Customer Reviews

The Little Man In the Map: With Clues To Remember All 50 States

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

When I was in grade school back in the early 70s, I learned American geography through rote memorization. As a result, if I were tested to write in all the names of the sates on a map of the US Today, I would probably get a C at best. E. Andrew Martonyi's delightful "The Little Man In the Map" has changed that for the children in my life. It provides charming clues which help kids learn geography by heart. Ed Olson's illustrations are enchanting and captivate young imaginations, making geography magical and fun.

I bought this book for my nephew's fifth birthday, along with some art supplies and candy. He ignored the other gifts and carried "The Little Man In the Map" around all day, even looking at it in front of the TV. My sister reports his fascination has not faded.

This book should be in every school across America. Buy it for every kid you know and take it to their teachers!

"A blank map of the U.S.A. plus your imagination are all you need to learn the states--all fifty in our nation."

A man in the map, a pack of schoolbooks, a mitten, a drinking cup, a longhorn chair and Old Man winter are just a few of the imaginative cues that Andrew Martonyi and Ed Olson have created to help children remember the shape and place of the 50 states.

Ed Olson has extensive experience with companies such as Walt Disney, Warner Brothers and Sony. This experience is evident in the quality of the illustrations in this book. His purpose, as stated on his blog is "to bring US Geography alive and let kids experience geography through their own eyes and imagination and make learning geography easy and fun."

I think my kids definitely agree. I have been using mnenomic based aids in our schoolwork over the last few years whenever I can find them. For kids with memory problems, they are very helpful. My nine year old daughter especially was quite taken with the imaginative illustrations.

The first section of the book is devoted to the states of Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana. When viewed in isolation, they most definitely resemble a man with a hat. The remainder of the book is divided into regions -- Northeastern, Southeastern, Midwestern, South Central, Western, Alaska and Hawaii. I would study each of the regions separately, or to go along with a unit study.

I'll be happy to review this with my kids again. It definitely takes the "yuck" out of geography and I look forward to when they release the title for state capitals!

I'd been looking for homeschool materials on the U.S. map and found this book. My kids are very young, just 4 & 5 but I thought a rhyming book would be fun for them to start hearing about the states.

I think it's a bit much for younger grade school kids. I could see an older upper grade school age child getting much more out of this. The rhymes aren't all that easy to memorize or go along with, and some of the connections in drawings and "clues" are a leap for younger children to make. I didn't think all the clues and hints were entirely very clever either. I'll keep reading it to them and going over the pictures as their years go on. I think it'll be handy when they're snapping to more of the concepts this book uses, but truth be told I got farther with them memorizing states just with rote learning, pointing and naming and memorizing just like many of us did in school. I related states to where family members were born, shapes of the states that were easy to see, something that might be of personal interest to them about that state, etc. The rhymes and clues were just more to remember and they got a little distracted with the main objective. All in all, not a must have book for teaching young children IMO.

Over Thanksgiving a challenge was made that no one can name (write down) all 50 states in 4 minutes. After 4 minutes I was short only 3!!!! And those were ones I could picture, just not think of the names. "The Little Man in the Map" by E. Andrew Martonyi and illustrated by Ed Olson could have helped me win.

MinIow MisArkLou is the name of the man in the map (MIM for short). When you look at the states starting with Minnesota on down to Louisiana, you indeed can see a little man with a tall hat, face, shirt, pants, and boots. MIM takes the kids on a romp through the states with poetic word clues and imaginative illustrations for each state. My favorite illustration is of Florida as a turtle's head. Hawaii as a surf board and Alaska as Cold Man Winter are clever. Poetry for those little northeastern states are helpful in figuring out which one is Connecticut and Rhode Island etc. I must say that the Wyoming head is a little weird and a few states are elves for those concerned with fairy tales.

Mr. Martonyi is also working with Cassandra Reigel Whetstone to create a teacher's guide which should be available soon. Great games, a crossword puzzle, and other activities are included. Using this will help pull learning into other parts of your curriculum.

If you like teaching with imagery for memorizing, this book may be helpful. It was written with Mr. Martonyi's young granddaughter in mind and would be interesting for most children. A friend of mine used it with her 8, 6, and 3 year old boys. They enjoyed it and with repetitive reading would have learned more states. For my children, the idea was more confusing. They already knew most of the states and looking at a map when discussing news and travels was easier for their learning. However, they are looking forward to his newest book on clues for the state capitals using more word picture clues.

Check out www.schoolsidepress.com for a couple free coloring pages to give you an idea of how the book is written and for author interviews. Mr. Martonyi is giving free shipping for the holidays. [...]

Now, come on, you know you want to try naming the 50 states in 4 minutes!!

Note: 5 stars stands for a book that I think everyone should own. 4 stars is a very good book that would be great in many homes. 3 stars is a good book for a particular need. 2 stars is OK. 1 star is a don't buy.

