The Nature of our National Parks, a go-to guide for kids to planning a trip

An attorney friend of mine is visiting as many United States national parks as possible. There are 63 of them, and I think his family has visited about 50 of them.  The Nature of our National Parks is a children’s illustrated reference book that inspires the wanderlust in any age. The book isn’t automatically intended for children, it’s just that we group illustrated books with children. In this book’s case that’s not entirely accurate because The Nature of our National Parks also includes a handful of photographs from the places in question. Whichever way you approach the book, you’ll develop a case of the arm-chair traveler.  Another effect is that you’ll start scheming a manner in which you can write a book exploring these 63 parks so that you can write them off as a work expense too, which could be what my attorney friend is doing.  

The Nature of our National Parks is intended for young readers and families. Each park has a two-page, illustrated, panoramic view of its vista, flora, fauna and a tourist in it for scale. There are approximately four paragraphs on each area. These paragraphs add some first-person context from the author about their time in the park. They read like a succinct travelogue as they go from park to park and help humanize the daunting task of visiting so many spectacular places, yet needing to find a way to make them each unique. This lays more credence to the fact that my friend is merely traveling the country as a means to write off his family’s travel.    

Most of the entries have a blurb about a kid-friendly hike that’s in the region of the park. There are some paths, like the Grand Promenade near Hot Springs, Arkansas, that’s only a half-mile long. The hike at Mesa Verde is listed as a moderate one, 2.5 miles that’s appropriate for older kids. Each park has its total square miles listed, for those older hikers who want to experience something much more challenging.

Every park also has the “must-see” thing, plus some flora or fauna that it’s known for. Joshua Tree has “skull rock” a formation that’s been naturally eroded in the shape of a skull. Where would we be without you pareidolia? The ringtail raccoon is a friendlier-looking trash panda that lives in southern Utah, the Capitol Reef area that you’d recognize. The Kentucky Cave Shrimp shares the name of a tasty treat, but don’t grab it if you’re in Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. This massive cave system has 412 miles of surveyed, river carved, underground beauty that can put things in perspective.

The Nature of our National Parks is a children’s illustrated reference book. It’s also one that older readers can enjoy and make a “wish list” of places to visit. The only factor that keeps this book clearly in the ‘kids’ camp is that is uses illustrations, instead of photographs. That’s not a slight towards the book. This is the dreamy, escapist, armchair traveler book that will inspire elementary ages to see nature in the United States.

The Nature of our National Parks is by Alexander M. Rigby with illustrations by Qu Lan and is available on Tra Publishing.

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