Summer calls for adventure. Whether you trek to the other side of the world, dig deep into the earth or rocket into space, a book can be a great companion.

A family journeys Down Under in Are We There Yet? (Kane/Miller, 2005, ages 5 to 9, $15.95). For three months, the parents and three kids take a leisurely route through Australia from Victoria along the west coast to Perth, deep into the desert interior to Alice Springs, and then north and east to see Katherine Gorge, the Great Barrier Reef, cosmopolitan Sydney, Canberra (the capital city) and even the island of Tasmania. Author/illustrator Alison Lester provides a child-centered perspective with a text narrated by young Grace and illustrations rich in detail and whimsy. What young reader won't thrill to the Outback's odd boab trees or to a bushwalk through the Blue Mountains? A map at the front helps pinpoint places.

Board a steamboat with poet Marilyn Singer and glide for a week down a mighty river. Through long, rolling lines, the 14 verses of Monday on the Mississippi (Henry Holt, 2005, ages 5 to 9, $16.95) introduce various stops along the way — the river mouth at Lake Itasca, Minnesota, Tom Sawyer's hometown of Hannibal, Missouri, Mud Island in Memphis, Tennessee, the Louisiana Delta. Frane Lessac's folk art paintings impart a timeless quality to life along the river, with New Orleans beignets, Kentucky canoes and St. Paul barges. Singer's steamboat ride may well encourage a poetic splash. Young readers may wish to create their own poems about the bodies of water — puddle, lake, sea — in their lives.

A tiny ant takes youngsters on A Walk in the Rainforest (Dawn, 1992, ages 4 to 9. $7.95) and a trip through the alphabet as well. Author/illustrator Kristin Joy Pratt paints vibrant word and magic-marker pictures in homage to the diverse flora and fauna of the world's rainforests (pictured on the map that opens the book). As they stroll from A to Z, kids learn about (and gain respect for) the amazing anteater, kingly kapok tree, majestic macaws and quiet quetzal with its elegant tail feathers. At 15, Pratt launched her career as an environmental writer and artist with this lovely, informative book. Thirteen years in print and available in paperback, it remains a tribute to the power of young people to effect positive change.

A little girl "wait[s] all winter in the cold and dark for summer's sunlit nights" in Under Alaska's Midnight Sun (Sasquatch Books, 2005, ages 3 to 6, $15.95). In addition to praising Alaska's light-drenched, long summer days, the book taps into every child's fantasies of staying up all night. What does the little girl do? She fishes for "slippery salmon [that] shimmer below," listens to "the rat-a-tat-tat of a woodpecker" and weaves wild roses into crowns. Jeremiah Trammel's bright illustrations perfectly complement Deb Vanasse's exuberant text. An author's note serves up some arresting facts. For example, in Barrow, Alaska, the sun rises in May and sets 83 days later, in August. That's a lot of fun in the midnight sun!

How to travel with kids? Local author/illustrator Susan Stockdale offers insights from the animal kingdom in Carry Me!: Animal Babies on the Move (Peachtree, 2005, ages 2 to 6, $15.95). As with van-driving soccer moms and sling-sporting dads, critters have evolved ingenious ways to transport their young from one place to another. Golden lion tamarins perch junior high on their shoulders, kangaroos use pouches and the alligator opens her jaws wide for her little one. Stockdale weaves together fact and lyrical prose to create a lullaby both informative and tender. Her illustrations are particularly compelling. Influenced by Stockdale's work as a textile designer, they exhibit bold use of color and pattern. Preschoolers will want to hitch their curious minds to this one for numerous read-aloud rides.

Are We Alone? (National Geographic, 2004, ages 9 and up, $18.95) takes kids on the exciting, scientific quest for life in outer space. Acclaimed author Gloria Skurzynski focuses on recent research from groups as diverse as the NASA Ames Research Center, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute and the American Astronomical Society. These scientists discuss the "clues" they are following to discover life beyond Earth. Numerous striking photographs help make concrete some rather abstract ideas, and sidebar descriptions of these scientists put a human face on the brilliant minds mentioned. This book may not only fuel some sci-fi daydreams but perhaps inspire a career in astronomy, astrophysics, evolutionary biology or related fields.

Budding paleontologists will thrill to Rocks and Fossils (Kingfisher, 2003, ages 5 to 9, $8.95). Chris Pellant journeys through time and geological layers to describe how igneous rocks form from lava, limestone from shells, sandstone from sand, and marble from the mineral calcite. He describes the many uses humans have found for rock: bricks, cement, pottery clay, ornaments and buildings. The section on fossils proves equally interesting, with a kid-friendly text and fascinating photographs that show how fossils form, from preservation in rock for millions of years to entrapment in resin. Suggested activities — rock collecting, creating "pretend" fossils — may spawn new hobbies.

From a child collecting stones, sticks, leaves and flowers, Georgia O'Keeffe grew into an artist intrigued by shape and color — the short and tall buildings of her New York City home, the huge, blue sky and rolling clouds of the West. Through free verse as spare and charged as some of her paintings, Georgia's Bones (Eerdmans, 2005, ages 5 and up, $16) explores O'Keeffe's artistic process. Author Jen Bryant invites young readers into the artist's mysterious world, where looking carefully could crystallize an image that must be painted. From this book, kids learn about one of America's best-known painters, but they also learn from her. Be open to beauty in odd places, O'Keeffe's example suggests. Be open to your own curiosity and where it might lead. This idea is reinforced by Bethanne Andersen's beautiful illustrations, with their ability to evoke the texture, color and shapes of the natural world.

Young readers can romp through history, thanks to Blast to the Past, a new time-travel series by Stacia Deutsch and Rhody Cohon. Debut titles Lincoln's Legacy and Disney's Dream (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster, 2005, ages 7 to 10, each $3.99) introduce Abigail, Jacob, Zack and Bo and their mission: to encourage historic figures at their darkest hour. The four are thrust into some fascinating "What if's." What if Lincoln had never freed the slaves? What if Disney, overwhelmed by technical difficulties, had abandoned "Steamboat Willie," the first animated movie with sound? These chapter books blend historic fact with lively fiction, made even more engaging by David Wenzel's occasional black-and-white illustrations.

Mary Quattlebaum is a mother and the author, most recently of Jackson Jones and Mission Greentop (middle-grade novel) and Family Reunion (poems). You can contact her at www.maryquattlebaum.com, which has information on her 13 award-winning children's books and school visits.