By Janine M. Schall, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Where are we in the world? How do we get someplace new? How do we perceive the world—or how do we want the world to be perceived? How does one place or idea connect to another? These are all essential questions for how people experience and move through the world, and they can all be answered by maps.

A map is a symbolic depiction of interrelationships between places, things or ideas. While they often focus on spatial relationships and geographic elements, both real and imagined, maps can also be used to display associations between ideas or concepts. Maps are tools to help us navigate and understand the world but are shaped by the map-maker’s culture, beliefs, and knowledge. As such, they are statements about what matters and what does not.

Children have an innate desire to explore their world! An inquiry into making and using maps is a perfect extension of their urge to learn about the world and their place in it. In this WOW Dozen, I share a range of books ranging from nonfiction about the history of maps, how to make and use them, and what they can tell us to fiction showing children using maps for multiple purposes.

The study of maps also lends itself to interdisciplinary inquiries combining language arts, social studies, and science. For example, a language arts inquiry into map books can easily connect with explorations of animal migration or a study of world explorers.

WOW Dozen features a list of 12 global books for children and adolescents around a theme, topic, issue or personal favorites. Each Dozen consists of ten newly-published titles with two older “must have” books. Please share or recommend additional books that fit the theme in the comments section or on social media using #WOWDozen. Use the printer icon in the upper left corner of this post to print or save this list as a PDF.​

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• Themes: Alaa Betawi, Are We There Yet?, Around the World in 80 Maps, Barbara Kerley, Bimba Landmann, Clare Hibbert, Deborah Marcero, Disasters by the Numbers, Drew Shannon, Footsteps on the Map, Fran Nuno, Grace Eason, How I Learned Geography, Janine Schall, Jessica Smith, Jon Brokenbrow, Josie James, Leigh Hodgkinson, Map for Falasteen, Map of Good Memories, Maps of My Emotions, maria Birmingham, Marie's Ocean, Martha Maps it Out, Maysa Odeah, My Heart is a Compass, Oksana Drachkovska, Prisoners of Geography, Steve Jenkins, Tim Marshall, Uri Shulevitz, Zuzanna Celej
• Descriptors: WOW Dozen