How I Learned Geography

Author: Uri Shulevitz
This is an autobiographical story where Shulevitz describes his early childhood in Turkestan. When war forces his family to leave their home and seek safety in a distant land, they have no food or books and live in a single room with a dirt floor. His father decides to spend what little money they have on a map of the world instead of on food. Young Uri and his mother are initially furious; they have nothing to eat. But when the father hangs the map on the wall, “Our cheerless room was flooded with color.” Exotic place names inspire visions of mountains, cities, temples and deserts. Uri’s fantasies allow him to spend “enchanted hours far, far from hunger and misery” and forgive his father. Whimsical pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations show the places in his imagination coming to life as he flies over continents, picturing what they would be like. This beautiful book is ideal to spark any discussion about the power of imagination.

Year Released: 2008
Grades K-3