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Use a combination of books and technology to bring the world of Middle Earth maps alive for your students. BooKS with mapS in the School liBrarY

to Panem School librarians can use the maps in popular books for children and young adults to jumpstart twenty-fi rst-century skills related Maps of Imaginary Places to analyzing primary sources, using online map and satellite im- age resources, and constructing maps. The Standards for the 21st as Invitations to Reading Century Learner stress the importance of understanding text in all formats, including maps. Maps a supporting role in some books for youth, but in annette Lamb and Larry johnson others they are an integral part of the story line. In a study of chil- dren’s books, Jeffrey Patton and Nancy Ryckman (1990) identifi ed a continuum of purposes for maps, from simple to complex. At ogwarts, Panem, Middle Earth, one end of the spectrum, maps were used to illustrate the general and the Hundred Acre Wood . . of the book. At the intermediate point, maps showed where the story occurred or how characters were connected to a setting. . these may be fi ctional places, At the complex end of the continuum, the map explained spatial H elements of the story line, such as a ’s journey or clues but they are brought to life in books. While J. K. Rowling and Suzanne Col- in a mystery. Regardless of the author’s approach, book maps can be excit- lins chose to leave their worlds up to ing tools in teaching, learning, and promoting the joy of reading. the imagination, for decades youth BooKS, mapS, and imaGinarY placeS have been poring over the maps made famous by J. R. R. Tolkien and A. A. Today maps play a central role in many works for children and young adults. However, the use of maps to excite and assist Milne. readers is a relatively recent invention (Brogan, 2004). Books like Robinson Crusoe didn’t contain maps. wasn’t until the late nine- According to Ricardo teenth century that they were introduced in works for youth. Padron (2007), maps While some authors create entirely new worlds, others incor- found in works of fi c- porate alternative versions of our own universe. For instance, the tion are much more new fantasy series Mapmakers by S. E. Grove contains maps with than pretty illustrations familiar geographic features. Set in an alternative 1891, where and reader’s aids—they continents have been fl ung into different time periods, thirteen- have the ability to de- year-old Sophia Tims must travel into uncharted lands in search of light, truths, her kidnapped uncle. In whisper secrets, and this series, mapmaking unsettle readers. Pad- A. A. Milne’s Hundred Acre Wood. has become a fi ne art in- ron states, “Not only do cluding elements of sci- [maps] allow us to picture places and spaces, but by telling stories ence and magic. Readers that take place in them, or by sculpting characters associated with can download copies of them, they give those places life and meaning” (258). the maps at the series Unfortunately, a map found in a book is limited in its ability website at http://www. to convey the beauty of a landscape or the hazards of a war zone. theglasssentence.com/. Technology can enhance the map by providing satellite images, While some incor- interactive maps, and other tools to help readers visualize complex porate wonderful maps Mapmakers series by S. E. Grove. imaginary worlds. in their works, many au- In addition, since many book maps appear on the endpaper of thors, like J. K. Rowling, Suzanne Collins, and Veronica Roth, leave fi rst editions, they may be missing from paperback and e-book the map creation to their fans. Fandom may expand the reading editions. The Internet is a great way to locate these useful visuals. experience through their own interpretations of imaginary worlds Dora the Explorer can always be found with her trusty map. portrayed in series like Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and Di-

