Maps and Mazes (Information Books - Project Books) - Hardcover

Gr. 2-4. Using a format common in children's nonfiction from Britain (where it was first published), this book presents a new subject on each double-page spread. Topics considered include simple mapmaking, latitude and longitude, going from a three-dimensional model to a two-dimensional plan, using a grid, indicating scale and directions, showing contours, and making mazes. Colorful maps and plans, often executed in a crisp collage style, brighten every page of the book. While the information given is somewhat cursory, this attractive survey could serve as an introductory idea book for classroom or individual use. Carolyn Phelan

A British import covering mapmaking's fundamentals: symbols, scale, direction, and location. (Despite the title, only two pages are on mazes, and their connection to maps is never made clear.) The collage-style pictures and photos are brightly colored and cheerful, and basic ideas are introduced and illustrated. Some of the explanations are too terse to be easily followed, and illustrations for certain key items, such as longitude and latitude, could be clearer. Still, overall, an attractive and useful introduction. Glossary. (Nonfiction. 7-10) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.