fun things to do with kids in kenya - family travel    
  Travel for Kids
   
     
    Kenya
Just imagine kids at eye level with a hippo, feeding a giraffe, or coming upon a lion paw print in the dirt. Kenya is a fabulous landscape where you can see animals in their natural habitat – flocks of pink flamingos in the lakes, bush babies and monkeys in the forest, lions, rhinos, zebras, elephants and giraffes in the savanna. Kenyans love kids, and families are warmly received as you travel through this equatorial country.
Tip: Don't miss our top picks for children's books on Kenya, recommended by the staff of Travel for Kids, see below.
    Nairobi
    The Rift Valley
    Western Kenya
    Coast
      Tip: Don’t swim in the lakes or rivers. Bilharzia is present, and lakes and rivers are also home to crocodiles. Be sure to bring along binoculars for wildlife viewing.
   

Fun food

     

In Kenya it’s traditional to eat with your hands, so kids will enjoy eating without utensils in restaurants (wash your hands first). Try ugali (similar to polenta) – use ugali to scoop up other dishes. Mandazi is a fried sweet, like a doughnut. Restaurants and hotels often have buffet meals, so kids can pick what they like.

   

Shopping

     

Shop for carved wooden animals (pick your favorite animal), knives and spears (select ones that come apart so they can fit in your luggage), jewelry and beaded necklaces.

kids books kenya
     
 
Mama Panya's Pancakes
Mary and Rich Camberlin, Julia Cairns

Mama Panya is making pancakes tonight, and on the way to market, her son Adika invites all their friends. Mama wonders how many pancakes she can make, but everyone brings milk, butter, plantains, fish, spices and it’s a feast under the baobab tree. A sparkling story that expresses Kenyan village life based on sharing, beautifully illustrated. (Picture book)

 

     
Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain
Verna Aardema, Beatriz Vidal

A Kenyan folktale retold, the grass is brown and the cows are hungry, but the rain won’t fall on Kapiti Plain. A clever herdsman fashions an arrow to shoot the cloud and drop the rain. Delightful rhyming text, colorfully illustrated. (Picture book)

 

 
     
First Come the Zebra - kids books Kenya  
First Come the Zebra
Lynne Barasch

When a Maasai boy takes his cattle out to graze, he meets a Kikuyu boy, whose family farms the land. At first the boys dislike each other, but then they find a way to share cow's milk in exchange for fruits and vegetables. (Picture book)

 

     

Go on safari to look for lion, elephant, leopard, zebra, giraffe, kudu, baboons, and white rhino. Assemble the eight different safari animals and set them up in a stunning diorama! (Activity book)

 

 
     
Promise the Night
 
Promise the Night
Michaela MacColl

Based on a true story, Beryl grows up on a ranch in British East Africa (Kenya), hunting lions with Nandi tribal warriors, training horses, and becomes one of the first women pilots, flying alone at night across the Atlantic. (Chapter book)

 

     
Lions at Lunchtime
Mary Pope Osborne

Annie and Jack are whirled to the plains of Kenya, right in the middle of a zebra migration crossing the Mara River. Searching to solve the riddle of something sweet and gold, they encounter hyenas, elephants, lions, and a Maasai warrior. (Easy reader)

 

 
     
 
Papa, Do You Love Me
Barabara M. Joose, Barbara Lavallee

“I love you more than the warrior loves to leap, more than the bush baby loves the moon, more than the elder loves his stories.” A Maasai father tells his son how he’ll care for him, teach him, and how much he loves him. Watercolor illustrations shimmer on each page. (Picture book)

 

     
Facing the Lion
Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton

Captivating childhood memories of Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton, growing up today in a nomadic Maasai tribe, where cows are a way of life, clothing is a nanga and beads, and hunting lions with spears is every warrior’s challenge. Joseph is a super storyteller, bringing traditional Maasai culture to us. (Chapter book)

 

 
     
Owen & Mzee - kids books Kenya  
Owen & Mzee
Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, Dr. Paula Kahumbu

Stranded on a coral reef in eastern Kenya, a baby hippo (Owen) is rescued and taken to an animal sanctuary. At Heller Park, Owen snuggles up with a 130 year-old giant tortoise, called Mzee. This is the story of their endearing friendship, illustrated with super photographs (Picture book)

Also, easy reader: Best Friends: The True Story of Owen & Mzee

 

     
Lola & Tiva
Juliana, Isabella, Craig Hatkoff

Tiva is a girl who lives on a nature conservancy in Kenya and takes care of a little baby black rhino, Lola. When Lola needs to take a mud bath, Tiva plays in the mud too.
(Easy reader)

 

 
     
Adventure at Simba Hill
 

Best friends Kari and Lucas are off to Kenya on safari, but smugglers are stealing prehistoric artifacts from Simba Hill. Mystery adventure, Maasai culture, and game drives. (Chapter book)

 

     
Wangari's Trees of Peace
Jeanette Winter

Wangari Maathai looks at the barren land where all the trees have been cut down, and she starts by planting nine seedlings. She convinces village women to the seeds of hope, and in time, a green umbrella spreads all over Africa. Vibrant illustrations capture Wangari’s vision and the beauty and wonder of the Earth. (Picture book)

 

 
     
 
Planting the Trees of Kenya
Claire A. Nivola

"Remember what millions of hands can do." Wangari Maathai, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, organized women in Kenya to re-plant millions of trees, restoring the land and changing people's lives. Spectacularly detailed illustrations tell her story. (Picture book)

 

More children's books on other Kenya pages