Review: Adventures in Smelly Places by Lonely Planet Kids

Paperback, 48 pages
Published April 1st 2015 by Lonely Planet
Source: Raincoast Books

Lonely Planet Kids presents Adventures in Smelly Places, a book that is tagged as “Packed full of activities and over 250 stickers.” It is an invaluable resource for parents who want to teach their children about the world and definitely a good tool for the teachers though there may be some kerfluffle involved where the stickers are concerned. I found the book to be very informational; each place is on a full colour page and is accompanied by small bubbles of information. This prevents the child from getting overwhelmed by all the facts that he/she/they is (are) learning. There are many activities for the child to do within the book and there are loads of things to look at and talk about. For instance, the smelly hot springs in Rotorua, New Zealand. I have been there and I know firsthand how noxious the place smells. However, the hot springs are incredibly beautiful and the book is careful to mention that.

In a time when diversity is a forefront concern for many parents (or it should be anyway), this book is incredible because it lets children to find out about places and people that are foreign to him/her/them. Seriously, if you have a child in your life who is above three, gift them this book and spend some time reading the book with the child. It will be an invaluable experience for both of you.