Happily Homeschooling

The book is The Little Man In the Map. It is published by Schoolside Press publishes educational products “that spur the student’s imagination and creativity”. The author is E. Andrew Martonyi. He is an author, public speaker, and trainer that has given seminars around the world.

Martonyi created this story to help his 5 year old granddaughter remember the states. Her fascination with his travel allowed him to see the map of the 50 states from a different perspective.  That perspective? Each state has a certain shape and each shape can look like another object. My thought to this is like looking at a cloud and finding the animal that’s hidden in it. The shapes Martonyi saw are common shapes - cup, chair, mitten, face – are just a few. He used these shapes to form a “puzzle” and created The Little Man In the Map poem/story. Learning the placement of the 50 states then becomes fun when using the puzzle and story.

How does it work? The story starts with just a few pieces. 

These pieces form MIM, the man in the map. To discover the rest of the pieces, the student listens to clues to cross the map. The clues then become a state which leads to the next clue, and so on. The pieces are divided into regions to make in flow smoothly. The clues are given in a rhyme which can be fun for kids to learn and repeat.

Overall I like the book. It’s cute and educational. My kids were interested in it right away. Although my daughter said that the rhymes may take younger children “a while to learn”. But that’s ok, it just means you’ll get to read the book again. The book is hardcover and sturdy, which is nice. There is also a teacher’s guide to use along with the book to help with lessons. Because of the magical element or elflike MIM, some families may not like this. It is all parental preference. I don’t mind it since it’s meant to be imaginative, creative, and silly. Before buying, just be sure to check it out. You can also read other Crew members reviews here.

Schoolside Press makes this available for $19.95 and there is an area to check if you want it autographed. It’s always neat to have an autographed book, I think. It adds a personal touch. 

I think you’ll like this book if you get it. And so will your kids. J