One of my favorite books is a children's story called The Trip to Panama (1981) by Janosch, the pseudonym of Horst Eckert, the German illustrator. It's a story about two animal friends, (Little Bear and Little Tiger) who live in a house by a river. They're reasonably happy but share a belief that somewhere else, life might be so much better.

One day they find an old banana crate floating past their garden. On the side it says "Panama."

Without knowing anything about the place, they decided that Panama is the land of their dreams and set off to find it. On the way they meet and befriend other animals. All seem entranced by this magical place called Panama.

After what seems like endless days of wandering, the friends come upon a house. It looks perfect and they conclude that this really m…