Maps! Everyone in our family loves them for different reasons, and uses them in different ways. It’s ironic, some of us have a terrible sense of direction on an instinctive level, so we memorize maps to keep from getting lost. And others have a fabulous sense of direction and look at maps for fun. Jacob’s favorite thing since he was about 3 has been to sit at the laptop and stare at Google maps and traffic maps. It must be genetic – back in the day, his Dad used to read the Thomas Guide maps for fun.
Then too, there are all the fun things you can map that aren’t technically road or land related. Like mapping the way you think, and the connections you make… but that may be a topic for a different day/post! Since today is road mapping day, we thought it would be fun to focus in on one particular type of world mapping today with a book pairing on: Geological Mapping.
One for me… (Grownups)
It’s a fascinating story of an obscure figure who had a huge impact on the world – his map of underneath the surface of the earth was the first of it’s kind and changed the ways people thought of the earth, geography and mapping. But it’s not just his accomplishments, it’s his character that holds your interest and respect, a pioneering figure who lived a rather tragic life and is not remembered and celebrated today. It makes you look the the world, and to an extent, at history, in a different way.
And one for you…(Kids)
Geography from A-Z by Jack Knowlton, illustrated by Harriet Barton
If we’re being honest, this is as informative and as interesting for adults as it is for kids! Exploring the earth through the alphabet, this book teaches you the words for different landforms water body masses from archipelago to zone. And it doesn’t just teach the obscure terms, it’ll help you explain to your curious kids the actual definitions for things you think you know – like the the difference between a river, a brook and a stream…
If you like this topic as much as we do, here are some great picture books for introducing maps to the youngest readers.