When you’re very small, the world seems like an enormous and sometimes scary place. The idea of travelling away from familiar things can be rather daunting.

Even quite short journeys can seem enormous to children.

Experience – good and bad – is what grows and expands our minds. Travelling is like experience overdrive. The experience we might gain in a year at home can be gained in a week in another country.

Most of us have familiar patterns of thought. If we stay in the same place, we tend to think the same way. Which is fine until something happens that takes us by surprise – like a round thought in a square world.

That’s why it’s so important that we leave our bubble periodically to see the world. In his first story, Squarehead sets out on a journey feeling miserable, but by the time he returns he’s a different person. He’s gained perspective – his own way of looking at things – and made a great new friend. His new experience of life has given him the confidence to be happy. He has learned to take things in his stride.

You don’t need to leave the country to give your children the benefits of travel. Getting on the bus and going somewhere different can be mind-blowing to a small person. If you can’t travel physically, why not let your mind do the wandering with the help of a book?

Happy travelling!