Book Descriptions
for Martha Maps It Out by Leigh Hodgkinson
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
“Hello, universe! I am in here somewhere, but you can’t see me because I’m really tiny.” A page of colorful stars is the backdrop for these opening lines of a picture book that proceeds to map the various spaces that young Martha inhabits. With every turn of the page, brown-skinned Martha zeroes in on something smaller in scale, moving from the universe to the solar system to the earth to her city to her street to her apartment building to her apartment to, finally, her bedroom. The friendly map illustrations are full of childlike details and appeal, including Martha’s labels for various items, such as “Darren the succulent,” “squidgy banana,” and “stool (uncomfy).” By the time she gets to mapping her room, Martha notes that “on this map, I’m not so teeny-tiny anymore! After all, how can I be so teeny-tiny … if I think about such BIG things.” A map of her thoughts reveals many of those big things, and small things too, and the connections between them. (Ages 5-8)
CCBC Choices 2023. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2023. Used with permission.
From the Publisher
"Martha LOVES drawing maps. She creates maps of everything--even her thoughts and dreams! Let Martha be your guide as she welcomes you to her world. Starting in outer space, we zoom in page by page, to our planet, Martha's community, and beyond to her dreams of a future where ANYTHING is possible. Full of quirky details and fun non-fiction labels that children will love poring over-they will discover cool new facts with every reading. Each map is imbued with an irresistible sense of excitement about the world and optimism for the future."--Provided by publisher.
Publisher description retrieved from Google Books.