Book Review - Map My State

Map My State

By: Jennifer Boothroyd
Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group
Publication Date: August 2013
ISBN: 978-1467715331
Reviewed by: Deb Fowler
Review Date: November 25, 2013

Three children are standing around looking at a map because their “family is planning a trip to Texas.” As they can see there are all kinds of roads, cities, and towns on the map. One way to show directions is to put a “compass rose on the map.” The compass rose will “show the four directions,” north, south, east, and west. When planning a map, it’s necessary to decide what to put on it.

There are several different things to consider when planning a map of Texas including such things as the Alamo, Johnson Space Center, Guadalupe Peak, Dallas, and the Rio Grande. When you look at a map of Texas it has “symbols.” These symbols stand for things like rivers, mountains, and a big yellow star could be a “symbol for the capital.” There’s a lot of work that goes into making a map. What kind of map would you be making? In this book you’ll learn how to draw one and put on special things like symbols and you will also learn how to add a key.

This is an excellent book to teach young students map skills and how to put together a map. This beginning nonfiction book, geared toward emergent and beginning readers, has one or two lines of text on each page. More difficult words, defined in the glossary, such as “directions,” are highlighted in bold print. There are photographs, line drawings (for the maps), and a handwritten planning chart. After the short discussion of what goes on a map, the story starts to detail the creation of one. There is one page that gives numbered, step-by-step instructions. In the back of the book is an index, a glossary, and a page of “Fun Facts.”

Quill says: This is an excellent beginning nonfiction book to help teach beginning map skills in the homeschool or classroom setting!