Spenser Goes to Portland — Melanie Brooks

A small dog, Spenser, and his mother explore the history and geography of Portland, Oregon. He explores mountains, waterfalls, the Columbia Gorge, the International Rose Test Garden, and Powell's Book Store. This is the first in a series of children's books that offer children and the adults in their lives fascinating, challenging, and compassionate learning experiences about different cities and regions of the United States. These stories of Spenser base their appeal on his personality and the fact that he does very cool things with his traveling companion, his mother. Spenser possesses character traits that children can relate to and that adults want children to emulate: curiosity, compassion, and a sense of adventure. He details his travels so children can learn the history, culture, and geography of different parts of the US. He encourages children to participate in community activities to feed hungry children like the Oregon Food Bank. Spenser practices environmental stewardship and models good citizen behavior. In this book, Spenser learns about the problem of littering and how children can help solve the problem. Activities and tasks in the book offer the opportunity to earn points. A 100% point score enables the young reader to become a member of Spenser's Honor Roll.