Are you planning on going on vacation, traveling or just pining away the summer days beneath the shade of a tree? If you plan to travel this summer, here is the perfect traveling book to read with your 8 and older children.

“The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane” , by Kate DiCamillo, is a tale of adventure, loss and love. Edward Tulane is a stuffed toy rabbit. He lives in a beautiful rich home of a young girl, Abilene, who loves him terribly. But Edward is spoiled and self-centered and cares only for his own comforts. But his life is about to change when Abilene is going on a large steamer crossing the ocean for a voyage to England. Just before the trip takes place, Abilene's grandmother, Pellegrina, tells Edward, “You disappoint me.”

Edward doesn't seem to care for anything except his own comfort. But Pellegrina has just given an omen of Edward's future for he has much to learn. As the ship sets sail, two young boys grab Edward away from Abilene and throw him overboard. His life seems to be over as he sinks to the bottom of the sea. Months go by as he lay in the dark water when suddenly he is caught in the net of a fisherman. The old man is surprised and brings a very wet and waterlogged Edward home to his wife. He knows that she will happily repair him, dry him out and renew his looks. Edward is soon adopted by this older couple who dote on him and treat him as one of their own. He seems a bit bored by all of this attention but is happy to be out of the dismal sea. But once again his life is about to change. The couple's daughter comes home and doesn't like what she sees with all of the attention Edward is receiving. When no one is looking, she takes Edward to the dump where she leaves him. And “for the first time, his heart called out to him.”

This is only the beginning of many adventures for Edward. Each time someone finds him, he seems to grow and learn more about love, giving and selflessness. He meets many different types of people, with a variety of badness, kindness, love, sadness and even death. But through each experience, Edward begins to open his heart just a little and by the end of this enthralling story he opens his heart completely. Award winning author, Ms. DiCamillo, has written a choice, unique and mesmerizing story about life and love. And her greatest gift, the truly interesting storyline, will have you turning page after page to see if Edward will survive his next dilemma. “And then, suddenly, the great, wide net of a fisherman reached out and grabbed the rabbit. The net lifted him higher and higher until there was an almost unbearable explosion of light and Edward was back in the world lying on the deck of a ship surrounded by fish.” Edward will wrap around your heart from each and every page. Even though Edward can't move or talk, you learn about him through his thoughts and feelings. Toward the end of the story, Edward is placed on a shelf with other dolls and communicates with them, but that is the only time he does so.

There are beautiful illustrations, by Bagram Ibatoulline, in black and white, at the beginning of each chapter. But it's the exquisitely colored illustrations that are sprinkled throughout the book that will take the reader to Edwards' journeys. Once again the publishers, Candlewick Press, have published a quality book with a heavier bonded paper, a unique square shape and double spaces making reading easier. Watch this book win future awards!

Now for a picture book that's perfect for youngsters with siblings. “Duck & Goose” , by Tad Hills, has two cute birds that seem at odds with each other, at least in the beginning. When Duck discovers a very large round object in front of him, he asks goose what it is. Goose readily replies, “It is a big egg, of course.” And thus begins the competition to own it, take care of it and keep it warm. Young children will recognize the squabbling between Duck and Goose. Duck puffs out his yellow feathers and declares, “I saw it first.” But Goose doesn't let that declaration stop what he feels is rightly his and states, “I touched it first.” And so it goes, on and on until finally, through all of the bickering, they begin to cooperate because of their desire to take care of this “egg”. It's through this cooperation that they begin to share and befriend each other and their bickering finally comes to an end. But the reader will easily see at the beginning of the story that this “egg” doesn't really look like an egg. And that humorous banter between duck and goose is funny and fun to read out loud. They both discover something very important about the egg as well as their relationship with each other. Here at last is a book that children will relate to, learn from and enjoy.