From Publishers Weekly
A girl explains maps, beginning with her bedroom and expanding to a map of the world. "Sweeney encourages the cartographer in every child," said PW. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
Grade 1-2?A nameless child introduces the world of cartography. Using the premise that simple drawings can be maps, the book begins with crayon drawings of the floor plans of the girl's room and house. The concept becomes progressively more complex, as her horizons expand from home to street, to town, to state, to country, and finally to the world. Colorful illustrations show a composite of the entire area that is being charted on the facing page. On each successive page, the child points out her street, hometown, state, and country. The process then reverses as she finds the U.S. on a world map and works back down the scale to her own room again. The text concludes with the statement that "...everybody has their own special place on the map." Not an essential purchase, but one that could be useful for teaching basic skills at the primary level.?Eldon Younce, Harper Elementary School, KSCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Ages 5^-8. A small girl introduces the concept of maps, beginning in her own room, then reaching further out to her house, street, town, country, and the globe, and back again, step by step, to herself at home. It's a game kids love to play. The collagelike illustrations show each place and then the child pointing to a diagram of that scene. We see her in her room, then she makes a crayon picture, a map of that room. Then we see her making a map of her house and her street. For her town, country, and globe, there's a scenic painting, and then we see her pointing to a map and where she is on it. Like Cohen's Where's the Fly? , the pictures play with scale and perspective and help children expand their personal address. Hazel Rochman

ANNOTATION

A child describes how her room, her house, her town, her state, and her country become part of a map of her world.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Illustrated in full color. In this playful introduction to maps and geography, step by simple step, a young girl shows readers herself on a map of her room, her room on the map of her house, her house on the map of her street—all the way to her country on a map of the world. Once the reader is familiar with the maps, she demonstrates how readers can find their own country, state, and town—all the way back to their room—on each colorful map. Easy-to-read text, bright artwork, and charming details give children a lot to search for and will have them eager to help navigate on the next family vacation.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Simplifying the abstract nature of maps, Sweeney encourages the cartographer in every child. Step by step, moving from a personal to a global scale, a girl explains what maps are by giving clear, easily grasped examples. First, standing in a cheerful bedroom, she tells readers, "This is me in my room." On the facing page, she has drawn herself in a childlike overview layout of her bedroom. "This is me on the map of my room," she says, proudly. Next, a framed painting of her house is faced by a blueprint "map" of her house. The pattern continues throughout the book, with scenic views (a picture of her town, an impression of her state, a Steinberg-esque vision of the U.S.) followed by maps of each area. Debut artist Cable's clear, crisp renderings show a wealth of detail on the scenic illustrations, while her creative progression of maps includes handmade examples, a souvenir state map, an elementary classroom map of the country and, finally, a "flat" map of the world. An admirable effort, and one that kids will enjoy replicating. Ages 3-7. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

A girl explains maps, beginning with her bedroom and expanding to a map of the world. "Sweeney encourages the cartographer in every child," said PW. Ages 4-8. (July)

School Library Journal