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A colorful children's guidebook written by resident expats awaits families undertaking their first trip to Thailand.

Our mantra when it comes to family travel, particularly outside one's home country, is "preparation, preparation, preparation." Our staff have found that children respond bettter to new situations when they have some information to digest beforehand. The Internet has been a huge help in this respect, as many tourist offices now have a 'children's information' section on their websites. With parental help, even young children can discover fun facts about various destinations through puzzles, online games and brochures.

The country of Thailand has something even better, a children's guidebook written by locals specifically for young readers. "Vera and Victor discover Thailand" by Eric and Julia Wirdheim, illustrations by Prema Jatukanyaprateep, was published in February 2005 by Wirdheim Culture AB. It's available for purchase through their website or in Bangkok's foreign languages bookstores, in both English and Swedish editrions, for 15 Euros.

"Vera and Victor discover Thailand" is a simply written story that uses the tale of a 3 and 7-year-old sighteeing with parents to introduce many concepts about Thail culture and food. According to the authors, "The book emphasizes what is important for children – animals, fruit and strange foods." The writing style in this 28-page guide is both easy to read aloud to preschoolers, and amusing enough for older children and adults to enjoy. The charming illustrations underline the similarities and differences between Vera and Victor's blond family and the local people, to minimize the stranger anxiety some children might feel when encountering the truly friendly Thai people.

The nicest aspect of the guide is the Wirdheim's obvious affection for the country and its people. As Ms. Wirdheim comments, "I would like to recommend Thailand as a tourist destination for families with children. Our own son is still too young to really experience the country, but as a parent I can say that Thailand is more suitable for children than many Farangs (foreigners) might think. The heat requires for you to plan ahead and to think more about hygiene and such things, but the adventure really makes it worth it. Means of communication are convenient and there are plenty of hotels and restaurants of good value."