Publishers Weekly
05/23/2022
In Allen’s picture book debut, a studious boy who loves maps works in a charming tree-house studio, drawing “cities with their grid-like lines and countries with their squiggly borders.” Soon, a girl appears with a request for a personalized map of “the perfect place,” describing a location that’s “toes-in-the-sand, wrapped-up-in-a-towel warm.” When his drawings and knowledge of the globe don’t align with her variable vision (“It’s a place where I can zip like a dragonfly”), she leads him through their neighborhood, showing him its familiar features through new eyes. Working in warm, loose gouache and pencil in muted greens and earth tones, Karas (A Hat for Mrs. Goldman) plots their journey, following the path of the duo, who read as white, from library to bakery to playground to home, as the boy sees how the girl’s words describe the world he already knows, and make it new. A notable feature of this telling is the way authority shifts from the boy—whose rational take makes the girl’s expanding requests seem capricious—to the girl, who shows the boy another way to look at the world. Back matter defines maps and suggests activities. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Erzsi Deak. Hen&Ink Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Brenda Bowen, Book Group. (July)
School Library Journal
08/01/2022
K-Gr 2—The young Mapmaker has dreamed of going to faraway places. He loves to collect and study maps, and most of all, he loves to make them. A request from a young girl to draw a map of "the perfect place. A place that's toes-in-the-sand, wrapped-up-in-a-towel warm" leads them to explore their neighborhood. Beginning at the public library "where the sunshine can find us," the girl guides him to the local bakery that "smells like my birthday," then on to the playground, where "I can zip like a dragonfly." The Mapmaker has drawn maps of countries, deserts, and oceans, but he had never drawn "a map of home." The author's note points to her son's geographic drawings for inspiration. Watercolor paints in primary colors are outlined with pencil to portray the Mapmaker, the young girl (who are both white), and their neighborhood. Pair with similar picture books concerned with searching and finding the perfect recipe for happiness including Cynthia Platt's A Little Bit of Love, Derek Anderson's Gladys Goes Out to Lunch, and Christophe Loupi's Hugs and Kisses and Wiggles. VERDICT This story can be read aloud to a group and equally enjoyed as a lap book, as part of a mapmaking lesson or a story time focused on exploring the neighborhood.—Monica Fleche
Kirkus Reviews
2022-03-30
A little boy known as the Mapmaker is stumped when a girl asks him for a special map.
Though he loves creating all kinds of maps in his treehouse office, he is perplexed by her requests that he find and map a place with warm sand and hiding spots for treasure. Her requirements become more and more abstract, and the Mapmaker has no idea what to do. But the girl, it seems, already has a plan. It is frustratingly apparent that she already knows what she wants but for some reason wishes to teach the Mapmaker a lesson. She takes him around their idyllic little town like a baby Manic Pixie Dream Girl, showing him the warm sunbeams in the library, the delicious-smelling bakery, and all the other little comforts of home. Finally, they sit down together to draw a map of their town, which is just what the girl wanted all along. Rendered in a muted palette, the art is simple and cozy. The boy has light skin and dark hair, and the girl has light skin and light hair. The book’s lesson—that we should appreciate the beauty of our own surroundings—is sweet and gentle. However, the characters lack personality, the girl in particular being just a pedagogic device, and the narrative is not especially engaging. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A sweet story without much else to offer. (author’s note, glossary, more information, activities) (Picture book. 4-8)
