CurriConnects Book List - Maps
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Maps
These books include a map or maps as part of the plot, especially maps that the reader must use to help find the answer, solve the mystery, etc. The list includes both fiction and non-fiction. Use this list as a complement to your study of map skills and geography.
Picture Books
The Cat Who Got Carried Away - Allan Ahlberg, (763620734), Fiction
Interest level: 1-3, Lexile: 430
Enjoy the zany world of the Gaskitt family as they romp through school and family life.
The Boy Who Loved Maps - Kari Allen, (978-1984852304), Fiction
Interest level: 4-8, Lexile: 590
A boy who loves to make maps is challenged to make a very specific map for his friend.
The Kingfisher First Dinosaur Picture Atlas - David Burnie, (978-0-7534-6093-1), Non-fiction
Interest level: 4-7
Tyrannosaurs Rex explores his prehistoric environment; readers learn map skills.
My Map Book - Sara Fanelli, (978-0062898876), Non-fiction
Interest level: 4-8
This book explores the many ways that a child can map their life. From maps of the dog to maps of the playground, the book uses few words and bold colors to teach about different ways to map.
Dinotopia, A Land Apart from Time - James Gurney, (978-1606600221), Non-fiction
Interest level: 3 and Up
Based on a map that James Gurney sketched, Dinotopia was born. In this fictional land, dinosaurs and humans live in harmony.
As the Crow Flies: A First Book of Maps - Gail Hartman, (978-0689717628), Fiction
Interest level: 3-8, Lexile: 320
Even simple maps can have different perspectives; the ones in this book come from the points of view of a rabbit, crow, horse, gull, and eagle.
The Once Upon a Time Map Book: Take a Tour of Six Enchanted Lands - B. G. Hennessey, (978-0763626822), Fiction
Interest level: 3-7
Explore the maps of favorite fairytales.
Mapping Sam - Joyce Hesselberth, (978-0063043220), Fiction
Interest level: 4-8
Sam the cat explores her world and shows the different things that can be mapped. She maps her neighborhood, she maps the animals that live in the pond near her house, and she even maps a drop of water.
Martha Maps It Out - Leigh Hodgkinson, (978-1684644124), Fiction
Interest level: 4-8
Martha loves maps. She shares her place in the universe from planet Earth in the solar system all the way to her bedroom in her building.
Mapping Penny's World - Loreen Leedy, (978-0-8050-7262-4), Fiction
Interest level: 3-8, Lexile: 640
Penny and her dog apply her new map-making knowledge by mapping her room and her community.
There's a Map on My Lap! All About Maps - Tish Rabe, (978-0375810992), Fiction
Interest level: 3-6
Listen to the Cat in the Hat explain maps and directions.
How I Learned Geography - Uri Shulevitz, (978-0374334994), Fiction
Interest level: 4-8, Lexile: 660
A gifted artist draws from his autobiographical experiences learning to live in a new country after being forced to flee his homeland with his family.
Me on the Map - Joan Sweeney, (978-1524772017), Fiction
Interest level: 3-6, Lexile: 280
A young girl learns about her place in the world by drawing a map of her room and gradually expanding its inclusionary area.
My Town - Rebecca Treays, (978-0746030790), Fiction
Interest level: 2-9, Lexile: 600
This book, part of the Young Geography Series, takes a look around one little girl's community.
Middle Grade Books
The Long-Lost Map - Pierdomenico Baccalario, (978-0439774390), Fiction
Interest level: 8-12, Lexile: 630
Sister and brother twins travel to old Egypt through a secret door in search of an important missing map.
The Map Trap - Andrew Clements, (978-1416997283), Fiction
Interest level: 8-12, Lexile: 900
Alton loves to make maps. He maps his surroundings and he maps his thoughts. When his maps are stolen, he has to use his map-making skills to the test.
The Adventures of Marco Polo - Russell Freedman, (978-0439523943), Non-fiction
Interest level: 8-12, Lexile: 1270
This biography explores the life events of one of the most famous early explorers and also uses original sources such as maps, other writings, ancient artwork, and interesting fonts to give readers a feel for the place of research in writing
My Father's Dragon - Ruth Stiles Gannett, (978-0440421214), Fiction
Interest level: 5-8, Lexile: 990
A runaway boy battles the toughest ogres on a fantasy island in his effort to save a dragon.
