Title: Me on the MapAuthor: Joan Sweeney
Illustrator: Annette Cable
Publication Info: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 1996
Intended audience: 3 and up
Genre: nonfiction, picture book (32 pages)
Themes/topics: cartography, maps, geography, nonfiction
Opening and synopsis: “This is me. This is me in my room. This is a map of my room. This is me on the map of my room.” Step-by-step, this young girl shows the reader her room, her home, her street, her city, her state, her country and her planet and how each would appear on a map. This book is a wonderful way for children to learn about their place in the world and how it’s represented in two dimension.
Resources/activities: Taking a cue from the book, children can learn about scale and dimensions by drawing a map of their bedroom or home. For older children, you could use graph paper to teach scale, allowing the child to measure his or her room and pieces of furniture and plotting them on graph paper. You could also challenge a child to draw a map of a location from a favorite book using clues found in the text.
Why I like this book: This book is immensely popular. I had it on hold at the library forever. My five-year-old wanted to renew it as the due date approached, but someone else had already placed a hold on it. Simple language and strong visuals make this an excellent introduction to cartography.
Every Friday bloggers review “Perfect Picture Books.” Find a complete list of book reviews organized by topic, genre and blogger at author Susanna Leonard Hill’s site.
Kirsten W. Larson 
I love books that show geographical areas. What a great find. I am adding it to my list. My list is fat! I’m buying these wonderful books book by book. Hmm. I just got an idea for a story. Yay!
I love PPBF, Robyn. I always go through the list with the LA County Library Catalog open on my computer so I can “hold” new finds.
Great idea!
It’s a fun book.
This book sounds absolutely fantastic! And the fact that your five year old wanted to renew it is a great recommendation. Thank you, Kirsten!
And you would not believe how long I had that on my hold list. It was at least 3 months.
I have read this one, Kirsten, as I love anything to do with maps and think it is a wonderful intro and exactly the right level for young kids! Super PPPF resource.
I’m glad you enjoyed it too, Joanna. It’s by far the most accessible book we’ve read on navigation/maps.
What a great fine! Loved that your kid enjoyed it…. Thanks for sharing Kirsten
I hope you can find it. It’s an older book, but we easily found it in the library.
Ooo – this looks like something for me! Thanks Kirsten!
Yikes! und herzlichen Glueckwunsch zum Geburtstag an TJ – HEUTE!!!
Way to go Julie! Herzlichen Glueckwunsch zum Geburtstag Mr. Jefferson.
Very unusual book — but a great way to teach children about maps and their place in the world. Will have to check it out. Good book for PPB.
I’m looking forward to seeing what you recommended this week as well, Patricia.
Maps are very popular around here, this book sounds like one that would be well received! Thanks, Kirsten.
This would be a great book for talking about geography with young children.
It does sound like a fun and interesting book. For someone like me who’s spatially challenged, I have a feeling I’d learn a lot from flipping the pages of this book. Thanks for sharing it.
This book is a great primer for all ages.
This sounds like a great book and a fantastic way to explore and make note of the world around us, whether it be a map of a room, a house, a street, a town and so on. Excellent choice!
It is definitely an easy book for even the youngest children to understand.
Kirsten, this sounds so cute. I could use a book like this with my 2nd graders. One of my students told me, ” in my country we celebrate Easter too.” I ask him what country are you from and he told me Orlando. I just smiled at him. Thanks for sharing.
Too funny, Cheryl. This would definitely help your students. You can buy it in paperback on Amazon.
This is a really cool book! I haven’t heard of one like it before! I really like geography.
I love this because my son just did an exercise like this for school. Have to get this book now.
I found it in paperback at Amazon and at our library (hardbound). It’s such a wonderful book. Tish Rabe also has a Cat in the Hat maps/navigation book that’s good.
Hi Kirsten – I added this to my TBR list. And I picked up Neo Leo and Now and Ben at the library today because of you. I love them. What great books.
I think sharing book recommendations has been one of my favorite parts of blogging this year. Barretta also has an Edison book coming out this summer. Can’t wait!
This is a totally great book. I used it when I taught computer and the second graders were trying to sort all of this out. It really puts a difficult concept into perspective. After reading it, I used Google Earth (projected on a smartboard) and step-by-step zoomed into our continent, country, state, county, town…and then zoomed to our school! Then they each made a booklet on the computer of the same things…I had the pictures ready and they just filled in the words…This is my continent, North America. This is my country, The USA…etc.
Penny, what a great activity suggestion for teachers. (And I have a soft spot for elementary computer teachers…my mom is one!)