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Chapter 1. A cognitive-developmental perspective on maps in children’s literature

  • Lynn S. Liben
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Maps and Mapping in Children's Literature
This chapter is in the book Maps and Mapping in Children's Literature

Abstract

Maps in children’s literature vary in many ways, for example, by representing real or imagined places; employing abstract or pictorial symbols; and depicting spaces at differing scales, orientations, and viewing angles. Although authors and illustrators may presume that children readily “see through” such maps to understand their underlying meaning, cognitive-developmental research suggests otherwise. This chapter reviews children’s developing representational and spatial concepts and their relevance for map understanding; contrasts perspectives of geography, literature, and cognitive development; and urges that future researchers study explicitly how maps are used during reading, and how these varied uses influence the cognitive and emotional consequences of the reading experience.

Abstract

Maps in children’s literature vary in many ways, for example, by representing real or imagined places; employing abstract or pictorial symbols; and depicting spaces at differing scales, orientations, and viewing angles. Although authors and illustrators may presume that children readily “see through” such maps to understand their underlying meaning, cognitive-developmental research suggests otherwise. This chapter reviews children’s developing representational and spatial concepts and their relevance for map understanding; contrasts perspectives of geography, literature, and cognitive development; and urges that future researchers study explicitly how maps are used during reading, and how these varied uses influence the cognitive and emotional consequences of the reading experience.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Table of figures vii
  4. Introduction. Maps and mapping in children’s literature 1
  5. Part 1. About mapping
  6. Chapter 1. A cognitive-developmental perspective on maps in children’s literature 17
  7. Chapter 2. Mapping the new citizen – Pedagogy of cartophobia 41
  8. Chapter 3. A subtle cartography 59
  9. Chapter 4. Metaphorical maps in picturebooks 75
  10. Part 2. Literary shaping of real cityscapes
  11. Chapter 5. Mapping a city – Berlin in a contemporary detective novel 95
  12. Chapter 6. “New York just like I pictured it – skyscrapers and everything”* 113
  13. Chapter 7. Itineraries and maps 129
  14. Chapter 8. Bruno Munari’s visual mapping of the city of Milan 147
  15. Part 3. Fictional seascapes and landscapes
  16. Chapter 9. “An island made of water quite surrounded by earth” 167
  17. Chapter 10. Connecting worlds 185
  18. Chapter 11. Mapping illusions 203
  19. Chapter 12. Mapping Middle Earth 221
  20. Chapter 13. Landscapes of growth, faith, and doubt 239
  21. About the editors and contributors 257
  22. Name index 263
  23. Subject index 265
https://doi.org/10.1075/clcc.7.02lib

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Table of figures vii
  4. Introduction. Maps and mapping in children’s literature 1
  5. Part 1. About mapping
  6. Chapter 1. A cognitive-developmental perspective on maps in children’s literature 17
  7. Chapter 2. Mapping the new citizen – Pedagogy of cartophobia 41
  8. Chapter 3. A subtle cartography 59
  9. Chapter 4. Metaphorical maps in picturebooks 75
  10. Part 2. Literary shaping of real cityscapes
  11. Chapter 5. Mapping a city – Berlin in a contemporary detective novel 95
  12. Chapter 6. “New York just like I pictured it – skyscrapers and everything”* 113
  13. Chapter 7. Itineraries and maps 129
  14. Chapter 8. Bruno Munari’s visual mapping of the city of Milan 147
  15. Part 3. Fictional seascapes and landscapes
  16. Chapter 9. “An island made of water quite surrounded by earth” 167
  17. Chapter 10. Connecting worlds 185
  18. Chapter 11. Mapping illusions 203
  19. Chapter 12. Mapping Middle Earth 221
  20. Chapter 13. Landscapes of growth, faith, and doubt 239
  21. About the editors and contributors 257
  22. Name index 263
  23. Subject index 265
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