Travels with Charlie : Down South

Children's Literature

Charlie, a shaggy white dog with a black nose and a red bandana around his neck, is on the road again. After his trips through the American Northeast and West, Charlie now invites kids to track him through the southeastern states from Alabama to West Virginia. Travelers who have read the previous “Search and Find Geography Books” will remember that each state gets a double-page spread with a lavishly illustrated map on one side and a rhyming mission statement on the other. There is also a sidebar at the far left listing the state capital, state flag, and five other “Did You Know . . .” tidbits about the state. (On the Florida page, readers can learn about the oldest North American settlement, orange juice, sunshine, Stephen Foster, and flamingos.) After explorers have discovered all the locations in each rhyme, they can hunt for Charlie who is not always easy to find. (He could be hitching a ride in a sailboat or perhaps perched on a cannon.) Completing the itinerary, travelers get a chance to revisit each state to find one location they might have missed like “a Tennessee museum all about guitars . . . / a place in Louisiana where frogs are the stars.” Author Backer searches out the funky destinations from his home in Topeka, while Nitzberg provides the lively map illustrations that almost dance off the page. Southern travels with Charlie are so much fun that even Mom and Dad might like to go along for the ride. Reviewer: Barbara L. Talcroft