Lately my kids and I have been snuggling up on the couch in front of the fireplace and browsing through a stunning new coffee table book featuring exquisite hand-drawn maps of countries around the world. Itโs delightfully wonderful. I really, really love it.
Maps, by Polish artists Aleksandra Mizieliลska and Daniel Mizieliลski, is a lavish collection of 52 maps of countries from every continent around the globe. But youโre not just getting topography and political markers with this book. The pages are filled with winsome illustrations of cultural icons from that region.
Germanyโs map, for example, shows a girl with braids serving drinks at Oktoberfest, a Mercedes Benz car, Snow White, and about 100 other illustrated details, including facts about the country, like its flag, its name in its own language, land size, and so on.
The art is both really fun and sneakily educational. My kids are trying out their reading skills on all the little labeled pictures, and we love getting a quick glimpse into other ways of lifeโfrom the food to the clothing to the transportation.
Of course, we love looking at whatโs featured on the United States map and laughing at the little iconic aspects of our cultureโfrom gold prospectors to teepees, grizzly bears to King Kong, the Brooklyn Bridge to Cinderellaโs castle, and MLK Jr. to the aliens at Roswell. Itโs the perfect mix of sentimental, significant, and silly.
I canโt imagine the years of research that must have gone into creating this captivating volume, but I certainly do appreciate it. This is a book I think my kids will be fighting over for a long timeโฆand I mean that in the best way possible. โKate
Maps is available in hardcover for $35.00 at your local bookstore or our affiliate, Amazon. While youโre there, check out their other books that look just as imaginative and fun too.
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