First published in 1992, and revised in 2002, this paperback book by seasoned travel writer Carole Terwilliger Meyers is filled with 101 car games and activities. I’m guessing this book will be good for quite a few of our family road trips, as we only made our way through about five activities on a recent three-hour stretch of driving.
Some games in Miles of Smiles are best for older kids, say 10 and up, but others — like “I Spy” and “Straight Face” (which involves saying a very silly phrase) can be played by children as young as 4. Games are indexed in the back by age recommendation, which I think is brilliant.
We entertained ourselves “Minding our P’s & Q’s” — racing to see who could spot the most P’s and Q’s on road signs and license plates in a short amount of time — and playing the old favorite “Who Am I?” — where someone thinks of a famous person to “become,” and others have to guess who it is by asking questions like, “Are you still alive?” and “Are you male or female.” (The kids threw a loop into this game by becoming cartoon characters their mom and dad had never heard of!”)
We really had a good time trying to say the tongue twisters listed in the book, like “Leon the lovable llama licked lollipops in Lima.” And trivia questions stumped even the most trivia-minded in the car (my husband). Are you familiar with the proper names for these animal groups: a covey of ants, an army of frogs and a troop of baboons?
I’m keeping my copy of Miles of Smiles in the seat pocket of our mini-van, so my children can pull the book out and play a game even on a short jaunt to Wal-Mart. I highly recommend Miles of Smiles for your next family road trip. Purchase it for $8.95 on Amazon.com.
Related stories: Three Kids’ Travel Activities, Table Topics to Go.
