Treks Of The Trade : Creating Interactive Travel Books For Children 

Isabelle Demenge is a Franco- American who resides in Hong Kong. She is an author and a mum to three young boys. Travelling with three young children gave her the brainwave to write a series of activity books on various countries which will not only engage children during their travels but also occupy them. Having authored 9 books on various destinations from Sri Lanka to Cambodia and New York, her books focus on a city or country and is a combination of a travel journal, a guidebook, a scrapbook, an activity book and a doodle book. 

Why did you decide to compile a travel guide to Sri Lanka for kids? 

I had already written a travel book for my children for our trip to Cambodia in 2010 and they loved it. I have not been able to travel anywhere without writing some kind of book for my children for that trip. Sri Lanka was no exception. My sister has a friend who owns a few houses in Ambalangoda and we had heard about the beauty of this area of Sri Lanka for many years so we were itching to go. However, we wanted to explore the cultural triangle in addition to the west coast. For cultural sites, after our experience as a family in Cambodia, I was sure that the kids would enjoy some activities in Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura, Dambulla, Sigiriya and Kandy. There is so much to see for grown-ups that I wanted to make it fun for the little ones as well. 

How long did you spend in Sri Lanka researching this book? 

I spent a few weeks finalising the itinerary with friends familiar with the country and then spent months researching each site. I had to become really familiar with what was there in order to find something that would trigger the children’s imagination or peek their interest. I read a lot about the Buddhist architecture and the different styles of moonstones for instance. I also had to read about the history of Sri Lanka to explain how the capitals moved from place to place over time. 

What do you want children to get out of this book? 

I’m hoping that the children will enjoy the cultural aspects of Sri Lanka as much as the elephants and the beaches. 

What interactive activities does the book encourage? 

The idea is to encourage the sense of observation both as the big picture with history and geography games as well as small details such as I-spy games in temples. Understanding the different mudras of The Buddha for instance and noticing his hands in all the representations throughout the country. 

How do you make the books interesting for the kids? 

I try to think like them and I ask myself what would be a fun game in an archaeological site, for instance. In Sigiriya, I read about the heavenly maidens and I imagine how fun it would be to go around and look to see if we can find them on the wall. One of them is on the 2,000-rupee note: something for the kids to look for. It’s actually really fun to plan and research. 

What destination will you feature next? 

After New York and Singapore, we are not sure yet but it seems that Vietnam will be next. 

www.leapandhop.com 

By Tina Edward Gunawardhana