Juvenile Travelogue Series

Years ago I read a wonderful little monograph by Virginia Haviland. Published by the Horn Book in 1950 and based on a talk Haviland gave in 1949, it reviewed a number of 19th century travelogue series written for juveniles. What it did not do was give a very complete bibliographical description of the books. In addition numerous series were not included in this volume.

These works were immensely popular. Abbott's Rollo's Travels, was perhaps the first juvenile series of significance. The Zigzag series of the 1880's sold hundreds of thousands of books.

The goal of this site is to be as inclusive as possible with the juvenile travelogue series of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Solitary volumes are not part of the site at this time, but they may be included in the future. Comprehensive bibliographical information for each series is the basic idea with pictures of the books supplementing the written descriptions. This is not a site which pretends to give a complete description of the contents of these books.

What to include or not include is a challenge. Some series are obvious. Zigzag Journeys in Europe chronicles a trip to Europe with lots of geographical descriptions. Other series have some geography lessons included but the locale is secondary to teaching youngsters morals or religious lessons. Both types of series will be included here. There are some series that feature the juveniles traveling but have very little about the geographical area. Those books are more about the interaction and adventures of the main characters than where those activities take place. Some of these series will be included on a case by case basis.

This is a work in progress. Please contact me with any questions, criticisms or thoughts.

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