For your next car trip, try an activity kit made by the ultra-creative company Klutz Press, which publishes colorful, original hands-on "books" crammed with neat stuff and activities. Prices range from $4 to $12. (Sadly, some of the car travel classics such as Glove Compartment Games are showing as no longer available - except at a collector's price.)
1. The Only Coloring, Puzzle, Game, Dot-to Dot Activity Book You'll Ever Need
This is one of the more conservative of Klutz's products, in that the "book" is actually pretty much a book; but even the crayons are creatively unusual, in this set of hidden pictures, unfinished drawings, fold-ups, games and more.
2. Draw Thumb People
Inexpensive ($7 or less) "fine art at your fingertips". Contains all supplies needed for this sill art form, for ages four and up.3. The Adventures of Brenda Bender: Bendable Wire Heroine
Brenda's four inches tall, made of flexible coated wire, and has magnetic handsd and feet; comes with a book and a tin to live in. (There's a Joe Bender, too.)4. Klutz Kwiz - all grade levels
For different grade levels; with a Klutz Kwiz Gizmo to unlock the answers.5. The Most Incredible, Outrageous, Packed-to-the Gills Sticker Book
For a certain age of child, sticking on stickers is a fascinating (and quiet!) activity.6. Kids Travel: A Backseat Survival Guide
Not so much a "Guide" as a survival kit, with book, games, crafts, puzzles, crosswords, mazes, plus a zippered vinyl pouch that holds all the supplies-- brought to you by the imaginative Klutz Press.7. The Etch-a-Sketch Book
Includes book, attached Etch-a-Sketch, and fun stuff to do with it.8. Road Trip Trivia
"A Big Book of Backseat Brainteasers": creatively packaged, of course. Each pages has five questions; answer by sliding a peg to a multiple-choice answer. Flip the book over to see the correct answers.