What a Map Can Do

by Gabrielle Balkan (Author) Alberto Lot (Illustrator)

Reading Level: K − 1st Grade
An accessible and humorous introduction to maps for budding navigators.

A raccoon narrator embarks on a big adventure in this exciting exploration of maps for the youngest readers. Traditional maps of cities, roads, and parks are joined by some less conventional ones such as inside the body, each one methodically introduced with humor and clear explanation. A clever, colorful, and engaging first look at constructing and decoding maps.
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Hardcover
$19.99

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Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

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. (July)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"So many places to go. How to explore them? With maps! A standout picture book that both entertains and teaches." (STARRED REVIEW) —Kirkus

"A a useful, playful seek-and-find basic-skills book—and a primer for how to survive without GPS navigation." (STARRED REVIEW) —Publishers Weekly
Gabrielle Balkan
Gabrielle Balkan is a writer and editor living in New York. Her books include the acclaimed atlas, The 50 States, a NCSS notable book, and its follow-up, 50 Cities. She is also the author of Book of Bones and Book of Flight, published by Phaidon.
Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9780593519981
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Rise X Penguin Workshop
Publication date
July 18, 2023
Series
-
BISAC categories
JNF038000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | People & Places | General
JNF058000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Travel
JNF048020 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Reference | Atlases
Library of Congress categories
Maps
Geography

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