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My children live a charmed life for many reasons, not the least of which is this: Their mother is a travel writer who has taken them to hundreds of cool destinations across the state and around the world, from Paris, France, to Versailles, Ohio.

But when a book arrived in my mailbox a few weeks ago, I couldn't help but think: My kids have been nowhere. And neither, frankly, have I.

The book, "100 Places That Can Change Your Child's Life," is written by Keith Bellows, born in Africa, schooled in Europe and, for the past 15 years, editor of National Geographic Traveler magazine.

He's also the father of three, including two kids under 10, who recently returned from the Galapagos Islands (yep, on the list).

In an interview earlier this month, Bellows said he hopes the book inspires families to hit the road -- whether the destination is around the world or around the block. Travel, he says, promotes cultural literacy and global understanding in a world that has a short supply of both.

"The passport is the new diploma," he writes. "The world is the greatest classroom we have."

And we could all benefit from going back to school.

Kid-friendly approach to seeing the world

Bellows launched the project several years ago with a list of about 700 worthwhile possibilities, then began editing and eliminating for geographic balance and diversity of experience.

Of those that made the cut, some are far (Victoria Falls, Zambia), others near (Gettysburg, Pa.). Some are easily accessible (Chicago), others more difficult to reach (Angkor, Cambodia).

Some were barely on my radar screen (Galle, Sri Lanka); others rank high on my own bucket list (Hong Kong, the Great Barrier Reef, Machu Picchu).

Indeed, most of the destinations are places any adult would love to visit.

But Bellows offers a decidedly kid-friendly approach to the sites, focusing in London, for example, on the grisly Tower of London, and in Marrakech, Morocco, on a scavenger hunt through the city's historic souk.

Among the entries:

History comes to life on the battlefield in Gettysburg, Pa.

• Manhattan, "a child's rite of passage," writes Bellows, where a kid-friendly itinerary might begin with a Circle Line Cruise around the island, offering an overview of all the top sites, from the Empire State Building to Yankee Stadium, the World Trade Center and Ellis Island.

• Athens, which every child studies in world history -- "but studying a place and its heritage is far different from actually being there." Child-friendly recommendations start with the Acropolis and the new Acropolis Museum, and extend to the nearby Plaka neighborhood and the funicular railway on Lycabettus Hill.

• The Grand Canyon, which, "for too many kids is just an hour spent staring out over the abyss, posing for photos and jostling with other tourists for prime viewing spots." A better way, writes Bellows, is to venture below the rim, studying the rock layers, lizards, wildflowers and more. Or take a National Park Service-sponsored mule ride departing from the North Rim, which, unlike those leaving from the South Rim, are available on the day of arrival.

Anyone reading the book can find reasons to quibble with the subjectiveness of the entries. Why Athens and not Rome? Why Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan, but not Ohio's Serpent Mound?

Why both Cape Cod and Nantucket?

In addition, there is one glaring absence: Bellows makes no mention of Disney World. No Disneyland. No Tokyo Disney.

Asked about the Disney omission, Bellows says he meant no disrespect to the House of Mouse. "You gotta do that. It's a joy for the kids."

But don't do only that, he says. Make the world your theme park instead.

Other mistakes he says parents frequently make when traveling with kids:

• They plan everything. Get the kids involved so they feel invested. A good ratio of adult-to-children activities: Plan one-third of the day for the adults, two-thirds for the kids.

• Prepare before you go. Read about the destination -- eat the food, watch a movie, study the clothes. "You can essentially go before you leave," says Bellows.

• Don't spend all your time at the top tourist sites. Spend an afternoon in a park or exploring a neighborhood. Stay in an apartment, go shopping at the grocery store. "Live like the locals," says Bellows.

What to do, how to do it

Though the book suggests destinations for a century's worth of annual vacations, it is a travel companion as much as a list. Bellows offers insider tips from locals, plus hotel recommendations, kid-appropriate reading materials and splurge-worthy souvenirs.

Occasionally, the book takes a narrow approach to a destination, as Bellows does with his current hometown, Washington, D.C. He devotes the entire chapter on the nation's capital to the Library of Congress, a vast repository of 128 million items -- "the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame of its day" -- including maps, musical scores, comic books, scripts and more.

The key to a child's enjoyment of the library -- any destination, really -- is to let them lead.

"I told my kids we were going to the Library of Congress and they said, 'No way, I don't want to go to a library,' " says Bellows. "When I finally got them in there, I just stepped back and watched. They loved it."

Nor should you worry that your children are too young for any particular experience. Bellows, who is 61, can still remember snippets of his first four years in the Belgian Congo, including the elephant that lived in his family's backyard.

"Children have muscle memory," he says. "If you get them traveling at an early age, they'll never stop. You're really trying to inculcate that wanderlust, that sense of hunger for the unusual and the strange. They'll be more willing to eat the weird stuff and look strangers in the eye. These are the kids who are going to inherit the world."

And if money is an issue -- and for almost all of us, unfortunately, it is -- don't use that as an excuse to stay home.

If you can't go to China, go to a nearby city's Chinatown, says Bellows.

"You don't have to get on a plane," he says. "If you can't go across the pond, go to a pond. It's a matter of being curious. And kids are naturally curious. You can't stop them."

Inspired by his words, I counted up the destinations in his book that my own daughters have been to: eight, including Paris (no mention of Versailles, however, a tiny town of about 2,700 near Dayton with a very cool old hotel).

I have been to a few more -- 22 -- though having never traveled to Asia or Africa, I'm feeling like a bit of a homebody as well.

It seems to me my family has some traveling to do.

This weekend: Cleveland's AsiaTown. And then, maybe -- fingers crossed -- Hong Kong.