60 TEACHER LIBRARIAN 42:1 vergent, which don’t contain maps. The tive map, information about the location Some imaginary worlds have even been social network DeviantArt (http://www.de- is provided. “re-imagined,” such as The viantart.com/) is a great example. A search by Gregory Maguire for the book Wicked for the fictional world of Panem yields over (http://www.woodge.com/books/maps/ one hundred user-created maps. Involve map_maguire_oz.jpg). students in evaluating and discussing how Other great books with maps of imagi- these maps match their ideas about the nary worlds include The Earthsea Trilogy Hunger Games series. According to David by Ursula K. LeGuin, The of Ember Sobel (1998) in Mapmaking with Children, by Jeanne DuPrau, Tricker’s Choice by by “cultivating fantasy mapmaking with Tamora Pierce, and The Princess Bride by children we are developing the graphic William Goldman. Use tools like Glogster skills that engineers, landscape planners, (http://edu.glogster.com/) to annotate a clothing designers, graphic artists, - book map such as the one in The Phan- Interactive map from The Land of ists, and teachers need every day” (125). Elyon. tom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. In this Although the Harry Potter books don’t case, the annotated map (http://www.glog- contain map illustrations, the Pottermore In some cases fans have created interac- ster.com/mgronek/phantom-tollbooth/g- (http://www.pottermore.com/) companion tive maps that expand on the original pa- 6m1f0od4qkles2626lduaa0) includes ar- site uses an interactive map to guide par- per map published in the book. Wikia Map rows to key locations and quotes from the ticipants through the world of Harry Potter. (http://maps.wikia.com/wiki/Special:Maps) book. encourages users to create their own inter- active maps based on an existing image or Imaginary an uploaded picture. Users then create pins to mark and identify locations. Students While some books explore entire worlds, could draw images on paper, scan them, others focus on smaller areas like villages and make them interactive with Wikia and towns. Three Times Lucky and The Map. Many youth have already uploaded Ghosts of Tupelo Landing by Sheila Tur- Pottermore map. their own books and computer game maps, nage contain a map that shows the fic- which others can use. For instance, fans tional of Tupelo Landing in North The Marauder’s Map from Harry Potter of The Lord of the Rings are creating their Carolina. By visiting the author’s website is a different type of interactive map—it’s own stories based on a map called Fan Fic- (http://www.sheilaturnage.com/SheilaTur- a magical document that can only be read tion Tales from the Black Gate (http://maps. nage/Tupelo_Landing.html), readers can by wizards. Use the Harry Potter Wikia wikia.com/wiki/Portal:_Test_Shadow_of_ view a full color version with additional page (http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/ Mordor). detail. Marauder’s_Map) to explore this map as In The Expeditioners series by S. S. Tay- Neighborhood MapMachine (http:// well as learn more about wikis and collab- lor, a beautifully designed map is woven la.scholastic.com/en/neighborhood-map- orative writing communities. Think about directly into the story line. Three siblings machine) is a commercial software pack- ways students can use wikis to share their go off in search of unmapped lands that age that allows students to create maps of excitement about book maps. aren’t on the “old” computer-generated their own community or imaginary places. maps. Use this idea of unmapped areas to Ask youth to create a map for a Imaginary Worlds challenge youth to investigate places that book that doesn’t currently contain one. are censored on Google Maps. Some areas Share these on an imaginary neighbor- Like the map of Middle Earth found in The are blurred out or distorted for security rea- hoods bulletin board featuring books with Lord of the Rings, many books for chil- sons, while others may simply be errors. A and without maps. dren and young adults incorporate entire simple Google search for “censored Google Buttonville is an imaginary town in imaginary worlds. Some book series web- maps” yields lots of interesting results. the new The Imaginary Veterinary series sites even provide interactive maps that L. Frank Baum drew dozens of maps of by Suzanne Selfors. In Book 1: The Sas- expand on the maps provided in the books. Oz, but the first published map appeared quatch Escape, the map shows what ten- Examples include The Inheritance Cycle by in the endpapers of Tik Tok of Oz by L. year-old Ben describes as the “saddest Christopher Paolini (http://www.alagaesia. Frank Baum. Since there are very few orig- town on Earth.” Readers can download com/alagaesia.php) and The Land of Elyon inal print copies of the book around, the the map at the series website (http://www. series by Patrick Carman (http://www. Internet is an easy way to locate the maps suzanneselfors.com/imaginary.html#map). scholastic.com/elyon/). When users click of the Land of Oz (http://en.wikipedia.org/ Use this map to practice some basic tech- locations on The Land of Elyon interac- wiki/Land_of_Oz). nology skills. Ask students to copy it into

OCTOBER 2014 61 Microsoft PowerPoint, then use the shapes seek out these missing maps. For instance, tools to label areas that they think reflect it’s possible to find different versions of the idea of the “sad town.” Finally, use the Treasure Island at Archive.org, including audio to record their thoughts about the an 1883 edition (https://archive.org/de- map and the town. tails/treasureisland02stev).

Underland Chronicles Creature Creator from Scholastic.

dents.stanford.edu/~amitp/game-program- ming/polygon-map-generation/demo.html) to create your own island. Users can choose their island’s shape, points, and views.

Treasure Island map. Labeled map from Suzanne Selfors’s Buttonville. The 1949 Newbery Honor book My Fa- ther’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett is now Random City Map Generator (http:// in the public domain and available online www.inkwellideas.com/roleplaying_tools/ (http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/ random_city/index.shtml) can create a gannett/dragon/dragon.html). The endpaper randomly generated city or town that can contains a beautiful illustration of the Island be used for students’ own stories. of Tangerina and Wild Island. The map is filled with interesting real and fictional crea- Polygon Map Generation tool. tures. Involve youth in drawing their own Both open source and proprietary soft- island and filling it with their own imagi- ware are available for creating fantasy maps. nary creatures. Use online creature creators AutoREALM (http://autorealm.sourceforge. for ideas, including Creature Creator (http:// net/) is a popular tool for creating maps of www.scholastic.com/underlandchronicles/ , castle, caves, and other fantasy ele- creaturecreator.htm). Do a Google search for ments. For high-quality commercial soft- “creature creator” for other tools. ware to create worlds, cities, and other types The map in of imaginary places, try Pro Fantasy Soft- Nim’s Island by ware (https://secure.profantasy.com/). Wendy Orr is an imaginary is- Maps That Mix Fact and land in the South Fiction Pacific. Involve youth in designing While many fantasy books contain maps of City created using the Random City their own islands. imaginary worlds, others mix real locations Map Generator. Focus on terms as- with fictional ones. Wild Island map sociated with land The park in the Elliot’s Park series by Imaginary Islands from My Father’s forms, such as ar- Patrick Carman is based on a real park. Dragon by Ruth chipelago, cape, cliff, Readers can examine the book’s park illus- Stiles Gannett. Islands have always fascinated fantasy estuary, isthmus, wa- tration then watch a video with images of readers. One of the first maps in a book terfall, and peninsula. This is a great op- the real park (http://www.patrickcarman. often read by youth is Treasure Island. portunity to practice using painting and com/books/elliots-park/). Unfortunately, the map has been removed drawing tools. Online tools like Sumo Paint from many subsequent versions. Because (http://www.sumopaint.com/) work well Elements of the Real World maps are often placed on the endpapers of for designing an island. books, they may be missing in paperback Another option is to use the Polygon Mixing reality with fantasy is particularly editions. Use online book archives sites to Map Generation tool (http://www-cs-stu- popular with , alterna-

