FROM HERE TO THERE

Despite computer-dictated directions everywhere, there’s still a place for physical maps.

This delightful work starts by depicting the small house where light-skinned Anna lives and the six-story apartment building where brown-skinned Zane waves from his balcony. Along with an invitation, Zane has sent Anna a map, irritating the girl because her house is relegated to the edge. Light-skinned Dad, down on the floor with Anna, urges her to make her own map, which she does. Hers is very large—but still too small to include Grandma’s house, prompting Dad to introduce the concepts of bird’s-eye perspective and scale. Anna still prefers her map. She then makes quite a different map for her cat Whiskers’ favorite places, and Dad branches out to make another kind of map: a family tree. Finally, Zane’s map guides Anna as she and Dad walk to Zane’s house. The two final pages offer suggestions for maps readers might want to draw. Engagingly naïve but legible illustrations of the children’s efforts meld beautifully with Huang’s simple but expert watercolors. Readers will enjoy tracking the appearances of adored, snub-nosed Whiskers. Throughout, the warm connection between Dad and daughter comes through clearly. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

This winsomely illustrated exploration of maps is the perfect entry to understanding—and embracing—cartography.