The Map of Me

About this book

A girl moves to a new country, and away from everything she knows. Before she knew where everything was – from where the cereal was kept to the shadiest tree. But this new place is a disorientating experience. She doesn’t know where anything is and feels so lost.  

Mum helps her create a map of her new home and streets, which helps. But the girl wants to add Grandma and Joe-Dog from back home to the map, so she makes it bigger. This helps her to understand that although there are whole countries between them, they can still be on her map. Just knowing that makes the distances shrink.  

So, this story is about the power of maps to go further and basically understand the context of change. Life is complicated and map making can be a great way for children to reflect on the things that are important to them, to visualise their unique experiences, and remind them that connections can remain strong despite distance or change.  

This book would be a great tool in a primary classroom for mapping students’ worlds – even their past. The end spread is an activity for mapping the future, and there’s a QR code for more activities. The illustrations by Olga Shtonda will give plenty of inspiration. 

About the author