PUTTING FICTION ON THE MAP

If there is one thing I am even more of a fan of than a children’s book, it is a children’s book with a map in it. I love nothing more than coming across one in the story I’m reading, but why are they so useful? Well if a picture tells a thousand words, then a map must tell a million! Much like novels themselves, maps tell stories too, so when employed within a book it is a way to go beyond the words themselves. Not only do they provide us with further supplementary information to complement the story, but, maps also have the potential to provide gateways to the imaginary lands, drawing you into the adventure. Think of Robert Louis Stevenson’s wonderfully inked map which adorns his Treasure Island, (one of the first maps to be introduced into novels for children and young adults.) One examination of this just makes you want to join Jim Hawkins on his search for buried treasure. A map can also serve to bring to life stomping grounds of the different inhabitants of an imaginary location. By showing us the shape of the land they build on our imagination, encouraging us to go beyond the words themselves and inviting us into these fictional lands presented right before our eyes. One of my favourites has to be that of Ernest Shepard’s ‘collaboration’ with Christopher Robin of the Hundred Acre Wood. The Hundred Acre Wood is also an example of where authors use the world around them for inspiration, being based on the actual Five Hundred Acre Wood in Ashdown Forest, showing the unique ability of maps to tie both the real and the imaginary together.
Book maps also have the potential to shape the actions of characters and can even be essential to the story itself. Think of Marauder’s Map in the Harry Potter series- where would our favourite characters be had they not been able to take advantage of this useful tool? In this way maps can artfully be used to aid plot and characters as well as help the reader.
And sometimes a map just makes the book more beautiful to look at such as the lovely vintage map of Paris covering the end pages of Adele & Simon by Barbara McClintock.
Whether the cartography is an imaginary realm or 1907 Paris, I can pour over them for hours, inserting myself into the tantalizing topography and getting lost in their world… Quite simply, maps in books are wonderful things – they take us to new worlds, illustrate exciting journeys and help us to join the characters wherever they may be. What are some of your favourite book maps to get lost in and why?

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