If only this book had been available 20 years ago when I first started homeschooling my 6 children! I am thankful it's available now so I can use it as curriculum for my last two homeschooled children.

When I first introduced it to my 11 and 13 year old daughters I told them I wanted them to give it a try and do one page a day. Later that night I went to check on them in their beds and found them under the covers with a flashlight! To my amazement they had their Man in The Map book and immediately started begging me to 'please' let them do more than one page a day! At the end of the school year I tested them to see what they had retained and they could rattle off the states and capitals without missing a beat! Now THAT is curriculum a homeschooling Mom can fall in love with! The knowledge they gained and retained will follow them throughout their life and be invaluable to them. This easy and fun to read book is colorful, accurate, and best of all it keeps the kids begging for more!



They jump out of bed in the morning excited about doing their schoolwork because this book makes it feel like fun and a special treat. Not only is it great for teaching geography but you can read it to a small child at bedtime just for fun. The 'Dr. Suess' like rhyming keeps them enthralled and entertained and makes a home in their memory. As a homeschooling Mom I look for the best curriculum I can find to enrich my children's education. As the President and Owner of a mid sized Publishing House I know what a quality book looks like and this one is exceptional. This is a book that will be handed down for generations in my family. There's nothing out there I can compare it to - but this is a book that people will try to imitate and compare books to for many years to come.

Geography is an important subject, but I have not given it the focus it deserves. I usually do the basics (7 continents, our state in general, oceans, etc.) until the children begin 3rd or 4th grade. In the past, I discussed the states/capitals but without much flair. But for my youngest-look out! I have been introduced to some great reading books, and lapbooking kits that are sure to make the study of anything geography related-a lot more fun.

I had never heard of The Little Man in the Map . I wasn't even sure what a little man would be doing in a map! Then the package arrived, and all my questions were laid to rest. The Little Man in the Map is the clever brainchild of the author, E. Andrew Martonyi. He took what most of us have looked at all our lives, gave it a man-figured shape named MIM, and a book all his own. The story is so charming and witty that my son begs to have it read to him just about daily. I have heard him chattering about the "Sleeve of America", a "Flashlight", a "Turtle's head", and don't forget that "Longhorn chair with that state you scoot just a bit". I couldn't believe how quickly he was picking up the clues to finding the state's locations and helpful names that MIM gave them. Finally, a children's book that fits the Charlotte Mason method, and is full of clever rhymes to help remember the 50 states.

The is a very nice hard-backed book with bright, and well-illustrated images. I was pleased to see the high quality too. This one is a keeper. To top it off, Mr. Martonyi is working on a book that uses rhymes to teach the capitals. So between the two books, some great on-line resources, geography and coloring books, my son should be well acquainted with the 50 states!

Now, just so you know: there are a few elves in there, but they are similar to what you'd see in a book on Santa..those sort of characters, nothing ridiculous. The Montana state dude was a bit scary (sorta like a mild Frankenstein) in one scene, but he livens up when Wyoming is attached to help make him laugh and sing-so kids could easily get over it. Alaska looks like a grouchy Old Man Winter, but again-nothing nightmare causing (in my humble opinion). There are two references that I saw to magic, but it is presented as relating to imagination magic. I personally did not feel it bothersome. But that is a judgement call you will need to make, so I wanted to be sure to mention it. If you follow the CM method, then you are familiar with the inclusion of fairies, elves and magical creatures (after all, CS Lewis used them in his writings); and know that they are not meant to drag a soul into the dark-side, but to encourage a whimsical and playful imagination.

I should think children ages 5-10 would most benefit from this charming book. I am sure a few older ones who struggle with state names and locations, would find this to be a refreshing way to learn them.

I highly recommend this fun, and entertaining book!

Over the Christmas holiday season, my sister brought her two sons down from the mountains. I don't get to see them very much, so it was a great time to see how much they had grown, what they had learned, and just to hang out with my nephews. We opened gifts, ate pie, and played in the snow. My sister's older boy - James - is turning out to be a real smart, inquisitive kid. He is always asking questions, wanting to know how something works, or why things are the way they are.

On the night before Christmas, after a big dinner and lots of family talk, I took James upstairs to read to him before bed. One of the books that I read was The Little Man In the Map by E. Andrew Martonyi and beautifully illustrated by Ed Olson. Boy what a great time James and I had reading this book.


Starting off in the all too familiar school classroom, the kids in the book are given the task of learning all the states by name and memorizing their place. Stuck with the task, the kids soon begin to visualize the states as things they can remember - Louisiana is a boot, Minnesota looks like a hat, and so on. Magically, as the kids place these states in order, they come to see a man inside the map who comes alive and teaches the kids about the rest of the states.

