By land, by sea and by air, many families will be taking their vacations in the coming weeks. Several new picture books have a travel theme -- and might be entertaining enough to young readers to keep them from asking "Are we there yet?"

"There's a Dolphin in the Grand Canal!" (Viking, $15.99, ages 4 and up) by John Bemelmans Maricano.

Little Luca, who dresses in a bow tie and works in his papa's cafe, takes the ride of his life on the back of a dolphin through the canals of the Italian city of Venice. He sees the Rialto bridge and neighborhood streets from a whole new point of view.

Tourists revel in seeing the unusual sight, but it takes a little extra convincing to get Luca's father to embrace it.

An added bonus is Marciano's brief glossary in the back that teaches a few simple foreign words, such as "guarda," which means "look," and "andiamo," which means "let's go." And how do you say "It's a dolphin" in Portuguese? "Ha um golfinho."

"The Wheels on the Race Car" (Orchard Books/Scholastic, $14.95, ages 4-8) by Alexander Zane and illustrated by James Warhola.

At the racetrack, animals are busy from start to finish -- yet they still find time to sing their story to the tune of "The Wheels on the Bus."

"The wheels on the race car go round and round, round and round, round and round. The wheels on the race car go round and round, all around the track."

And when the Hot-Rod Hot Dog car edges out the Dippo Donuts car at the checkered finish line, all the animals get together for a party in a show of good sportsmanship.

"The Graves Family Goes Camping" (Philomel, $16.99, ages 4-8) by Patricia Polacco.

The creepy Graves family packs up the car for a trip to Lake Bleakmire, but not all their bats and spiders fit so they also tow a hot pink trailer. When they arrive at their destination, the trailer unfolds and transforms itself into a large castle with marble floors and a dining room for 40 people.

Unfortunately, it's still not big enough to hide from a dragon creature who eats all their food. The Graves, however, hatch a plan that turns foe into friend, and gives their town a spectacular fireworks show at the same time.

"Jack's New Boat" (Candlewick, $15.99, ages 4-8) by Sarah McMenemy.

Jack can't wait to try out his new toy boat during his seaside vacation. He puts it down at the water's edge and warns the boat not to go too far. But a big wave comes along and sends the boat into deep water -- too deep for Jack to retrieve his prized toy.

But as all good beachcombers know, you never know what you might find washed up on the shore, and, sure enough, a few days later, Jack's boat is back.

"Are We There Yet?" (Kane/Miller, $15.95, ages 4-8) by Alison Lester.

Grace is an 8-year-old who lives with her Mum, Dad, two brother, dog, cat and horse in a small town called Binnum, not far from Melbourne, Australia. Her family embarks on a trip around the country in a camper-trailer, but not before they practice sleeping in it in the backyard.

Grace discovers rock art in Kakadu, she snorkels at Turquoise Bay and she sticks her head in the mouth of a great white shark in a museum at Streaky Bay. It's all very exciting and great fun, too. But, as with many travelers, she's just as happy when she gets home.

"Everything I Know About Cars" (Simon & Schuster, $16.95, ages 4-8) by Tom Lichtenheld.

From the start, this book warns that it won't explain why you have to ride around in a clunky minivan while your best friend zooms around in a fancy red sports car, or explain how to put back together an SUV that you take apart some Saturday afternoon.

What it does do is offer a completely made-up history of the automobile, tracing its roots back to King Tut's dune buggy.

"The Noisy Airplane Ride" (Tricycle Press, $6.95, ages 4-8) by Mike Downs and illustrated by David Gordon.

This book explains the experience of a first-time plane passenger, and it does it in rhyme. It covers the big stuff -- how the wheels go up and the wings bend -- and the small -- including the lights and the air conditioning.

"Monday on the Mississippi" (Henry Holt, $16.95, ages 5-9) by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Frane Lessac.

The Mississippi River is a chameleon that changes with its surroundings. If on Monday you started sailing down the river -- perhaps in one of the famous riverboats -- you'd be in Lake Itasca, Minn., where a little girl might be wiggling her toe in shallow water. By Tuesday, you'd be in Dubuque, Iowa, surrounded by a levee where old men swap stories, and by Saturday, you'd be in Greenville, Miss., where the river looks brown and moves "nice and lazy."

And on Sunday, you'd reach the Mississippi River Delta in Louisiana, where the river filters through many channels into the Gulf of Mexico.

"Engine No. 5's Busy Day" (Sterling, $7.95, ages 2-4) by Melissa Tyrell.

Two mice take a vacation on a train, and take the conductor's hat with them. They make a pit stop at a country market for carrots, apples, tangerines and beans, and then visit the circus, causing a little confusion for the clowns and jugglers,

"Beep, Beep, Let's Go!" (Bloomsbury, $15.95, ages 2-5) by Eleanor Taylor.

After the last beach ball is loaded into an overflowing car, a family of cute pooches head out on their road trip. They pass pigs on a tandem bicycle, mice on motorcycles and buy ice cream cones while they're stuck in traffic from a festive-looking truck stopped beside them.

Turns out, all those cars were filled with critters who had the same idea as the dogs, and they all arrive at the beach and make a big splash into the water.

"Sleepy Cadillac" (HarperCollins, $15.99, all ages) by Thacher Hurd.

A young boy goes on a moonlight drive in a blue convertible Cadillac to Pajama Land, which on the map would be located this side of the moon. There he finds lots of other classic 1950s-style cars, which might look a little unfamiliar to today's reader with their long bodies, round headlights and chrome trim.

The cars seem though to have one futuristic characteristic: They drive themselves -- and that's a good thing since by the end of the story everyone else seems to be asleep at the wheel.