork in the book and that was the idea that really got her interested in reading the other pages. She also begged to go back to the British Museum so she could collect a map to stick in the book. I wouldn't recommend following the suggestion to stick your Oyster card in the book as it's meant to be reused and can be passed on to family and friends. Plus it's very likely to still have some credit on it which means that money is then wasted if not passed on. A blade of grass from a royal park is an excellent idea that is included in the book and other ideas could include more museums maps, tickets, leaflets, a feather, a leaf, etc. And we found sticky tape much more effective than glue for adding our 'treasures'. Mainstream Attractions My Adventures in London mostly covers the obvious attractions and it would have been good to see a few of the more unusual places that still appeal to children. Or even the big name places for families such as the V&A Museum of Childhood, Museum of London Docklands and the Rainforest Cafe. Also, while opening times are included, and yes there is a map at the front of the book, it doesn't include addresses, telephone numbers and web details. My Adventure in London is a simple book but creates a good scrapbook souvenir and a way to keep the interest of young members of the family before, during, and after exploring the city. --Golondon.about.com - Laura Porter