What a Map Can Do

May 15, 2023
Grades K-2 In this accessible introduction to maps, a friendly raccoon says to readers, "I've got something I want to show you . . . It's something small, like me. And it shows you something big." The idea starts simply, showing the little friend's bedroom as it's normally viewed and then showing it on a map, which the raccoon explains is a bird's eye view, "and you don't even have to be a bird!" On the spreads that follow, each of which shows a type of map--moving from depictions of familiar places such as a park to interstate maps and maps of the stars--the cheerful critter is accompanied by a few sentences of important map facts, such as what a legend is and how to find places based on their symbols. Each spread also includes easy seek-and-find activities that will keep readers engaged, with the bold, thick-lined artwork in bright, saturated colors adding to the cheerful atmosphere. A closing index of all the types of maps covered helps reinforce the concepts. An entertaining and informative choice for early geography and art classes.

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Starred review from July 24, 2023
Incorporating a dozen maps into a cohesive, well-paced tale, Balkan creates a clever instructional volume that helps young readers acquire the art of map reading. Throughout, a baseball-capped, backpack-wearing raccoon demonstrates how a map “can show us a bird’s-eye view of a place.” First exhibiting a map of their bedroom, their house, and their neighborhood, the animal next discusses city and bus maps that introduce key symbols and corridors. Interior maps of a museum and the raccoon’s physical body follow before readers move to a road map, which explains the difference between slower and faster roads, and a layered forest map, which reveals route variations. Lot turns pencil-sketched images into bright, clean digital graphics that include trail, weather, and star maps. The result is a useful, playful seek-and-find basic-skills book—and a primer for how to survive without GPS navigation. Ages 3–5.

Starred review from May 15, 2023
So many places to go. How to explore them? With maps! A cheery cartoon raccoon opens the world--i.e., a figurative foldout map--to young explorers and explains the wonderful ways maps help people navigate. In a chatty, conversational voice, the narrator explains how maps show a bird's-eye view of a place, allow people to get where they want to go, use symbols (e.g., a compass rose, map keys), and much more. The raccoon also discusses various kinds of maps, including city and road maps, museum maps, star maps, weather maps, even maps of the inside of the body. Grown-ups, take note of the plethora of foundational skills kids can hone here, such as visual literacy, counting, color recognition, directionality, spatial concepts, and size relationships, not to mention the fun, ease, and sense of adventure they'll experience in learning to confidently find their way about. The raccoon guide asks children frequent questions throughout, so they get ample seek-and-find opportunities while negotiating varied, easy-to-follow maps and learning from this stimulating, fact-filled book. Colorful, lively artwork does much to make the book itself a map of sorts, as spreads teach and guide youngsters in navigating and interpreting the elements of simple maps step by step. A map index concludes the volume. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A standout picture book that both entertains and teaches. (Informational picture book. 4-8)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 27, 2023

Gr 1-3-Readers will love learning navigational skills in this informational and funny picture book. A raccoon guide takes curious adventurers through how maps are used in everyday life. Starting out small, and then growing to large-scale ideas, the raccoon explorer teaches map reading every step of the way: from traditional maps of rooms, neighborhoods, and cities to less conventional maps that will have readers laughing out loud. This introduction to maps will have readers learning and laughing together. Early elementary school readers will be engaged as the story begins with the humorous tone of the raccoon narrator; simple explanations build upon the next map and the next, supporting readers throughout the book. Colorful and engaging illustrations bring the skills of map navigation to life. VERDICT This title will engage young readers, while teaching them valuable map reading skills; it will be useful in elementary school libraries.-Elizabeth Pelayo

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