From Here to There: A First Book of Maps

From routes to scale, a young child and her dad explore the world of maps in a charming story encouraging readers to chart their own neighborhoods.

One day, Anna’s friend Zane sends her an invitation to come over to play, and inside the envelope is a map. But Anna is convinced the map can’t be right—why has Zane put his house in the middle and hers on the edge? So Anna decides to draw a map of her own, and Dad joins in as well. With an inviting narrative, child-friendly illustrations, and running commentary about various aspects of maps, aspiring cartographers are introduced to everything from symbols to point of view, road maps to family trees—and even a special “cat map” of Anna’s pet’s favorite spots. A final spread spurs readers to try their own hand at mapmaking.

Vivian French has written more than 250 books for young readers, including Growing Frogs and T. Rex, both illustrated by Alison Bartlett, as well as Hello, Horse, illustrated by Catherine Rayner. She lives in Scotland.

Ya-Ling Huang has an MA in illustration from the Cambridge School of Art, in England. Maps is her first book of nonfiction. She lives in Taiwan.