A short review by Annabel
We don’t often review children’s books at Shiny, but when Lonely Planet sent me the latest in their ‘Kid’s Guide’ series after we’d reviewed some of their adult guides published last autumn here, I fell for the fun presentation of this introduction to Italy for young travellers aged 8-12. The series already comprises a mix of guides on world capitals (e.g. London, Paris, Rome, New York) and countries (e.g. France, Spain, Japan).
The book is full of the glorious photography that you expect from a Lonely Planet book, but with a youthful twist in the white chalk doodles added to many of the pictures.
Introductory pages offer a guide to the contents and a map to begin things, followed by a section glorying in Italy’s myriad transport options, from gondolas to Vespas, the red arrow trains to the Popemobile! We move on to places to visit, from the more child-friendly side of high culture and history, to safari and theme parks, and not forgetting Modena’s Ferrari musuem. On each spread, the photographs are accompanied by explanatory text which doesn’t overwhelm and boxed fun facts, with a tiny sprinkling of Italian words, presented in colourful boxes with a quirky heading typeface.
Sections on food, Rome, and then loads of feature spreads follow: from glorious gardens including the spectacular Villa d’Este at Tivoli outside Rome, where you can see aqueduct-powered fountains, all kinds of medieval treasures to the ruins of Pompeii, celebrations from Venice’s Carnevale to Siena’s Palio, plus some of Italy’s best kept secrets like the Park of Monsters in Bomarzo, Lazio, originally created in the 16th century. The book finishes with a couple of spot-the-difference puzzles and a good index.
If you want to persuade your kids that a holiday in Italy is what they want, this book should be a winner, the only problem will be narrowing down where you go – it’s all fabulous. ‘Andiamo!’
Annabel is co-founder and an editor of Shiny.
Alexa Ward, The Kid’s Guide to Italy (Lonely Planet, 2026). 978-1837587711, 144pp. flexibound.
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