Merlin’s Voyage

There aren’t many books for kids about going cruising. And that’s a shame if you’re planning an extended family cruise, as reading a book about other families cruising can help the kids with the transition, giving them something concrete to help them imagine their new life.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Emmanuelle Buecher-Hall sent me a review copy of her children’s book, Merlin’s Voyage, which she published about a year ago. It’s available on Amazon both in print and for Kindle (and in French as well as English).

Merlin’s Voyage is a travelogue of their family’s 2+ year voyage from South Africa to the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal, on to the South Pacific and ending in Australia. The 48-page story is told by their boat, Merlin, and is designed for 6 to 12-year-olds.

Merlin’s Voyage is not so much about day-to-day life on the boat or particularly about the kids themselves as it is about the places the family visited, with lots of photos of the various islands, people and animals. I think it will spark most kids’ imaginations to want to go explore these far-off places, particularly if read with a parent pointing out the adventures in the photos (I know that photos I saw as a kid have sparked a great deal of my interest in travel as a kid and even now).

Everywhere I turn, it seems as though “families going cruising” is the hot new topic. Several blogging families that I follow have been featured in various newspapers and in major online publications. Voyaging with Kids (a great resource if you’re considering life afloat) has just been published, and now there’s a book to spark your kids’ dreams about travel to far-off places.

Get it on Amazon:

• Merlin’s Voyage in English, in print and for Kindle
• Le voyage de Merlin in French, in print and for Kindle

While you’re at it, grab a copy of Voyaging with Kids if you haven’t already!