Travel experiences appear in science books written for children to read for pleasure, as well as in travel books written for children. Science books for young people's leisure reading began to be published in the 18th century and were an established and successful literary genre by the end of the nineteenth century. Examining the contents of those books in previous research on British and American children's science books pre-World War II has provided a basis for analyzing the way children's literature reflects and interprets the science of its time. During that on-going research project, I observed that the texts of natural history and geography books contained, in addition to the scientific information, messages that could shape children's attitudes towards travel and the travel experience. These books introduced them to the basic concepts of travel and to the reasons to travel, such as education, discovery, or pleasure. For example, an American book published in 1880 for boy travelers suggests that a young man "must make the most of his journey." and addresses the characteristics necessary for a good traveler to possess, including that "Careful observation is one requisite" as well as "a good memory." These books conveyed quite clearly what they considered important for the traveler to observe and provided a model of inquiry when encountering cultures other than one's own. Prominently featured among the valuable things to observe are plant and animal life, scenery, climate, food, and personal hygiene. In Near Home, a British geography book published in 1866, the text informs children that the French "like being smart [fashionable], but they are not very clean." An 1844 British children's entomology book titled Insects and Reptiles With Their Uses to Man informs us in the chapter titled "Insects Used for Food" that "English people do not eat insects, and generally have a feeling of antipathy to them as food."
Analysis of the contents of nineteenth-century children's natural history and geography books provides documentation of the significant contributions they made toward the formation of attitudes towards travel. The indirect influences of these non-travel books are compared and contrasted with the direct influences of travel books, as are the differences and similarities of attitudes evidenced towards travel in British and American children's books. Consideration is given to the contributions such comments in popularized science works made to the formation of attitudes towards travel and to the extent to which their appearance in science books legitimized them.
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