The boy who loved maps /

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This enchanting picture book about a map-making boy who is stumped when a girl asks him for a map of the "perfect place" helps readers appreciate the charms of their own neighborhood--and even shows them how to make a map of it!


The Mapmaker loves maps. He loves to collect them, to study them, and most of all, he loves 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? Well, after a fun-filled day of exploring the neighborhood, the Mapmaker will discover that the perfect place--home--has been right in front of him all along.

Here is a picture book, as creative as it is charming, that celebrates home, and is a gentle reminder to look around and appreciate what surrounds you.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

In Allen's picture book debut, a studious boy who loves maps works in a charming tree-house studio, drawing "cities with their grid-like lines and countries with their squiggly borders." Soon, a girl appears with a request for a personalized map of "the perfect place," describing a location that's "toes-in-the-sand, wrapped-up-in-a-towel warm." When his drawings and knowledge of the globe don't align with her variable vision ("It's a place where I can zip like a dragonfly"), she leads him through their neighborhood, showing him its familiar features through new eyes. Working in warm, loose gouache and pencil in muted greens and earth tones, Karas (A Hat for Mrs. Goldman) plots their journey, following the path of the duo, who read as white, from library to bakery to playground to home, as the boy sees how the girl's words describe the world he already knows, and make it new. A notable feature of this telling is the way authority shifts from the boy--whose rational take makes the girl's expanding requests seem capricious--to the girl, who shows the boy another way to look at the world. Back matter defines maps and suggests activities. Ages 4--8. Author's agent: Erzsi Deak. Hen&Ink Literary. Illustrator's agent: Brenda Bowen, Book Group. (July)

School Library Journal Review

K-Gr 2--The young Mapmaker has dreamed of going to faraway places. He loves to collect and study maps, and most of all, he loves to make them. A request from a young girl to draw a map of "the perfect place. A place that's toes-in-the-sand, wrapped-up-in-a-towel warm" leads them to explore their neighborhood. Beginning at the public library "where the sunshine can find us," the girl guides him to the local bakery that "smells like my birthday," then on to the playground, where "I can zip like a dragonfly." The Mapmaker has drawn maps of countries, deserts, and oceans, but he had never drawn "a map of home." The author's note points to her son's geographic drawings for inspiration. Watercolor paints in primary colors are outlined with pencil to portray the Mapmaker, the young girl (who are both white), and their neighborhood. Pair with similar picture books concerned with searching and finding the perfect recipe for happiness including Cynthia Platt's A Little Bit of Love, Derek Anderson's Gladys Goes Out to Lunch, and Christophe Loupi's Hugs and Kisses and Wiggles. VERDICT This story can be read aloud to a group and equally enjoyed as a lap book, as part of a mapmaking lesson or a story time focused on exploring the neighborhood.--Monica Fleche

Booklist Review

A boy known as the Mapmaker sits in his tree house working when a girl arrives and asks him to create a map of "the perfect place." He asks questions to define her vision, but her answers, such as "toes-in-the-sand warm," "smells like my birthday," and "sunshine finds me, even if I'm not outdoors," leave him baffled. When she suggests going out to explore, he loads his backpack and follows. They visit the library, the bakery, the playground at the park, and her home. Suddenly inspired, the Mapmaker unpacks his tools and draws a carefully measured sketch on paper. Using markers, the girl brightens it with colors. Together, they create a large, detailed map of her home and neighborhood. Kids can use the map to retrace the character's steps through the story, which is written with childlike gravity and imagination. Created with gouache and pencil, the illustrations feature soft colors, a beautifully textured look, and appealing character portrayals. Suggested activities, including ideas for creating a neighborhood map, are appended. An inviting read-aloud choice for home or classroom.

Kirkus Book Review

A little boy known as the Mapmaker is stumped when a girl asks him for a special map. Though he loves creating all kinds of maps in his treehouse office, he is perplexed by her requests that he find and map a place with warm sand and hiding spots for treasure. Her requirements become more and more abstract, and the Mapmaker has no idea what to do. But the girl, it seems, already has a plan. It is frustratingly apparent that she already knows what she wants but for some reason wishes to teach the Mapmaker a lesson. She takes him around their idyllic little town like a baby Manic Pixie Dream Girl, showing him the warm sunbeams in the library, the delicious-smelling bakery, and all the other little comforts of home. Finally, they sit down together to draw a map of their town, which is just what the girl wanted all along. Rendered in a muted palette, the art is simple and cozy. The boy has light skin and dark hair, and the girl has light skin and light hair. The book's lesson--that we should appreciate the beauty of our own surroundings--is sweet and gentle. However, the characters lack personality, the girl in particular being just a pedagogic device, and the narrative is not especially engaging. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A sweet story without much else to offer. (author's note, glossary, more information, activities) (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Kari Allen is an educator and children's book writer. She has worked with the National Writing Project in New Hampshire to coordinate writing camps and facilitate creative workshops, and is currently a second-grade teacher. THE BOY WHO LOVED MAPS is her debut. You can visit Kari at kariallenwrites.com.

G. Brian Karas is the prolific, versatile, and award-winning illustrator of many books for children, including A Poem in Your Pocket , How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? , and The Apple Orchard Riddle . He also illustrated A Hat for Mrs. Goldman by Michelle Edwards; Neville by Norton Juster; Clever Jack Takes the Cake by Candace Fleming, which received four starred reviews; A re You Going to Be Good? by Cari Best, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book; and Home on the Bayou , a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book. Visit him at GBrianKaras.com.