Book excerpt: Learning geography will always be fun with the special tricks you'll learn here. Starting from familiar territory (home, backyard, schoolyard) and moving outwards, this amusing, delightfully illustrated introduction to maps and more teaches street smarts to kids. Filled to the brim with fun games, cool activities, humorous quizzes, and wacky facts, every page turns basic geography into an adventure. Build a model of an early compass to understand navigation--then head out to test your skills. Use the sun, moon, and the stars to get your bearings. Look at a map similar to the one Columbus might have used when he set out to prove the world was round. Hit the road with "a key to the highway" that provides information on tolls, the number of lanes, and other details. Figure out which route goes where. All in all, you'll have a delightful trip--and end up just where you want to be!