Skip to Content

Map Books for Young Explorers

I’ve rounded up a nice selection of map books for young explorers.

Young kids seem to really love maps. They like you to point to where they live on a big map. They enjoy looking at the legends and finding things on maps, and overall, they seem to really be taken with what maps are all about.

You can enhance that curiosity and help them learn a bit about maps by grabbing a few map books and some of our best books for boys lists to follow a child’s interests.

Kids love maps and these map books are perfect for encouraging their curiosity. {part of a free map unit study} Click to see all of the titles and links to other map resources.

This post may contain affiliate links which means we may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. All opinions are our own and we share things we think would be of interest to boys.

Map Books for Young Explorers

  • Let’s start off with a book from the Cat in the Hat series of books. These are fun (though not written by Dr. Suess himself and the rhyming can leave a bit to be desired) for kids to look at. You get The Cat in the Hat and plenty of good info in an entertaining package. This one is called There’s a Map on My Lap and covers the different types of maps as well as the tools used with them.
  • Henry’s Map is an adorable book to share with those who are just learning about maps. Henry is a pig and he feels the farm is a mess! He uses maps to solve his problem.
  • I was drawn to the bold illustrations of this picture book. My Map Book is a little bit funny too so I think kids will enjoy it. There happens to be a dragon, a flying carpet, mention of a knight and more which means it has boy-appeal as well.
  • Maps help get us where we want to go. As the Crow Flies has an unusual take on maps. It is all about animals and their maps. I found it to be an interesting look at maps.
  • You don’t want to miss the simply titled Maps. It is by Alexsandra Mizielinska and the illustrations are worth the price of admission (so to speak.) They call it a visual feast. I agree.
  • A personal favorite, The Once Upon a Time Map Book, is a delight. The illustrations are wonderful, the content is awesome and the book is one fantasy fans shouldn’t miss. You will visit Neverland, Wonderland, Oz, Aladdin’s kingdom, Snow White’s forest, and the Giant’s realm. Highly Recommended.

These are the best map books for young explorers I could find. You and your kids will enjoy them, I am sure.

See also:

Pirate Navigation and Maps
Homeschool Unit Study Resources

Be sure to stop by these additional sites to see their map unit study ideas:

Build Excitement for a Disneyland Vacation from Crafty Mama in ME
How Maps Change Case study: Boston’s Boundaries over time from Boston Kid Friendly
How Kids Can Create Sketch Maps for the Outdoors from FrogMom
Map Skills for Kids from Schooling a Monkey
Map Books for Children: Intro to Maps from The Jenny Evolution
Continents and Countries Olympic Sort from Planet Smarty Pants
3 Free Puzzles to Make Learning the Continents Fun from Books and Giggles
Geocaching for Kids from Parenting Chaos
Map Activities for Kids: France, England, Ireland {Printables} from The Natural Homeschool
Types of Maps from Something 2 Offer
Around the World Fun for Kids: Exploring Architecture from Artsy Momma
Using Maps as an Idea for Art Projects from Our Daily Craft

Natalie PlanetSmartyPants

Sunday 10th of April 2016

We loved My Map Book. Our other favorite is Follow That Map - great book for early map skills!

Sheila Rogers

Monday 11th of April 2016

Good to hear, Natalie. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment :)