This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Adventures of Big Sil book series. All opinions are 100% my own.
Before our children came into our lives, my husband and I loved to travel. We enjoyed wonderful trips to glamorous places in the United States and abroad.
As we planned for our family, we vowed that having young children wouldn’t change our love for travel. We couldn’t wait for our children to see new places and experience other cultures.
And then our twins were born . . . and a rigid schedule became necessary for my day-to-day survival. The thought of altering our routine in any way gave me butterflies. For the past two years, grandparents traveled to us and we stayed put.
Now that our twins are 2 and a half, the idea of taking a trip sounds less overwhelming and more exciting. We decided we would test the waters with a short trip to Walt Disney World. Since we live just over an hour away, we wouldn’t have to take a flight or spend hours in the car. We can experiment with being flexible about meal and nap times and let M & M learn to sleep somewhere other than their own beds.
I’ll let you all know how it goes …
All this is to say that travel was on my mind when A.J. Bennett, the author of The Adventures of Big Sil, contacted Mumbling Mommy to see if we would review her book series.
The Adventures of Big Sil
Each book features a lovable dog named Sil who is magically transported to a well-known U.S. location (New York City, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Philadelphia are currently available). Simple rhymes and charming mixed media illustrations introduce readers to the landmarks and culture of the featured cities.
At the start of each story, Big Sil wags his tail and jumps into his owner’s travel book to begin an adventure in a new town. My children enjoyed the fact that the main character was a dog and we all loved the artwork. The illustrations are a combination of photographs and cartoon-like drawings. The photos help you get a feel for what the location really looks like, while the drawings keep the fantasy elements of the story alive.
As we read each story, we looked at a U.S. map and found the city Big Sil visited. We looked at how far it was from our home and discussed whether Mommy and Daddy had been there before. My favorite book was the one about New York City because that is a city I never grow tired of visiting. The kids liked the pictures of the busy streets and Central Park. They were intrigued by images of Times Square and the city skyline at night. Honestly, sharing the book with them made me excited to take them to the Big Apple one day!
These books were fun, especially if you have a personal connection to one of the cities. The illustrations are unique and the text is suitable for young readers.
On the accompanying website, bigsilbooks.com, you can even request a passport to record your own travels. The site also includes printable games to go along with the book, which would be a great addition to a travel kit if you are heading to any of the destinations featured.
You can purchase The Adventures of Big Sil books through the website or Amazon.com. The author, A.J. Bennett, donates a portion of the proceeds from each book sold to pet rescue charities.
Bennett was also kind enough to send me another set of Big Sil books for a lucky reader to win. Just comment below with your best tip for traveling with young children or tell me your favorite destination for a family vacation. I will choose a winner at random to receive her/his own set of The Big Sil Adventures.
Happy travels, y’all! And here’s to hoping our first trip with the twins isn’t a major fail!
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Category: Book Reviews
Tags: A.J. Bennett
