My son is a huge source of inspiration for the Charlie Armadillo series. His love of the parks, animals, and nature is endearing. I will cherish it forever. He went through a phase where he lived, breathed, and read only about National Parks. He read an entire National Parks encyclopedia at least three times (a gift from the tooth fairy) and watched National Parks documentaries instead of cartoons. We did the Jr. Ranger program in any NPS area we visited, and collected park stamps and patches. He studied checklists of animals in each park and we played the "Trekking the National Parks" board game every day for a solid 7-months (freebie plug - if you don't have it ... go get it from Underdog Games). My son memorized every National Park in the United States, the state it is located in, the year and order that it became a National Park, and a list of the wildlife that resides in it. To say the least, he was obsessed. While the obsession has since toned down a bit, I have no doubt that Charlie's love of the National Parks will carry with him for life. My husband and I are fully onboard to support this passion - pretty much forever.