Definitely not crappy to use a panel! Kids love their characters in big sizes. I've made my son 3 quilts and he has a bunch of blankets. His absolute favorite out of all of them is a big panel with a dinosaur scene, he loves to spread it out and look at the big picture. I think you are definitely right that he will love the character, and the map on the back is a great idea too, kids love world maps :)