Having fled from war in their troubled homeland, a boy and his family are living in poverty in a strange country. Food is scarce, so when the boys father brings home a map instead of bread for supper, at first the boy is furious. But when the map is hung on the wall, it floods their cheerless room with color. As the boy studies its every detail, he is transported to exotic places without ever leaving the room, and he eventually comes to realize that the map feeds him in a way that bread never could. The award-winning artists most personal work to date is based on his childhood memories of World War II and features stunning illustrations that celebrate the power of imagination. An authors note includes a brief description of his familys experience, two of his early drawings, and the only surviving photograph of himself from that time.How I Learned Geography is a 2009 Caldecott Honor Book and a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

 

This book is the winner of numerous awards. It was recognised in the Picture Book category by the Georgia Children's Book Award. It was recognised by the Caldecott Award. The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. It also was recognised in the Ages 7-10 Years category by the Capitol Choices Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens. It was recognised in the Nonfiction category by the Parents' Choice Award.

This book has been graded for interest at 12+ years.

There are 28 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 2009 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux Inc .

Uri Shulevitz lives in New York City, and has been writing and illustrating children's books since 1963. He has won the Caldecott Medal once, and also been awarded two Caldecott Honor citations, among numerous other awards.