Inspire Young Explorers With These National Park Books (+ A Freebie)

We’ve always had an appreciation of the National Parks, but especially during our year-long RV trip. We have 21 under our belt so far… but that’s not even half! And we love them so much!

When Lonely Planet Kids reached out asking us to review their updated National Parks book and Activity Book, Elliot was elated!

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The book covers all 63 national parks with two full 2-page spreads on each park. Each park includes fun statistics, gorgeous photos, a short but impactful summary of the park, plus top “things to see” and “things to do.” Not a full list, but highlights of just the best things.

The first thing we did was look at all the parks we have already visited. Elliot loved seeing that at Mesa Verde, Balcony House was listed as the best thing to do… that was the last NPS we visited, and the very tour we took!

We also loved seeing pictures of Glacier – one of our favorites. Best things so see includes the mountain goats, which we were able to see. In fact, on a single hike there, we saw mountain goats, big horn sheep, a bear (too close for comfort) and a mama and baby moose!

The activity book is amazing! In includes 60 different activities with adorable illustrations. So far Elliot has worked on unscrambling words, drawing a few animals, several crossword puzzles, and a few color-by-number pages.

He’s loving the activity book, but I’ve been thinking about other ways we can enjoy the book as well (I’m a homeschool mom, after all.)

Here are a few ideas I’ve come up with that your family might also enjoy:

• Play “Would You Rather…” from a park perspective. I love this idea so much (Thank you for the idea, Imagination Soup) that I created a freebie for you with a list of fun NPS “Would You Rather…” questions.

• National Parks Scavenger Hunt: Get two copies of the book and see who can find information about a specific national park first. Make it a fun race with friends or family!

• Create a National Parks Journal: Use the book as a reference to create your own zine of notes, sketches, and photos about your favorite national parks. Personalize it with your own experiences and highlights from the book.

• National Park Facts at Dinner: Have each person pick an interesting fact about a national park from the book to share at dinner. Everyone votes on their favorite fact of the day, and the winner gets to choose the next park to read about.

• Rank Your Top 10 Parks: Go through the book and pick your top 10 national parks. Compare your list with friends and family to see which parks are the most popular.

• Create a Book Review Video: Make a fun video review about why you love the Lonely Planet National Parks book. Share your favorite sections, facts, and any adventures you’ve had in the parks.

• National Park Bingo: Make bingo cards with different national parks or park features (like geysers, waterfalls, or wildlife). Use the book to fill in your bingo cards as you read.

• Park-Themed Art Projects: Get creative and make art projects inspired by the national parks featured in the book. This could include painting landscapes, creating park-themed crafts, or designing your own park posters.

• Travel Planning: Use the book to plan your next national park adventure. Make an itinerary, list must-see sights, and include interesting facts from the book to enhance your trip.

By incorporating these fun activities, you can make your experience with the Lonely Planet National Parks book even more engaging and enjoyable!

We give the book and the activity book two sets of thumbs up – one from me, and one from Elliot!