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Picture Book Review by Roxanne Troup – The Boy Who Loved Maps

 

 

THE BOY WHO LOVED MAPS

Written by Kari Allen

Illustrated by G. Brian Karas

(Anne Schwartz Books; $17.99; Ages 4-8)

 

 

 

 

Kari Allen and G. Brian Karas have created a charming picture book that celebrates all the things we love about home in The Boy Who Loved Maps.

From Penguin Random House: “The Mapmaker loves maps—he loves to collect them, to study them, and most of all, to make them. But when a girl asks for a map of a perfect place, the Mapmaker is perplexed. She wants a map to a toes-in-the-sand-warm, X-marks-the-spot-place filled with treasures, where it smells like her birthday and she can zip around like a dragonfly. Surely, a place that is all of these things can’t exist … can it?”

 

The Boy Who Loved Maps int1 one day
Interior art from The Boy Who Loved Maps written by Kari Allen and illustrated by G. Brian Karas, Anne Schwartz Books ©2022.

 

This story is perfect for the quiet adventurers among us and would make an excellent classroom edition for map-making and map-reading units. From the endpapers to the map-themed backmatter and built-in activities, this book covers features like the compass rose, map legends/keys, and topographical and political map differences.

 

The Boy Who Loved Maps int2 together
Interior spread from The Boy Who Loved Maps written by Kari Allen and illustrated by G. Brian Karas, Anne Schwartz Books ©2022.

 

I especially love the subtle message of home that both the adventure-loving and adventure-avoiding can appreciate. When the young girl challenges her map-making friend to create the “perfect” map, it takes an afternoon of exploring before he finally understands that home is the best place of all.

  •  Reviewed by Roxanne Troup

 

 

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