Remember “wish books,” those catalogs that arrived prior to the holidays that you'd study and mark up so that you'd remember all the things to ask Santa for?  That's what I think of when I look at Lonely Planet's The Travel Book.

Plan Your Family Vacations with The Travel Book
As we are make our family travel plans for upcoming year, The Travel Book, with its alphabetical profile of every country in the world, is like a wish book for travel holidays.  In addition to the breath-taking National Geographic-quality photos, this encyclopedic size book provides just enough information to fuel your wanderlust-filled dreams, offering suggestions on books to read or music to listen to before you go and food to try or festivals not to miss once you're there.  However, it isn't really a guide-book, so once you've chosen your destination a book or website with more detailed information about the location might prove helpful.

The Travel Book weighs in at 8.2 pounds and, while I like having this hefty book on my coffee table as a physical symbol to remind myself and my children just how big and grand the world truly is, there is a mini version available as well, for those who like to travel light.

Family Travel Book for Kids
Lonely Planet has also published The Not-For-Parents Travel Books, for the young traveler in your life. The series include books dedicated exclusively to Rome, London, Paris and New York, as well as one that covers every country in the world, dedicating one page to each country, with photos, stats and fun facts presented in a layout that is appealing and easy to follow.

My 7 and 10 year-old daughters looked through The Not-For-Parents Travel Book with rapt attention, dreaming of all the places they want to go (Australia currently tops the list), and reminiscing about all the places we've been.

The Travel Book and The Not-For-Parents Travel Book series can be purchased on the Lonely Planet website.

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