THE SHAPE OF THINGS: HOW MAPMAKERS PICTURE OUR WORLD, by Dean Robbins and Matt Tavares, Knopf Books for Young Readers, Aug. 20, 2024, Hardcover, $19.99 (ages 4-8)
The Shape of Things, by Dean Robbins and Matt Tavares, explores how mapmakers through the ages have helped people understand the world around them.
How did the first people explore the land they lived on? How did civilizations expand their boundaries and chart courses into new lands? Learn about the history of cartography across cultures in this ode to mapmaking through the ages.
Join history’s first mapmakers as they explore the wonders of the world! In these pages, you’ll find the tools ancient people used to depict their surroundings, methods different cartographers developed to survey new lands, and how we’ve arrived at modern mapmaking today. Above all else, the thread that runs throughout thousands of years of civilization is the spirit of exploration that helps us measure the shape of things around us, the world we all share. —Synopsis provided by Knopf Books for Young Readers
I always love a good cover, and the cover of The Shape of Things is great. You can’t see it without wanting to know more, and it sets the stage for a fantastic history of mapmaking.
Author Dean Robbins starts at the beginning, when early humans used cave art and tusks to map the way. Robbins takes readers to the Americas, Egypt, Babylonia, Greece, China and Polynesia. He highlights what mapmakers got right — and what they sometimes got wrong. And Robbins does this in relatively few words. Words that are wonderfully paced and nice to read aloud.
Artist Matt Tavares’ digital illustrations perfectly compliment the text, transporting readers to different points in time and place. His images set scope and make you excited for what is to come.
Excellent backmatter includes a timeline; author’s note; illustrator’s note; information on mapmaking tricks and tools; a list of what mapmakers love; and a bibliography.
About the creators:
Dean Robbins is a journalist and children’s book author. His previous books include, The Fastest Girl on Earth!, Two Friends; Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass, Miss Paul and the President, and Margaret and the Moon. He lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with his family. To learn more, visit https://deanrobbins.net/
Matt Tavares is a New York Times bestselling author-illustrator of over twenty titles. His books have been featured in: ALA Notable, Parents’ Choice Gold Awards, and twelve were chosen for the Society of Illustrators Original Art exhibit. His artwork has been exhibited at the Brandywine River Museum, the Eric Carle Museum, and the Mazza Museum. Matt lives in Maine with his wife, Sarah, and their two daughters. Visit his website: matttavares.com
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