A PLACE CALLED AMERICA

A map-based view of American history.

Opening with a carefully shaded, watercolor-and–colored pencil depiction of a green-and-blue Earth, Thermes, a map illustrator, describes how early humans “moved across the land and around the world in search of animals and plants to eat, fresh water to drink, and safe shelter to rest—as living creatures do.” These themes persist throughout as she focuses on how methods of survival become multilayered systems of oppression. It’s as if Howard Zinn wrote a children’s book—instead of focusing on presidents and other White men, Thermes demonstrates how Indigenous people, African Americans, and immigrants form the foundation and framework of American history. Describing the founding of the United States, she writes, “European colonizers came to North America and struggled over who could claim the Native peoples’ homelands as their own.” Devoting a full spread to U.S. territories like Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the author/illustrator names the Indigenous peoples who still live there. Far too often history classes for children relegate Black, Indigenous, and immigrant history to side units, but this book can—and should—replace any text that doesn’t rightfully center those narratives. One flaw is that the work skips over everything between 1965 and 2001 (including the AIDS crisis), but this is nevertheless a necessary addition to any educational institution or the personal library of any kid who wants to “work toward a better future for all who live upon the land.”

History made relevant.