Rand McNally unveils Summer Atlas & kids' Backseat Books

New products set a course for summertime fun

News provided by

May 06, 2015, 02:04 ET

SKOKIE, Ill., May 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Just weeks away from the Memorial Day weekend – the traditional start to the summer road travel season – Rand McNally today launched several new travel publications designed to inspire and guide those manning the cars' front seats and help keep the peace among little travelers in the back seat.

Rand McNally's new Best of the Road summer planner gives tips, trips, and maps for all-American summer escapes.

Keep the kids busy this travel season with three new Backseat Books from Rand McNally. Filled with games, puzzles, maps, and fun, these travel activity books will keep kids amused for hours.

Rand McNally is the country's most trusted source for maps, navigation, and travel content. For 160 years, Rand McNally has been developing and launching innovative products for the consumer, transportation, and education markets.

For the front seat: The new Summer Edition Best of the Road® U.S. Travel Planner & Atlas is a colorful 160-page magazine-style atlas with coverage of 20 all-American summer escapes that showcase beach boardwalks, lakeside retreats, urban adventures, small town fun, and more.

"Our editorial team constantly gets asked for recommendations about the best places to visit. Of course, the answer may change depending upon the season," said Stephen Fletcher, CEO of Rand McNally. "The Summer Edition is the first of the seasonal series we plan to issue four times per year."

The articles in the Summer Edition are packed with ideas for places to stay, things to see and do, and tips for getting out on the trail, deep into the national parks, and onto rides at classic amusement parks. The book also includes a listing of summertime festivals and seasonal events as well as state-by-state road maps to help travelers get there.

For the back seat: The all-new series of Backseat Books® travel activity books is packed with games, quizzes, illustrations, and puzzles to keep kids under the age of 12 amused for hours:

The Kids' Road Atlas is fun but sneaks in some learning with real road maps of all 50 states and Washington, D.C., state-themed games plus state birds, flowers, trees, and capitals.
Coast–to-Coast Games focuses on cities and national parks with short descriptions of popular attractions and related activities for six U.S. regions.
Are We There Yet? includes decoding puzzles, dot-to-dot mazes, crosswords, and word scrambles as well as backseat bingo.

And coming in June, the Backseat Books® will come bundled with stickers and a doodle book in a sturdy reusable travel box with handle. The Kids' Backseat Travel Kit also serves as a lap desk during car rides.

The Summer Edition planner, Backseat Books®, and Kids' Backseat Travel Kit are available at store.randmcnally.com as well as at bookstores and other online and storefront retailers.

About Rand McNally – Rand McNally is the country's most trusted source for maps, navigation, and travel content. Products and services include: America's #1 Road Atlas; IntelliRoute® truck routing software; TND™ truck GPS; HD 100 E-Log devices; TPC 7600 and TND™ 760 mobile fleet management solutions; RVND™ GPS for RVers; and leading geography-based educational resources for the classroom. Learn more at randmcnally.com

Rand McNally, the globe logo, IntelliRoute, and Best of the Road are registered trademarks, and TND and RVND are trademarks of RM Acquisition, LLC d/b/a Rand McNally. U.S. Patent Nos. 7,580,791 and 8,214,141.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150506/214293
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150506/214294
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141001/149961

SOURCE Rand McNally