Visits To Geography Notebooks Links and Tips

Visits to... Geography series

The Links and Tips below are related to our series of geography notebooks, Visits to…. Explore each region of the world through captivating photography, a traveler’s firsthand accounts, and step-by-step work with maps, plus lots of ideas for additional living books and activities. Be sure to check back here from time to time because we will be adding new and updated resources related to the notebooks as we get them. If you have some resources that you’d like to recommend, let us know!

Substitute Book Guides

Hungry Planet went out of print in 2024. Happily, What the World Eats, another book by the same authors which covers much of the same material, is a great substitute. Download these guides for alternative lessons if you are using What the World Eats in place of Hungry Planet.

Pronunciation Guides

Here are pronunciation guides for the countries in each Visits to… geography notebook.

Visits to the Middle East

Thanks to Gulshan M. for clarifying that Azerbaijan is located at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. Turkey is located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. For example, Istanbul itself (the biggest city in Turkey) is divided into two parts and they are called European side of Istanbul and Asian side of Istanbul.

Visits to South & Central America, Australia

Thanks to Rachel W. for noting that Hungry Planet refers to an echidna as a porcupine. She explains that possibly the local man who was interviewed used an old expression “spiny anteater” which could have been mistakenly translated by the authors as a porcupine.

Other Geography Books

In addition to the chapter books listed in the Visits to… notebooks, your children might enjoy these other geography chapter books that encompass more territory.

  • WorldTrek by Russell and Carla Fisher—A family of four takes a year to travel the world.
  • Around the World in a Hundred Years by Jean Fritz—Examines the great wave of European exploration during the fifteenth century which resulted in more accurate maps. (Note: Be sure to read the review at the bottom of the page using this link.)
  • Stowaway by Karen Hesse—An 11-year-old boy stows away on Captain Cook’s ship and records his adventures. A fictional account of a real journey.
  • Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Slocum—An autobiographical account of a solo trip around the world in the 1890s.

More World Photographs

Photographer Gabriele Galimberti has done some work that is similar to Peter Menzel’s Material World and Hungry Planet books. Here are two of his projects that would be interesting supplements for your visits.

In Her Kitchen documents the signature recipes of grandmothers around the world. Each grandmother is photographed in the place where she cooks with all the ingredients. A second photo shows the finished dish. There’s also a caption telling more about the grandmother and her dish, including the recipe.

Toy Stories shows young children from around the world, photographed with their favorite toys. Each photo shows the child with his or her favorite toys. It’s very interesting to compare! For example, a child in Uruguay proudly displays her large set of pretend food, while a child in Zambia most prizes her collection of sunglasses.