What’s a literary kingdom without a map? Fantasy is the genre where fantastic maps abound. Maps provide guides to adventures held within the pages. For today’s April A to Z Blog Challenge, I’d like to share some series that will bring you into some very different kingdoms.
The Kingdom of Wrenly
by Jordan Quinn (author) and Robert McPhillips (illustrator) Simon & Schuster publishing
This series is a great introduction to fantasy for children just beginning to read books on their own. It tells the adventures of Prince Lucas, his best friend Clara, and his horse Ivan as they encounter dragons, mermaids, sea monsters and much more in the Kingdom of Wrenly. There are illustrations on each page and the same map in each book. The thirteenth book in the series will come out in May.
The Kingdom of Fantasy
by Elisabetta Dami writing as Geronimo Stilton. Scholastic Books
This series features a talking Geronimo Stilton, a talking mouse, who happens to be the editor of the Rodent Gazette. This is a detailed and busy world filled with dozens of character, each with very distinct personalities. It is filled with fully colored illustrations, snappy dialogue, numerous maps and amazing adventures. The Kingdom of Fantasy series has eleven title but is only one of many series featuring Geronimo and company which are incredibly popular with elementary grade students. Here’s a link to the Geronimo Stilton website.
Finally, a series of books loved by young adults,
Tortall and Other Lands: A Collection of Tales
by Tamora Pierce Bluefire Publishing
This is a collection of stories that take place in the Kingdom of Tortall. The author originally wrote a single book for adults but her agent suggested that she make it into a four book series for teenagers. They feature a young noble girl, Alanna of Trebound, who wants to be a knight and disguises herself as a boy so that she can receive training. There’s adventure, danger, and romance which have made the books wildly popular. To read more about the Kingdom of Tortall visit this link to author Tamora Pierce’s website.
Do you enjoy reading fantasy?
Hi Claire Annette – I don’t know these .. but they certainly look interesting to read through and note the places on the various maps – cheers Hilary
I am always in awe at how fantasy writers can come up with a whole new world. The maps are so wonderfully creative.
My favorite fantasy map is in The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. When I was a kid, I created a fantasy map of ‘my world’. I called it Refinnej, and it had all the wonderful places of my dreams. Maps are amazing!
Hi Jen,
I love that map, too. I shared it on the theme reveal day. I was going to write about it for the letter P but had too many other choices! I would love to see your map – your world sounds fantastic!
My son was a HUGE fan of Geronimo Stilton when he was a kid.
I try to keep up with your posts, Claire, but it seems that you publish quicker than there are letters in the alphabet 🙂
Your post are fabulous! I am enjoying seeing all these books with maps. Some of them I’ve never seen before.
Hi Rae, I’ve been having a great time finding these maps.
Another fabulous series with intriguing maps. I continue to LOVE your theme and these AtoZ Challenge posts. Thank you.
Love fantasy! We own a great many of the Tamora Pierce books, and have checked out a lot of the Geronimo Stilton ones from the library (love how they incorporate the visual words into the text!), but have never heard of Wrenly. I will look for it!
Your A to Z-ing is awesome — keep it up!