Okay, I’ve never actually been to Paris, but dream of it often, and am sure I will love it.  Lucky for us there are some fantastic books all about Paris that will help to pass the time until we can get there in person.

An Armadillo in Paris by Julie Kraulis is a delightful story of Arlo who is an armadillo from Brazil, he sets out on an adventure, using travel journals his grandfather wrote – he loves Paris and all of the adventures he has there.

A Walk in Paris by Salvatore Rubbino are on a walking tour of Paris, to the top of Notre Dame, with charming tidbits of trivia as you go.  This book is beautifully illustrated and absolutely wonderful.

Everbody Bonjours! by Leslie Kimmelman is a sweet book about a little girl traveling through Paris, with a fun rhythmic cadence which makes it really fun to read.  The story is all about saying hello and that Paris is a really fun place for petites to explore.

Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans a true classic, if you’ve yet to purchase a Madeline book for your petites collection, this is the perfect one to start with.

Paris in the Spring with Picasso by Joan Yolleck is a really beautiful story of with all the characters you will remember, Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, Max Jacob, Guillaume Apollinaire and Alice B Toklas.  I love the vibrant illustrations from Marjorie Priceman.  A really fun and stunning read, probably more suited to older petites as it is a little long.

The Iridescence of Birds: a Book about Henri Matisse by Patricia MacLachlan with illustrations from Hadley Hooper is a completely lovely book.  I adore this story, it is so sweet as it depicts Henri Matisse’s childhood and how he grew into the artist we all know and love.

Adele & Simon by Barbara McClintock is an incredibly cute book that has an old school feel to it.  There is so much to see in the early twentieth century pen and ink illustrations.  It is a sweet story about a sister and brother looking out for each other as they travel through Paris.

This is Paris by Miroslav Sasek these books are stunning in their illustrations and put together in a way that is basically an illustrated travel guide pleasing to petites and adults alike.  What I find so fun about the This is series is that Sasek died some thirty years ago and his illustrations are being reissued and enjoyed by so many.  This is the World came out last year and is stunning if you have a globe trotting petite you might really enjoy this title.

Linnea in Monet’s Garden by Christina Bjork is a beautiful book that celebrates a child’s love of impressionism and Monet’s beautiful gardens.  This book is quite lovely, it is rather long though and probably better suited to slightly older children.

All of these stories have one thing in common they inspire a love of adventure and wanderlust.  If you can’t get to Paris then you might as well enjoy some lovely stories in the meantime.