“Route 66: In Search of Ghosts and Treasures” contains major revisions, additions

A few weeks ago, author Phyllis Chandler Grey informed me by email she was publishing a revised paperback version of her 2016 children’s book “Route 66: In Search of Ghosts and Treasures.”

I said the new volume probably didn’t warrant a story, because minor revisions are made to books all the time. It’s routine in the publishing industry.

She assured me this wasn’t just a few changes in text. “Route 66: In Search of Ghosts and Treasures” went through an overhaul of revised material (some of it recommended by me in the original review), new illustrations and additions.

Recently, I received a list of the changes and additions and had a chance to peruse the new book. Here is what the new volume contains:

— New illustrations such as Arizona’s Painted Desert Trading Post, where an unnamed Nick Gerlich, an explorer of obscure Route 66 landmarks and alignments makes an appearance.

— New titles to an illustration of a Route 66 bookshelf, including “The Negro Motorist Green Book” and “American Indians and Route 66.” “Lessons from both of these books are woven into the story,” Grey wrote.

— A visit to Doc’s Soda Fountain and Deck’s Drug Store Museum in Girard, Illinois.

— Additions of Oklahoma landmarks Afton Station, Heart of Route 66 Museum, Pops, GlassBoy Studios and Jerry McClanahan’s art gallery.

— The Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton includes a page honoring “Route 66: The Mother Road” author and “Cars” actor Michael Wallis.

— The original illustration of Harley and Annabelle Russell of the Mediocre Music Makers in Erick, Oklahoma, remains, but the text explains “she has joined an angel band” after dying from cancer. (Harley requested that change in the text.)

— In the Amarillo part of the book, the family now shops at Crocodile Lile’s gallery and at Texas Ivy antiques. In Adrian, the family enjoys pie, and wind turbines surround the plains in the area.

— In Tucumcari, Tee Pee Curios and Motel Safari were added. The latter “allows the fun of explaining what a camel has to do with the American West.”

— The book contains an additional 11 pages for notes, autographs, stamps and doodles.

— It adds a page to create your own Route 66 bucket list. The number of blank spaces, as you might expect, is 66.

— An addendum is a tribute to Albert Okura, who bought the Route 66 town of Amboy, California.

Disclosure: Grey is a current advertiser on Route 66 News, but I had decided before the transaction to write a story about the book’s revisions and additions.

(Image of “Route 66: In Search of Ghosts and Treasures” cover)