Take a Road Trip Across the Country Visiting Your Favorite Childhood Literary Characters

Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

To honor the heroes of childhood literature—and their ability to instantly transport a reader anywhere—Atlas Obscura has mapped the locations of more than 50 of North America’s favorite children’s and young adult books.

In New York City, there are the homes of Eloise, Harriet the Spy, Holden Caulfield from “The Catcher in the Rye,” and Claudia Kincaid of “From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Franweiler,” among others.

Elsewhere across the country, Ramona Quimby turns Portland, Oregon, into her personal playground (much to the dismay of her older sister); Charlie from “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” attempts to find himself on the tunnels and bridges of Pittsburgh, and Laura Wilder spends her childhood in a “Little House in the Big Woods” of Wisconsin.

“The places on this map might have once seemed mythical; one of the great pleasures of growing up is being able to explore in real-life the world that you could only imagine as a kid,” Sarah Laskow wrote for Atlas Obscura.

Adults may not always have the over-active imaginations of children, but they have cars and licenses and the ability to make childhood dreams a reality. After perusing the map, your inner child may start calling for a road trip.

Cailey Rizzo writes about travel, art and culture and is the founding editor of The Local Dive. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter @misscaileyanne.