“I made a book of maps.” This book’s narrator has created a thoughtful guidebook of hand-drawn maps of their town, street, school, public library, local park, and more addressed to an unidentified “you.” Included on each map are the sort of helpful details known only to one who has lived, played, shopped, and attended school in these places for some time. On the map of the school, the narrator notes that “the cafeteria serves the best lunch on Fridays,” while the map of the park provides a tip about the swings (“the middle one flies highest”). The narrator introduces certain notable people by name, such as librarian Mr. Mercado, who “never hushes or shushes;” Mr. Ramjit, who lives on Little Farm; and Mrs. Chang, who runs an art-supply store. The last few maps are of “our house,” and they include instructions: “Put your bed under the skylight for the best view of the stars.” In an unexpected twist, it becomes clear to whom the book is addressed. On the final two-page spread, a child is looking at the maps, which have been left on the front porch; inside the house are moving boxes waiting to be unpacked. “The maps are for you… so you’ll find your way in your new home.” Packed with colorful, detailed, visually engaging maps of various types and perspectives (among the less traditional are a maze and a pirate map), a book that at first seems simply fun becomes a bittersweet narrative of departure and arrival.

Before moving away, a young cartographer leaves some guidance behind about his old home for the child about to make it their new one.

What if you moved to a new place and found a hand-drawn local guidebook, left there just for you? In A Book of Maps for You, an artistic young person gives just such a gift. He’s crafted and annotated maps of his neighborhood, school, and house; no slide, orange tree, or chicken coop left uncharted.

He points out the best Halloween decorations, school lunches, and local stops for baked goods, books, or art supplies. He shows the best place to put your bed upstairs, right under the skylight. Just as his family’s moving truck pulls away, another pulls up, and sure enough, his book finds its way into the next child’s hands.

During a big move, a child can feel a lot of pressure to open their heart to the place they’re headed. But what about the roads they’ve been down hundreds of times? The faces they’ve grown up seeing? The house where they know every bang of the pipes and drip of the faucet? That history deserves care, too.

A Book of Maps for You honors the homes we leave behind and the ones we haven’t met yet, reminding us that they may just be two sides of the same coin. Lourdes Heuer’s achingly subtle text speaks volumes in all it pays attention to, and all it doesn’t have to say. Maxwell Eaton III’s signature detail-rich illustrations perfectly suggest the work of a talented child, and promise plenty of surprises to drink in and explore on each page.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection