Small Worlds: Maps and Mapmaking
ages 8 to 90, 128 pages
Every map tells a story.
from the flap:
From ancient drawings to computer images, this tour of the world of maps will take you to unexpected places.
Walking tours, satellite views, subway routes, brain scans, the immense universe, or a microscopic cell –– all of these worlds can be mapped on a surface small enough to hold in your hand.
Every map tells a story. Historical maps show how people once thought about the world. Maps of escape routes show how to exit a building in an emergency. Internet maps show who e–mails whom. Weather maps help predict future weather patterns. Some maps even bring imaginary places to life.
This book will let you visit incredible places without leaving your chair. Learn the language of maps and meet some people who create maps as a job or as a hobby. Map your own world –– your neighborhood world or a world inside your head. Don't be surprised if you start finding maps everywhere once you've seen the ones here, which are beautiful, surprising, weird, and challenging and will inspire you to set off on your own voyage of discovery.
excerpts:
• One moment Pete DeLeo was piloting his plane on a routine trip across California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. The next moment his plane was caught in turbulence and crashed in the mountains. DeLeo was suddenly on the ground with cracked ribs, no map, and winter closing in. DeLeo knew where he was in the sky before the crash –– but suddenly being on the ground made him see things in a dfifferent light…DeLeo had a picture in his mind of the land below his plane. It was a short flight, and it had seemed like a small area to cross. When he found himself down on that land, it suddenly seemed very big…
•I was flying into Chicago's enormous O'Hare Airport, and I was nervous. I had to make a connection to New Orleans. That meant finding a new gate, a new airplane. Everyone else on the plane was going somewhere different: The man beside me was headed for Mexico City; the boy across the aisle was on his way to San Francisco. There was an announcement. A voice listed all the destination cities and gave the number of the gate where each plane would be. The gate for New Orleans was K11. Well, where was this K11? Then a flight attendant put a card in my hand…
•Jordy Thompson, 13, and his team of two walkers and two other kids in wheelchairs got lost the first time out [orienteering]. “We got our directions wrong because we read the compass wrong. We were supposed to go west, but we went north...”
from the reviewers:
• “Maps make miniature worlds, and this is a marvelous introduction to them.” –– Infodad
•“There are even maps of imaginary places. They're all here, along with dozens of fascinating facts to help them come alive.” –– Orlando Sentinel
• “[Young's] love for her subject and her admiration for mapmakers –– ancient and modern –– makes this book lively and entertaining as well as useful.” –– Columbus Dispatch
“Subway routes, brain scans, the configuration of the universe –– the creation of these schematic representations requires a capacity for inventive analysis. This foray into history, science, and technology demonstrates that mapping leads to any number of unexpected destinations.” –– Smithsonian
from the fans:
“I love your book!” –– Brian
“Your book appears to be excellent. It shows the value of maps, and mapmaking, in various examples, so that kids understand why such study is worthwhile. Different uses of maps are described, and some of the methods, past and present, are described as well. That will feed the interest of kids who are inclined to an interest in geography. The writing is clear and age–appropriate and the appearance of the book will attract children's interest. We are quite pleased that we bought it.” –– Steve
about the artwork:
The fifth grade project of making a map of your neighborhood at St. Mary School in my hometown of Bethel, Connecticut, yielded two maps – the one by Kathryn Ebert, who was in my son Sam's fifth grade class, and, one year later, the map key by members of my daughter Emily's class.
weird facts about this book:
(there are so many associated with Small Worlds, but I'll just give a few here):
I met Pete DeLeo when he was riding his motorcycle down my street to go visit his girlfriend. Denis, who was fixing my barn over my head while I was writing Small Worlds, heard I was writing a book about maps and being lost and found, and told me I should talk to Pete.
I heard Dave Kunst's story (he's the guy who walked around the world in the company of his brother (who died in the Kyber Pass in Afghanistan), a woman who became his wife, and four mules) while I was working on features for the Guinness Book of World Records.
I recently heard a story about a man who bought a globe at a flea market in New York. As he walked home, he was stopped many times by people who spun the globe, pointed to a spot, and told him that was where they were from.
My pet count during this book:
two cats and a dog
PuttPutt, Stuart Big, and Yogi
Check out the Awards and Honors for this book.
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