The premise of this book is simple, give your children the gift of travel. Teach them how to travel in order for them to travel to learn. The world is the greatest classroom for children. Sadly, a 2006 National Geographic poll found that American children are not very culturally literate. Only 37% could find Iraq on a map, 20% thought Sudan was in Asia, and half couldn't identify New York on a map (7). I am guilty of a lack of geographic knowledge; my world geography and even U.S. geography is terrible. Although I do try to read about other places and travel when I can.
As a parent, I want to travel with my children and take across the country and even around the world. As a National Geographic publication, this book doesn't fail to deliver and is highly informative. The book is divided into regions: United States/Canada, Caribbean/Mexico/South America, Europe, Africa/Middle East, Asia, and Oceania/Antarctica. Each entry includes a page or two about the chosen place with historical highlights and itinerary suggestions from locals or local guides. I particularly liked the recommended reading/media section at the bottom of each page. There were two or three books, CDs, or movies for each place either for children or for children and adults. I also found it interesting that there were no pictures in this book, rather unusual for a travel book.
I did find a few limitations with the scope of this book. Although the title mentions "your backyard" none of the places mentioned quite fit this bill. All of them are large cities, famous landmarks, or well-known places. For example, Mount Rushmore, Manhattan, Gettysburg, Paris, London, Vatican City, Pyramids of Giza, Jerusalem, the Serengeti, Taj Mahal, The Great Wall of China, and the Great Barrier Reef. Some of these places may indeed be local, but I also feel many of them are cost prohibitive. I think the book could have been improved by making cheaper suggestions; instead of bird-watching in the Serengeti, go to your local State Park and bird-watch or identify fish in a local lake.
