Me on the Map by Joan Sweeney

Book Genre: Non-fiction

Publishing Info: Scholastic Inc, 32 pages

Awards or honors received: None

Summary: A young girl describes her place on this world. She starts in her room, showing a picture of her room and then a map she drew of her room. Then she describes her house, showing a picture and a map. She continues in the same pattern with her street, town, state, country, and then finally Earth. Once we are looking at the earth, she zooms back in, finding her place on each map until we are looking at her room, her very own special place on the map.

Personal rating and reason for rating: **** Great! This book is an awesome way to introduce maps, and to explain how each map is related to one another.

Reading level: 1.8

Interest level: K-2

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study (reading and writing across the curriculum): In social studies, this book would be great to use as an introduction to maps. Have students draw pictures and maps of their room, house or street, and find their very own place on each map.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: This book might not be developmentally appropriate for younger or immature kindergarteners, and even some early first graders. It is a bit abstract and some of the children cannot think or understand the map concept.