If you’re planning a Route 66 road trip and are looking for a guidebook to help determine your must-see stops, books to entertain your kids, books that will inspire and inform, or books that will entertain you, check out these must-read Route 66 Books.
Best Route 66 Books to Plan & Inspire Your Road Trip
Route 66 Guidebooks
These Route 66 guide books will help you plan an epic journey on the Mother Road. These road trip planners and travel guides give information, history, and recommendations on Route 66 motels, roadside attractions, must-see stops, classic eateries, and more! Be sure to pick up one (or several) to help plan your adventure, and take them along to help guide your way on The Mother Road!
Moon Route 66 Road Trip
by Jessica Dunham
The ultimate guidebook for planning your Route 66 road trip. Includes detailed information on roadside attractions, hotels, restaurants, and more. Includes detailed itinerary suggestions, driving directions, and expert perspectives.
Roadtrippers Route 66: Chicago to Santa Monica (Great American Road Trips)
by Roadtrippers/Tatiana Parent
Roadtrippers.com is the premiere website and app for planning your road trip route. Their Route 66 guidebook offers an in depth look at all the stops along the route and can be paired with an app for easy plotting.
The Best Hits on Route 66: 100 Essential Stops on the Mother Road
by Amy Bizzarri
An illustrated list of 100 of the best stops on Route 66. Also check out the specialized itineraries for gear heads, music lovers, families, supernatural lovers, and more.
Route 66: EZ66 GUIDE For Travelers
by Jerry McClanahan and National Historic Route 66 Federation
While Route 66 is still one of the most popular road trip routes in America, it hasn’t actually existed since the 1980s. But, while the official route was decommissioned, much of the road still exists and is still drivable today. This easy to follow guide helps drivers find the road with comprehensive maps and directions. It’s a fan favorite guide for Route 66 road trippers!
Route 66: The Mother Road 75th Anniversary Edition
by Michael Wallis
Learn more about the secret corners and hidden towns of this famous road. Michael Wallis visits the places and people that make Route 66 famous in this love letter and memoir.
A Guide Book to Highway 66
by Jack D. Rittenhouse
While this book might not offer much help in planning a modern Route 66 road trip, it will offer a peek into the past. This travel guidebook is an exact facsimile of the first Route 66 guidebook published in 1946.
Eating Up Route 66: Foodways on America’s Mother Road
by T. Lindsay Baker
Take a culinary tour of the Mother Road. The author drove the famous Mother Road and stopped at the diners, supper clubs, and roadside stands along the way. This book offers a history of the famous Route 66 restaurants and recipes from historic eateries on Route 66.
Here We Are . . . on Route 66: A Journey Down America’s Main Street
by Jim Hinckley
Arranged by topics such as Natural Wonders, Roadside Attractions, and Eateries, this book offers a history lesson and photographic archive of each featured stop.
Lonely Planet Best Road Trips Route 66
by Andrew Bender, Cristian Bonetto, Mark Johanson, Hugh McNaughtan, Christopher Pitts, Ryan Ver Berkmoes, and Karla Zimmerman
From one of the biggest names in travel, this book offers, colorful photography, Itineraries and planning advice, and full-color route maps with directions.
Route 66 Travel Guide – 202 Amazing Places
by Mark Watson
This pocket reference to Route 66 features guided maps, stop recommendations, history, and a soundtrack to guide the way. There’s even a travel log for you to record your own adventure.
Route 66 Fiction Books & Literature
If you’re looking for more road trip inspiration, these books on Route 66, novels, a narratives offer personal perspectives and narratives that will have you clamoring to hit the road. Learn how others have experienced the Main Street of America and prepare to experience it for yourself.
The Grapes of Wrath
by John John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel that tells story of an Oklahoman family who journeys to California in search of a new start amidst the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. The story largely takes place on Route 66 and it is here where John Steinbeck coined the now famous moniker “The Mother Road.”
The American Dream?: A Journey on Route 66 Discovering Dinosaur Statues, Muffler Men, and the Perfect Breakfast Burrito
by Shing Yin Khor
Shing Yin Khor’s graphic novel about Route 66 follows her solo (+ dog) journey on the Mother Road. It explores the American landscape, the iconic sites on the road, and the tensions of an immigrant’s road trip experience.
Miles to Go: An African Family in Search of America along Route 66
by Brennen Matthews
A family from Africa goes in search of authentic America Route 66 from Illinois to California. Along the way they encounter historical landmarks, weird roadside attractions, and an assortment of people, while gaining a unique perspective on American culture.
Route 66 Children’s Books
If you’re traveling Route 66 with kids, these children’s books will keep them entertained and teach them a little more about the journey they are experiencing!
Annie Mouse’s Route 66 Family Vacation
by Anne Maro Slanina and Kelsey Collins
Join the Mouse family on their first family vacation as the travel westward from Illinois to California. This Route 66 book is perfect for kids on a road trip!
Route 66 Journals & Activity Books
Some of the best Route 66 books are those you write yourself! These journals and activity books allow you to author your own journey (and have some fun along the way) as you travel the Main Street of America!
Route 66 Journal
Get your kicks with this Route 66 journal. Use this Route 66 travel journal as a planner to plan your Mother Road road trip or as a diary or logbook to record your thoughts, itineraries, and locations on the road. With 120 lined pages, this notebook is the perfect medium to record your bucket list trip across America.
Route 66 Coloring Book
This 24-page coloring book is filled with with fun activities like word searches, crosswords, connect the dots, mazes, secret codes, trivia, and more.
The Road Trip Journal & Activity Book
by Valerie Bromann
Enjoy fun games and challenges to pass the time on your Route 66 road trip and have a keepsake to look back on for years to come with this entertaining must-have for your next vacation. The Road Trip Journal & Activity Book features fun and engaging journal prompts. plus 100 activities and games to play in the car, at your hotel, or at stops along your route.
Pin this list of the best Route 66 books to save for your next road trip
