Charting the World by Richard Panchyk

Charting theWorld - Geography and Maps from Cave Paintings to GPS

Map lovers will not be the only ones fascinated by this book. It is so much more than a book of maps. It is a history of geography with amazing facts. Page 49: "During the 17th century, as the waves of explorers who visited the New World sent favorable reports back to Europe, a steady stream of settlers from Europe began to enter the Americas. The European population of the American colonies rose from about 350 in 1610 to 50,000 in 1650. By 1700, there were 250,000 settlers in the English colonies of North America, and many thousands more lived in the New France and New Spain."  I love a book that makes me think, "I didn't know that," and then leads to a new question or wondering.

The amount of information that is in this book is phenomenal. He covers so many different aspects of mapping, history, a timeline of maps, and of course, a ton of actual maps. Not only does it provide interesting information, it includes 21 activities for students.  

I bought this book for my elementary school even though it is more geared to adults and teachers. It's just so cool to look at and can be read in bits and pieces. If you have a kid who loves maps, this would be a great book to share with them.