Books for Preschoolers for a Trip to Atlanta

One thing I love doing with my little ones is to use our family vacations as inspiration for learning activities at home. The excitement of a trip always makes my daughters eager to do read books that are related to what we just recently saw.

So if this is a way that I can introduce some new history, science, language, or cultural activities, I go for it! For our weekend in Atlanta trip, I gathered the following for my preschooler based on our itinerary. (Read more about our trip to Atlanta for ideas of what to see with your own little ones here.

Affiliate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Social Studies Books for Atlanta with a Preschooler

Atlanta is rich with history, and we wanted to introduce our preschooler to some of that history on this trip. We chose to go to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library (which is great for kids) and we wanted to see some of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Historical sites. So for those activities, I got the following books for my daughter:

Hard Work, But It’s Worth It- The Life of Jimmy Carter by Bethany Hegedus

The author wrote the book for children ages 4-8, so it definitely needs to be paraphrased for younger learners.  However, the illustrations were really interesting and I just summarized what was happening on each page.  This book emphasizes how Jimmy Carter valued hard work and how he carried that with him from his childhood in rural Georgia all the way to the White House and into his post-presidency career. 

It introduces how Jimmy Carter formed on racial equality as a child growing up in Georgia in the 1930s.  The book also discusses the idea of racial discrimination being unjust in an approachable way. However, you still want to gauge the maturity level of your own little learner.

What I liked: This book can definitely grow with children and would work in a house of children with different ages. It was a little too much for my three year old, but she enjoyed a simplified story that I told her while she looked at the engaging illustrations. This book would be really great for elementary school children up to ages 8 or so.

It emphasized values like fighting for equality, helping other people, and possessing a strong work ethic.

Additionally, the book is very grounded. It’s not an “anyone can become president if they just want it enough” message. Instead, it repeatedly emphasizes the necessity of heard work.

Lastly, it highlights Carter’s view of the presidency as an office of public service. It frames the idea of politics as a vehicle to help others. I want my children to be less cynical about politics than I am- this was a good message to start with.

This book can be purchased on Amazon here.

Jimmy Carter by Heidi M.D. Elston

The text of this book was too advanced for my preschooler, but she LOVED the real photos from his life.  This book walks through Carter’s life from birth until 2016. My preschooler liked looking at how each photo represented a different stage of his life.  While we didn’t read all the words together, we did flip through it and talked about what we had seen that day in the museum.  However, if you have older children at home, this would be a good book for older elementary school students to read.   For elementary aged students, this book is a great introduction to Carter. It’s clear, concise, and accessible.

What I liked: the actual photos from Carter’s life. It really reinforced the exhibits we had already in his presidential library. Additionally, this book can really grow with children. It’s available for purchase here.

Citizen Baby: My President by Daniel Prosterman and Megan E. Bryant

Since we were going to Carter’s presidential library, I wanted to introduce my daughter to the idea of what/who a president even is. At this age, it can be hard for them to understand abstract concepts like “country”- much less the concept of how government is supposed to work.

However, this book was really cute and introduced the very basics of the job of a president. My daughter loved how it compared the tasks of the president to things that babies do everyday. I thought it was really cute how it kept putting the job of the president in terms that a child would understand. My daughter thought it was hysterical to compare a president to a baby. Find it for purchase here.

Happy Holidays: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (Blast Off Series)

We were hoping to see the Martin Luther King, Jr. sites in Atlanta while we were there.  Unfortunately, we ended up arriving too late, but we still wanted to teach our daughter a little bit about him.  

This book, from Blastoff Beginners, centers on the idea of why we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  Each page has one or two sentences opposite of full color actual pictures.  In a very age appropriate way, it introduces the idea that King wanted people to be equal and that he worked for civil rights.

What I love about this is that it can serve as a springboard for your own discussion with your child about equality and civil rights depending on their readiness and maturity level.  However, if they’re still too young, the ideas presented here are very child friendly- stating that everyone should be equal without getting into the harder history of why there needed to be a civil rights movement.  (Don’t get me wrong- I’m all for teaching honest history- but I also want to do it at the right developmental stage.)

It’s short, to the point, and served as a great introduction to King for a young preschooler. 

Georgia Aquarium Books and Learning Activities for a Preschooler

Hello, Baby Beluga by Darrin Lunde

This book is so adorable. Since the Georgia Aquarium features beluga whales, I wanted to make sure our own activities highlighted belugas as well.

In this simply formatted book, it asks questions to a baby beluga about what sounds they make, where they live, what they look like, what they eat, and how they sleep.

It’s great for children of different ages. My baby loved the cute format and simple sentences.  Only one question per page made it very baby friendly. My preschooler loved the questions that were being asked. The book answered some questions she naturally had about whales and led us to looking at videos of belugas online to learn more.

It’s super cute and available here:

National Geographic Kids: First Big Book of the Ocean

I’ve written before about how much we love (and use) this book in my post on favorite beach books for toddlers and preschoolers. This book is a great one to bring along for an aquarium trip.

Since it’s organized by different oceans, it mimics the set up that most aquariums use. This allowed us to focus on just one section at a time as we talked about her favorite parts of the aquarium.

Since the Georgia Aquarium has a large arctic section, the artic chapter was the section of the book she was most interested in on this trip.

This book is one we use time and time again, and is definitely worth adding to your own collection. It’s available here.

While there’s a ton of great ocean books for kids, (be sure to check out my post here for our favorites), this and Baby Beluga were the only two we took for this trip since the trip wasn’t only about the aquarium.

We also used our ocean themed activities at home to reinforce what she learned at the aquarium. If you’re interested in more in-depth learning activities for a beach or aquarium trip, including how to easily make your own Ocean Discovery Box, check out my post entitled “Ocean Themed Learning Activities for Younger Preschoolers.”

Atlanta Zoo Books and Learning Activities for a Preschooler

National Geographic’s Go Wild! Pandas

Since the pandas were our main event at the zoo, I made sure to bring her lots of panda books.  This one though was our favorite.  

Filled with actual photos, the book teaches children where pandas live, their habitats, what they eat, what they’re like as babies, etc.

My three year old LOVED IT.  

The pages are visually appealing with national geographic photos and the text being in fun graphics.  

We read it repeatedly and she looked through it for a LONG time while we were driving.  (And if you’ve ever been on a road trip with a preschooler, you know how great it is when there’s a book that keeps their attention.)

Blast Off Beginners’ Too Cute! Baby Animals Series

Broken record here, but I really do love the Blast Off! Series.  We picked up several baby animal books, including giraffes, pandas, and elephants for the zoo portion of our trip.  

My preschooler loved the fun facts and the adorable pictures of the baby animals.  She looked through them repeatedly on the drive.

Since our Atlanta trip was only a weekend, we really just focused on the books and I printed off a lot of coloring sheets for our trip.  We also brought some Toob Animals- our ocean animals sets and our zoo animals set (available here).

I also bought a larger Safari Ltd Panda and Cub for my baby who is not to to be trusted with the smaller Toob Animals yet.  Also, as they become young toddlers, they love pairing up baby animals with their parents. Lastly, we packed our Kiwi Co panda habitat for both girls to play with.

And if you’re looking for more extensive activities for a zoo trip, be sure to sign up for email updates to be notified of when I post about zoo themed learning activities!  (Which is at the top of my to-do list!)