62 TEACHER LIBRARIAN 42:1 tive histories, and steampunk works. make these decisions? How does the map torical maps from the time period. Some works of fantasy incorporate real reflect the story’s ? cities and other places into their maps to Conclusion provide connections. The Wind in the Wil- lows by Kenneth Grahame has a map that Maps are an invitation to reading. Often combines reality and fantasy elements found on the endpaper of books, they in- along the River Thames. In Wildwood, au- vite youth to ask questions and read. When thor Colin Meloy uses the “wilderness” area combined with technology resources and Map of alternative of Forest Park in Portland, Oregon, as the Seattle and histor- tools, these book-based maps can promote inspiration for an entire imaginary world. ical map of Seattle. twenty-first-century skills and ignite a Gabriel Finley and the Raven’s Riddle passion for reading and graphic inquiry. by George Hagen contains a pictorial map The Sea of Trolls series by Nancy Looking for more ideas? Pinterest is a pop- of Brooklyn and Manhattan along with Farmer builds elements of Norse mythol- ular place to organize and share both real and the fictional city of Aviopolis deep under- ogy into a map that includes real locations. imaginary maps. For example, a map of Forks ground. Youth enjoy exploring pictorial Do a Google search for Morse mythology Washington shared in Pinterest was inspired maps of both real and imaginary places. maps for lots of examples to compare with by the Twilight books (http://www.pinterest. The world that Hagen envisioned bridges the book’s map. Involve youth in creating com/pin/186758715770210106/). Children’s these two worlds. Do a Google search for their own Norse maps and diagrams of the Maps (http://www.pinterest.com/ pictorial maps of Manhattan and compare cosmic ash tree and nine worlds. joshuanashillus/childrens-literature-maps/), them with Hagen’s version. Ask students The Arthur Trilogy by Kevin Crossley- Maps Are Cool (http://www.pinterest.com/ to create a pictorial map with fantasy el- Holland is set in 1199 and includes both viviiien/maps-are-cool/), and Maps from ements of their favorite city. Rather than a manor map and an area map. Although Book World (http://www.pinterest.com/blue- producing it from scratch, consider modi- based on real locations, the book is a work hairhero/maps-from-book-world/) are a few fying an existing pictorial map. of fantasy. An online interactive map other examples school librarians can use to My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craig- (http://www.ecastles.co.uk/ukmap.html) jumpstart students projects. head George provides an example of a allows visitors to explore castles all over For a list of more than one hundred fic- pictorial map with a labeled image drawn the United Kingdom, including Stokesay tion books for children and young adults by the main character, Sam, of a fictional Castle, referred to by the book’s author. that contain maps, go to http://eduscapes. place near Delhi, New York. Ask youth to Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan series is com/sessions/maps. locate photographs taken near this area set in an alternate 1914. The book’s endpa- and match the images to the book’s map. pers include a stunning allegorical map of References World War I era Europe (http://scottwester- Historical Connections feld.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/ Brogan, Hugh. (2004). The lure of maps in LeviathanGrandMapBIG.jpg) . During this Arthur Ransome. In K. Harmon, You Are Many books incorporate maps based on time period, picture-rich political maps There. Princeton Architectural Press. real places with a historical twist. In some were used as propaganda campaigns. cases the ties to real locations are strong. Many examples of these types of maps are Lamb, Annette, and Daniel Callison. (2012). In others they are based on mythology or available at Satirical World War One Maps Graphic Inquiry. Libraries Unlimited. alternative histories. (https://www.flickr.com/photos/bibliodys- Some series, like The Clockwork Cen- sey/sets/72157606480801396). Ask youth Padron, Ricardo. (2007). Mapping imagi- tury, provide an alternative version of a to compare the book’s map with the his- nary worlds. In J .R. Akerman and R.W . real place. In Cherie Priest’s alternative Se- Karrow, Maps: Finding Our Place in the attle, the 1879 map (http://theclockwork- World. University of Chicago Press. century.com/?p=285) shows a wall to keep out zombies. Compare this map with an Patton, Jeffrey C., and Nancy B. Ryckman. actual historical map from the same time (1990). Maps in children’s literature. Carto- period from the David Rumsey Collec- graphic Perspectives, 6–12. tion (http://rumsey.geogarage.com/maps/ g4653000.html) overlaid on today’s satel- Sobel, David. (1998). Mapmaking with lite image of Seattle. Involve students in Children. Heinemann. thinking about the modified map. What elements of the map have been changed Adapted from the professional development for the fantasy book? Why did the author The allegorical map from Leviathan. workshop Maps in Materials for Youth.

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