Ruby maps her world

"Today I go outside to map my world all by myself for the first time," writes young Ruby in a brand-new birthday journal. As the protagonist, portrayed with dark hair and pale skin, charts her neighborhood and park (her mother, a cartographer, and dog, Magellan, follow at a distance), measured text by Yolen and reportorial watercolor-textured digital illustrations by Phumiruk convey a knowable and approachable landscape. But Ruby's notes are about more than charting paths; insets show that the journal is "crowded with interesting observations" about both natural and human-made geography. After Dad meets up with the trio, Ruby heads to "her other house," where she'll map more of her "always interesting world." With its reliance on an individual's renderings, the book offers a lovely revelation: the best maps don't just show where one is, but also how one relates and what one perceives. Resources conclude. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4--8. (Oct.)

After a girl receives a journal for her birthday, she uses it to map her neighborhood and her day. Ruby, an East Asian--presenting youngster, is excited to take a walk outside for her first "solo mapping day." Her mother is a cartographer, but today it's Ruby's turn; Mama will be following behind at a safe distance, in case of emergencies. As she walks, Ruby draws what she sees: her own home with its gray garage and red mailbox. She writes, too (after all, a map must be a "good show-and-tell"): "three steps down, past the mailbox." Phumiruk's clean illustrations in soft colors are a sedate foil to Ruby's hand-drawn icons representing each thing she sees on her walk, with dotted lines charting her path and written notes labeling her pictures. Each image of a real-life scene is juxtaposed with Ruby's interpretation, giving readers the feeling of peeking into her notebook. Ruby draws landmarks, animals, people, and even her own imaginings. As her walk comes to a conclusion, Daddy is waiting, ready to take her to his house for a birthday celebration, where she can map the "other half of her crowded and always interesting world"--a subtle acknowledgment that Ruby is the child of amicably divorced parents. The backmatter, aimed at educators, includes further reading and several activities. Will most certainly inspire young cartographers to chart their own worlds.(Picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.