KIDDING AROUND:TALES OF TRAVEL WITH CHIL Format: Paperback

Becoming a parent need to not put an end to wanderlust. That’s the message in Kidding Around, the latest in Bradt’s acclaimed series of travel writing anthologies. Contributors include Dervla Murphy, National Geographic Traveller Editorial  Director Maria Pieri and nature writers Amy-Jane Beer and Nicola Chester.

The 36 stories – and one poem – cover potentially life-threatening situations, confessions of inept parenting and celebrations of derring-do. There’s plenty of adventurous travel, from trekking with toddlers in the Himalayas to sailing en famille across the Atlantic Ocean and the first circumnavigation of Mauritius by bicycle. Read how one mother threatens to dump her baby on jobsworth airport officials, how a father inadvertently takes his daughters to a brothel, and how one family turned up six hours early for a flight… and still managed to miss it. Join families paddling with crocodiles and getting their jeep stuck on a beach as the tide is coming in, or eleven-month-old Rory as he eats alongside marine iguanas and three-year-old Quin who befriends a family of cockroaches. 

At times comical, hair-raising or just plain fun, there are also magical moments with wild creatures or in wild places. Kidding Around is a captivating read (or ideal gift) for anyone who has ever travelled with children, or wondered what it must be like to head out into the unknown with little ones in tow.

Compiled from tales written by 37 different authors, this anthology has been edited by seasoned travellers Hilary Bradt, founder of Bradt Travel Guides, author of many guides and narratives, and editor of Bradt’s previous anthologies, and James Lowen, wildlife photographer and writer who has travelled widely to share wildlife-watching experiences with his daughter, whether climbing Spanish mountains in pursuit of chamois, scouring Atlantic waves for the fins of whales or catching viperine snakes in Portugal.