These literary pilgrimages are a beautiful way to make the stories we love—and the authors who wrote them—come alive in a tangible way. Admittedly, most of the stops we have made over the years are for my own favorite books and authors, almost all of them Well-Read Mom selections, but my boys enjoy them nonetheless.

While friends have traveled to Prince Edward Island (Anne of Green Gables), Concord, Massachusetts (home of Louisa May Alcott) and various “Little House” sites across the Midwest, my family’s stops include Flannery O’Connor’s childhood home and Andalusia farm (both in Georgia) and Iowa City, where she studied creative writing, Santa Fe, New Mexico (inspired by Death Comes for the Archbishop but enjoyed by my boys because of Tomie de Paola’s The Night of Las Posadas picture book), the bookstore at the (Wendell) Berry Center in New Castle, Kentucky and The National Willa Cather Center in Red Cloud, NE.

The reading list for Year of the Teacher provides ample opportunity for literary trips. While a European vacation to Paris, Bath, Faha or Florence isn’t likely in the cards for most of us, perhaps you could visit the Rolvaag Writing Cabin in Sioux Falls, SD or drive on the Foothills Parkway in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, just one of the many stops on the twelve page “Christy Road Atlas” available at christycove.com. My son hopes to visit Nathaniel Bowditch’s house in Salem, Massachusetts (the March Family Supplement selection, Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, was his favorite book last year), and maybe on that same trip we can walk Danny and Reuven’s Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn.

Standing in the room where our favorite author wrote a beloved story or walking through a city we have so vividly imagined while reading a book is a rich experience whether we are old or young.

So, this summer, whether you’re traveling alone or loading up a passenger van full of kids, I hope you’ll consider making your own literary pilgrimage and enjoy the memories you make along the way.