Ageless

A big part of preparing the family travel is packing our bags. We aren't going bush; we are going to Germany and Switzerland. That's why we are supposed to keep it simple, or buy much of what we need at our destination.

The bulkiest items ended up to be my daughter's reading materials. Not out of boredom or ritual, but we've learned that our daughter loves reading, and when she does, we try to nurture her habit.

We found ourselves bringing thirty-something books to Europe. Most of the books - but not all - are paperback editions. Good enough to build a reading corner, if not a library.

We're not advocating to replace the smart phone screen completely by paper - not now, not ever; it is not going to work, believe me. My daughter also stares into screens like zombies, and more so when her friend is teaching her new video games on the road.

But what I mean is that no matter how entertaining the digital world can be, no matter how quick the technology is changing the kids' way of learning, my daughter remains loyal to her favourite book series. She has finished quite a few story books during our trip. I expect you want examples? Of course you do. Handful of them Junie B. Jones books, few more stories of Princess Mirror-Belle by Julia Donaldson, plus novels of Beezus and Ramona. In case you haven’t realized how long the joy of reading can last, let me tell you the Ramona book series were first published in 1955.