What a Map Can Do

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)