Freewater - Amina Luqman-Dawson, (978-0316056618), Fiction
Interest level: 10 and Up
Homer and his younger sister, Ada, escape slavery by running to the swamp. They find support in a community of free people, but they long for their mother. Using a handmade map, Homer and his new friends return to the plantation to help lead his mother and his friend, Anna, to freedom.
Prisoners of Geography: Our World Explained in 12 Simple Maps - Tim Marshall, (978-1615198474), Non-fiction
Interest level: 7-15
This book makes connections between geography and politics and economics from countries around the world.
Hugh Glass, Mountain Man - Robert M. McClung, (978-0688080921), Fiction
Interest level: 7-9, Lexile: 950
A real life mountain inspired this tale of the survival of a lone explorer after a bear attacks him; he literally crawls and paws his way back to civilization.
The MapMakers - Tamzin Merchant, (978-1324052524), Fiction
Interest level: 8-12
Cordelia is looking for her father after she saves London from going to war. She finds a hidden map in her father's belongings and begins her search. She discovers a family of mapmakers and strives to bring the different families together to help her country and locate her father.
Where Am I?: The Story of Maps and Navigation - A.G. Smith, (978-0773762206), Non-fiction
Interest level: 8-12, Lexile: 960
Read about how the first explorers started to make linear, pictorial records of their travels.
Lost in NYC: A Subway Adventure - Nadja Spiegelman, (978-1943145485), Fiction
Interest level: 8-12
Pablo and his classmates are on a field trip to New York City. When Pablo gets separated from the group, he uses maps and a new friend to find his way back to his class.
The Wizard's Map - Jane Yolen, (978-0152020675), Fiction
Interest level: 8-12, Lexile: 720
A young brother, skeptical of his sister and mother's insistence on the existence of magic becomes a rapid convert when a dragon and unicorn help him free his kidnapped sister.
Young Adult Books (ages 12-18; Grades 7 and up)
City of Bones - Cassandra Clare, (978-1481455923), Fiction
Interest level: YA, Lexile: 710
Clary Fray lives in New York City and witnesses a murder on her way to a club. After she sees the body disappear in front of her, she is introduced to the Shadowhunters, a secret group of people who are trying to rid the city of demons. Clary is attacked by a monster and survives, which intrigues the Shadowhunters.
Paper Towns - John Green, (978-0142414934), Fiction
Interest level: YA, Lexile: 850
Quentin Jacobson has admired Margo from afar for years. One day, she vanishes. Quentin finds clues that he thinks were meant for him. He sets off to solve the mystery of her disappearance.
The Wizard of Earthsea - Ursula LeGuin, (553262505), Fiction
Interest level: 7-12, Lexile: 1150
A young boy becomes an apprentice wizard and learns to follow his preordained fate to lead.
Sabriel - Garth Nix, (978-0063040502), Fiction
Interest level: 13-17
Sabriel lives in Ancelstierre, a kingdom with no magic. Her father sent her to school in this village with no magic to keep her safe. As she is finishing school, magic begins to creep into Ancelsiterre from the neighboring Old Kingdom. Sabriel embarks on a journey to the Old Kingdom to find her father and strengthen her magical powers.
Eragon - Christopher Paolini, (978-0440240730), Fiction
Interest level: 11-14, Lexile: 710
Farm lad Eragon becomes a heroic leader, struggling to save his Empire with the help of newly learned magic and some interesting friends.
Between Shades of Gray - Ruta Sepetys, (978-0142420591), Fiction
Interest level: 12 and Up
Lina lives in Lithuania with her father, mother, and younger brother. The Soviet officers take the family from the home and send them to work camps in Siberia. Lina's father gets separated from the others. Lina makes drawings of their location and passes them along, hoping that the drawings and clues will get to her father.
Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson, (978-0192833808), Fiction
Interest level: 13 and Up, Lexile: 1070
A young innkeeper's son stows away on a ship, mesmerized by fear of Long John Silver, but determined to find the treasure "xed" on a map he has discovered.
The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien, (978-0345339683), Fiction
Interest level: 12 and Up, Lexile: 1000
Dwarves led by reluctant hobbit Bilbo Baggins set out to return to their homeland and recoup their missing fortune.
Brilliant Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the World - Ian Wright, (978-1615196258), Non-fiction
Interest level: 12 and Up
Look at the world in a different way. Maps tell the story of culture, economics, and politics around the world.