FAVOURITE HANGOUTS of childhood heroes can be part of your family holiday. Make friends with an owl, like Harry Potter, at a Gloucestershire bird sanctuary.

Tintin, the Belgian comic boy hero, is living every kid's dream. Along with his canine pal Snowy, he is travelling the world -- to Tibet, to Africa, around the moon and the South Seas -- with no parent in sight. Adventure after adventure in day-glo colour.

As an adolescent, I spent hours devouring Tintin's exploits created by Belgian artist Georges Remi (who wrote as Herge) and dreaming about the world outside my bedroom walls.

I wasn't alone. Remi's 23 books have sold over 200 million copies in 58 languages around the world. And there were others: Emil and the Detective racing around Berlin, Hans Brinker gliding down ice-covered canals of Holland (why not duplicate this in Ottawa -- the Fairmont Chateau Laurier is offering skating packages?), Pippi Longstocking in the South Seas.

Now after a summer of freewheeling fun, kids have their noses back into print. And it's a shock -- for parents who are back into homework duty and for kids who maybe didn't spend their summer reading. Why not ease this difficult re-entry with books that combine good stories and intriguing vacation possibilities:

FRANCE - Mad about madeline: On our first visit to Paris, Natalie was only three. But she recognized the Eiffel Tower and the bridges over the Seine from her Madeline books. Good thing! I must have read the much-loved picture books written by Ludwig Bemelmans about the "twelve little girls in two straight lines" oh, about 100 times.

Like the schoolgirls under Miss Clavel, our kids roamed the streets of Paris to Notre Dame Cathedral, to cafes for pain au chocolat and through Paris parks. For more, pick up a copy of Fodor's Around Paris With Kids, call the Maison de la France 514-876-9881 or visit www.franceguide.com.

BRITAIN - POTTER MANIA: No books have inspired so much excitement as J.K. Rowling's series about the boy apprentice wizard.

Keepers at the Reptile House at the London Zoo are regularly asked about the Harry Potter snake, visitors from around the world arrive at King's Cross Station to look for Platform 9 3/4 and families ride down to Eton to see a school like Hogwarts in session.

The British Tourist Authority has published a Harry Potter And the Philosopher's Stone pamphlet, Discovering The Magic Of Britain.

I particularly liked the idea of making a pilgrimage to the National Birds of Prey Centre in Gloucestershire (www.nbpc.co.uk), one of the largest in the world. Owl opportunities abound. An online version is available at www.visitbritain.com/ca or call 1-888-847-4885.

P.E.I. - ANNE'S LAND: Though my daughter was not as enamoured of the Anne books as I was, she did enjoy Anne Of Green Gables: The Musical. More fascinating for her were the red roads, beaches and peaceful rural life depicted by Anne's creator, Lucy Maud Montgomery. P.E.I.'s tourism department lists a Three Days Of Anne itinerary on their Web site.

Yes, you could spend a week riding in a buggy, dressing up in carrot-coloured braids, walking in the Haunted Wood and playing old-fashioned games. Next summer, the Lucy Maud Montgomery Festival in August offers readings and events. Contact www.peiplay.com/anne or 1-888-PEI-PLAY.

NEW YORK CITY - CRICKET IN TIMES SQUARE: My eldest loved this book so much he would quote passages until we were begging him to stop. We tried to sympathize because it was one of his first chapter books.

But actually, we too loved George Seldon's story of Chester Cricket, who tried to save his human friend's nearly bankrupt newsstand in Times Square.

Now that the area has been polished to respectability (well, almost), it's a family's first stop. Stroll past the giant video screens to shop at kid-friendly toy emporiums, munch on pretzels and revel in the street action.

Don't miss Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum (www.nycwax.com). There's so much going on here that a cricket could easily hide. Contact 1-800-NYC-VISIT or www.nycvisit.com.

BOTTOM LINE: An excellent resource is Storybook Travels: From Eloise's New York To Harry Potter's London by Colleen Dunn Bates and Susan LaTempa (Three Rivers Press). Ask for it at your local library, where you'll also find all books mentioned here.

If your kids don't have their own library cards, sign them up. It's one of the best presents you'll ever give them.

Trace Anne's footsteps in P.E.I.