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V is for Vintage Maps in Children’s Books

April 26, 2018 Claire Annette Noland 16 Comments

Maps are visual art that communicates information to give us a sense of place. We read maps and we read books. And, in my opinion, books containing maps are the best kind of books. I’ve shared many maps this past month for the A to Z April Blog Challenge and I could easily go on for another month. Today I’m being very visual (as opposed to wordy) because the maps tell so much about the world contained in each book. There are many opinions of what makes a book considered vintage. I’m just thinking that they are old but not antiques. Let me know what you think.

The Young Australian Alphabet by Samuel and William Calvert 1871   (this one might be considered an antique)

 

The Land of Health by Hallock and Winslow 1922

 

Milly Molly Mandy series by Joyce Lankester Brisley 1928

 

Mystery Manor  by Mary Evelyn Atkinson (author) and Harold Jones (Illustrator) 1937

 

A Squirrel Called Rufus by Richard Church (author) and John Skeaping (illustrator) 1941

 

The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Gouge (author) and C. Walter Hodges (illustrator) 1946 (Carnegie Award Winner)

 

The Bamboo Bird by Melvin Colley 1947

 

The Children’s Book of London by L. G. Bullock 1948

 

 

Toby Twirl Adventures by Sheila Hodgetts (author) and E. Jeffrey (illustrator) 1949

 

The Blue Cat of Castle Town by Catherine Cate Coblentz 1949 (Newbery Honor Book 1950, Lewis Carroll Shelf Award 1958)

 

And finally, a book I would really like to own –

The Map That Came to Life by Geoffrey Cumberlege (author) and Ronald Lampit (illustrator) Oxford University Press 1948

Tells about a brother and sister who spend the summer at their uncle’s farm. They decide to walk to the country fair with a survey map as their guide. Their outing is really the setting for a lesson in map reading.

 

Have you read any of these books?

 

Filed Under: Blogging A to Z, book maps, Books, picture books Tagged With: A Squirrel Called Rufus, a to z blog challenge, Maps in Children's Books, Maystery Manor, Milly Molly Mandy, The Bamboo Bird, The Blue Cat of Castletown, The Children's Book of London, The Land of Health, The Little White Horse, The Map That Came to Life, The Young Australian Alphabet, Toby Twirl Adventures

Previous Post: « Under the Sea – mapping an unknown world
Next Post: Wind in the Willows – a classic map »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Amy Roberts says

    April 26, 2018 at 1:25 am

    Super interesting!

    Reply
    • Claire Annette Noland says

      April 26, 2018 at 5:11 am

      Thanks Amy!

      Reply
  2. Amy Roberts says

    April 26, 2018 at 1:27 am

    Not sure what time zone you’re set to, but posted at 6:25 pm 4/25/18!

    Reply
    • Claire Annette Noland says

      April 26, 2018 at 5:12 am

      I’m not sure – I’ll have to find out!

      Reply
  3. Eva says

    April 26, 2018 at 7:06 am

    I would like to read the last one, too. I’m amazed about how difficult is nowadays for some people to use a real map (a paper one).

    Reply
  4. Stepheny Houghtlin says

    April 26, 2018 at 1:10 pm

    I have collected many things through the years including the illustrators of children’s books but never the books you have introduced me to that include MAPS. You have launched me in a new direction and I have NO space in “The Cottage for Two,” now one….for more books. I must find a way. This post is amazing again.

    Reply
  5. Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor says

    April 26, 2018 at 2:01 pm

    The Land of Health map is fascinating. Love the idea of a Garden of Sleep.

    Reply
  6. Hilary Melton-Butcher says

    April 26, 2018 at 4:22 pm

    Hi Claire – no sadly I haven’t read any … but I’d love to own the London one, and the Australian one … but to see them all … lovely – thanks for letting us know about them – cheers Hilary

    Reply
  7. Cori at Printed Portal says

    April 29, 2018 at 8:49 am

    Beautiful maps – love the blue one!

    Reply
  8. JazzFeathers says

    April 30, 2018 at 6:40 am

    Absolutely fantastic!

    Reply
  9. Stephanie Finnell says

    September 24, 2018 at 6:59 pm

    Just made me recollect a trip we took with my very young family…..My youngest was 4 years old and asked me if we had the map. I told her no (we knew our way). She wailed for around 10 minutes on how we “Didn’t have a map??”lol Fast forward, age 23, she finds her way just fine 🙂
    Love the old books with maps. Always makes them interesting in my opinion.

    Reply
    • Claire Annette Noland says

      September 25, 2018 at 9:36 pm

      I remember when we would never go anywhere without consulting a map. I still like to look at them to get an overview of where we are going.
      Thanks for stopping by.

      Reply
  10. Ronel Janse van Vuuren says

    October 9, 2018 at 8:03 am

    Beautiful maps. Thanks for sharing.

    Ronel from Ronel the Mythmaker A-Z road-tripping with Everything Writerly: V is for Vendors

    Reply
  11. Jamie Lyn Weigt says

    November 26, 2018 at 2:02 am

    Wow these are really awesome! I love books with maps, especially fantasy novels. I’m actually trying to write one, but my own map is giving me trouble… perhaps I should take a page out of some of these books and not worry so much about making it perfect, rather make it pretty instead! 🙂 Stopped by on the #AtoZChallenge Road Trip, take care!

    Jamie Lyn Weigt | Writing Dragons | AtoZ 2018: X is for Xiang the Wise

    Reply
    • Claire Annette Noland says

      November 26, 2018 at 4:49 am

      There are actually a number of books which help authors create maps for their fictional worlds. I think maps make books better.

      Reply
  12. Irene McHugh says

    January 27, 2019 at 7:10 pm

    I have not read any of these books. However, I love books with maps. As an adult reader, most of the books I read now with maps are fantasy books. Maps always draw me into the story. As I read, I pretty consistently will refer back to them too. Great post. Stopping by on the #AtoZ Road Trip. Take care!

    Reply

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Hello. I’m Claire Annette - reader, writer, teacher, and field trip planner extraordinaire. Here at A Field Trip Life you will find ideas for adventures large and small and the kids’ books that inspire them. Sign your permission slip. Let's go!

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