Where Shall We Travel Today?

Where Shall We Travel Today? by Kristen Martin, illustrated by Nicky Johnson (MidnightSun Publishing 2025) HB RRP $29.99 ISBN 9781922858542

Reviewed by Sylvia Forbes

I love a book that celebrates the power of the imagination. And this gorgeous picture book delivers in bucketloads - both textually and visually.

It's the Summer holidays and there is a sense of eagerness and anticipation in the air as seven young neighbourhood friends gather to play. I get a feeling that this is a regular thing for these kids - and I can’t help but imagine them rushing to finish their breakfast so that they can get out the door to join their friends and let the adventures begin.

 Kristen Martin's spotless rhyming text with its consistent rhythm is a dream to read out loud. Her lyrical language evokes excitement and enthusiasm as these kids’ imaginations (and feet) run wild and free. And, as the reader, it is easy to suspend reality and go happily on the journey with them as they travel around the world and still manage to make it home in time for bed.

Nicky Johnson's whimsical and expressive illustrations work in equal measure with the text. Bringing a carefree, emotive quality which not only complements - but supports the text perfectly.

From the very start we are introduced to a neighbourhood that feels familiar, comforting and safe. The kids are dressed in their favourite play clothes and there is an overarching feeling that this a close-knit community. The gentle colour palette and warm sun-lit tones she uses gives an essentially Australian look and feel - It's almost as if she stepped outside on a mid-summer’s day, grabbed a large gulp of sunshine then breathed it out into her paint pots. 

The end papers, with their soft twilight tones of lilacs and pinks and faint dusting of distant stars, and the children seen in semi silhouette gazing out into the vast skyscape, represents so perfectly the imagination - which also has no bounds.

And it would be remiss of me not to add, how much I appreciate the harmony that exists between this bunch of kids -- as seen on their constantly beaming faces -- and in the ways they relate to and support one another. It would be quite reasonable to have at least one fractious child within a group of seven, but there is not a cross face or meanspirited moment to be found amongst them - and I think this is a lovely creative choice - one that enriches the overall heartwarming nature of this book.

We clamber up Mount Everest, up walls of rock and snow ...

Then stand on top of all the world and wave to Mum below.

I adore here how the children -- so deeply invested in the imaginal world they have created - still include mum at her washing line. It represents so accurately the way kids’ imaginations work - where both worlds exist at the same time. This blurring of lines between what is real and what is imagined, continues throughout. You see where the kids are in their imaginations -- swinging like monkeys in the Amazon Jungle -- and sailing beneath Niagara Falls (this double page spread with the cascading water is sensational).

Then you see where they really are - and what it is around them that is stimulating their imaginations - swinging on monkey bars - and piled on a billy cart being pulled through sprinklers.

Imagination is one of our greatest resources - It's like having our own special superpower -- we can dream, wonder, create and invent with it. And it doesn't matter what we look like, or where we live, or what clothes we wear -- the ability to imagine is available to all of us.

Where Shall we Travel Today? is a delightful and gentle story that highlights the effortless joy that is experienced during imaginative creative play. It is also a feel-good tale that is full of heart and camaraderie amongst a diverse group of friends.

This is a beautiful and uplifting book that will keep young imaginations active and inspired.

Highly recommended for children aged 3+ years.