Written in rhyme, the book creates images for every state that are fun to look at and learn. After reading the book to James, he didn't want to go to sleep. No, another reading was in order! The same thing happened the next two nights; James wanted me to read The Little Man In the Map to him. He loved the character MinIow MisArkLou (the man in the map) and would list off the states that made him up.

I talked to my sister - now back up in the mountains - after New Years. James now knows all 50 states by heart. He is very proud of this fact, especially since he is the only one in his grade that knows them all. Thanks to E. Andrew Martonyi's great imagination and Ed Olson's lively illustrations, my nephew James is now the geography whiz of his class.

This is one of those books that kids love to read over and over again - all the while learning something very important. Every kid should have the opportunity to learn geography and the states this way: its fun, its easy, and it works.

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Great New Books
http://newgreatbooks.blogspot.com

Some Canadians have an excellent understanding of the geography of the United States. Sadly, until recently I have not been amongst their numbers. That all changed for me after reading The Little Man In The Map. While it's true that this title was created to help school-aged children memorize all 50 states through the use of mnemonic stories, rhymes, and illustrations, I found it extremely helpful in remedying my own geographical weaknesses.

Here in Canada we're faced with learning only ten provinces and three territories, a simple feat in comparison with the tiny, irregular puzzle-pieced states that make up the staggering 50 states included in the union. After reading through The Little Man three or four times (my children insisted I read it out aloud, as they enjoyed it just for the illustrations and funny story), I went from knowing the names and corresponding locations of five to six states to being able to identify and name all 50 on a map. It might seem amazing, but the mnemonic strategies employed by the author/illustrator team of E. Andrew Martonyi and Ed Olson work together seamlessly to create a resource that is impossible for the memory to resist.

The Little Man opens with a class of school-aged children who are confronted with the task of memorizing all 50 states. While working over enormous puzzles they try to associate each state with a shape they can easily recognize. To their surprise they realize that the states of Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana from North to South make the figure of a little man wearing a hat and boots, the man in the map - MinIow MisArkLou is his name, or MIM, an acronym for Man Inside the Map.

Upon wondering if this imaginary fellow might be able to help them identify the memory clues for each of the other states, he springs to life and guides the students on a journey across the U.S. map. Dividing the states into regions MIM provides clues that connect the states, explain their shapes, or simply tell a story to remember their names and locations. Each of the states contains a lively, full colour illustration within its boundaries that helps readers associate the state with the story and rhyme given.

Some regions are trickier than others, and will require some further review, but whenever facts start slipping it's easy enough to grab the book for a quick review. A complete map of the U.S. with the memory-tweaking illustrations is presented in the last few pages (also available as a wall map from Schoolside Press), followed by a map of the U.S. without illustrations to provide mastery of the newly gained geography skills.

I was somewhat hesitant to fully engage The Little Man due to the whimsical appearance of the cover illustration, complete with what could be construed as `pixie dust'. While MIM is an imaginative, fictional character, he is not a magical creation, nor an elf. Three elves do appear in illustrations of the states, and one strange face on a box (Montana and Wyoming) on a `magic block', but these are the only iffy references I could detect. For our family we decided that these inclusions were excusable due to the otherwise exemplary nature of the title.

Independently published by Schoolside Press, The Little Man has been garnering a wide variety of small and independent press awards as well as rave reviews. The results are undeniable, and a book for learning state capitals is currently in development. When can we look forward to a similar title for memorizing Canadian and world geography? I'll be first in line to pick up copies. Martonyi and Olson have hit upon a winning concept that I'll enthusiastically recommend to anyone, young or old, who struggles with identifying all 50 states.

This delightful book is an excellent addition to any classroom library. It is a fun way to help children learn the geography of the United States. My students truly enjoy reading, hearing, and viewing this rhyming book. Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana create the shape of "The Little Man in the Map". The beautiful illustrations add a whole new dimensions to this clever book. The author, Andrew Martonyi, kindly visited my school for as a part of our recent reading night. It was a memorable evening for all involved as we celebrated reading. I highly recommend The Little Man in the Map to everyone.

The Little Man in the Map: With Clues to Remember all 50 States is a cheery, rhyming picturebook designed to teach young people to remember the names of all fifty American states. The cartoony illustrations and charming rhymes frame delightful visual and verbal mnemonics, and adults who have a hard time remembering all fifty states may find The Little Man in the Map useful too! "We'll start with Min in Minnesota / That's his giant hat. / The Iow comes from Iowa / The place his face is at. / This Mis we'll borrow from Missouri / That's his shirt so neat / The Ark we'll take from Arkansas / The pants that can't be beat. / The Lou is from Louisiana / That completes his name. / It also forms the boots he wears that finish out his frame. // Together they spell out his name: It's MinIow MisArkLou! / Remembering those states - all five - Is easy with that clue." Highly recommended, especially for children's library collections.