Five great vacation reads for traveling moms

You’re packed up and ready for that trip.  You’ve strategically placed three new coloring books, new crayons, a few small toys, snacks and who knows what else to help distract your child on that plane ride.  But what have you packed to distract you?

It’s not a rhetorical question.  And I know you’re thinking, “She’s got to be kidding me!  Like I’ll be doing anything on that flight but keeping my kids busy.”  But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Kids often learn by example.  And I’ve found that one of the best ways I can convince Chet to page through “Curious George” on his own or color quietly on his seatback table is if he sees I’m busy with my own book.  True story.

As you can imagine, Dostoyevsky’s Greatest Works is not the tome with which to try this scenario out.  You need a good book – something engaging enough to distract *you* from your kids.

That’s right – I put it just like that.  You deserve a break, too!  If the book is too boring, you’ll just put it to the side and focus on them (which means all you have in that book is 2 lbs. of extra stuff to carry).  So it’s got to be good but not so complex that you can’t put it down six times in 20 minutes for potty breaks, a pressing need for Goldfish crackers or some tears over a broken crayon tip without completely losing the plot.  So here are 5 books that even a traveling mom can enjoy*:

1. This Is Where I Leave You

(by Jonathan Tropper) So I’ll admit that anything written by Tropper is a good pick for a plane read.  He’s all kinds of hilarious – and he seems to have channeled my family into most of his books.  But pick up This Is Where I Leave You to see what happens to a middle-aged man whose father dies right after he finds out his wife has been cheating on him.  I know that doesn’t sound funny but, trust me, you’ll laugh so hard your kids just may have to tell you to keep it down.

2. Dead Until Dark

(by Charlaine Harris) Fascinated with HBO’s TrueBlood?  Then read the books behind the series.  The first in a series of 10 books about Sookie Stackhouse’s vampire adventures, Dead Until Dark will tell you how Sookie met her first vampire – and how her life completely changed once she did.  It’s fantastic, campy fun.

3. The One That I Want: A Novel

(by Allison Winn Scotch) What if you could see the future of those closest to you but not see your own?  That’s the problem Tilly Farmer is having.  And it shows her the perfect life she thought she had may be crumbling around her.  As a Mom, you might be able to relate to some of it.

4. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

(by Rebecca Skloot) I know you’ve probably heard about this book on the Colbert Report or the Today Show.  And if you thought, “Well, sounds interesting but it’s about science and who has time for that?” you need to think again.  Skloot manages to explain all about HeLa cells while also telling the story of Henrietta Lacks, a 31 year old African American woman who became the unwitting donor of those immortal cells, and her family.

5. The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon

(by David Grann) Grann’s book is all about the mystery of Colonel Fawcett, a famous British explorer who disappeared in the Amazon in the early part of the 20th century.  It’s a fascinating read that manages to mix biography, adventure and obsession.  Great stuff.

*This is the first of a series of book posts we’ll be doing here at Travel Savvy Mom.  For the most part, they won’t include travel books.  Not that we don’t love ‘em, ’cause we do, but we know you’ve already checked out 15 sites on the Internet and at least 2 guidebooks before you started your journey.  Sometimes you need to just sit back and get lost in your imagination before you get lost in the big, bad city, you know?

Need a kids book recommendation instead?  Here’s a great kids’ book review site.

July 15th, 2010 | by Kayt Sukel 6 comments