Mr. Jayson is teaching the class about maps and and all of the components that goes along with reading and understanding maps. Lisa learns about making an appropriate title for a map, and all about the symbols and what a scale is used for. What a great idea for children to learn to read and understand scale and distance! I thought this was a great Idea. I didn't like the story of her dog penny personally but I do believe it's a great Idea to draw a 3rd grader into the story while teaching them all about maps. Great math tool as well. I found that the illustrations were very attractive in that they were clear and precise. ( )

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Lisa's class is learning how to make maps. The teacher says they can make maps of anyplace, so Lisa starts with her bedroom. She includes all the things that people will need to read the map, such as a scale and a key to the symbols she has used.

Her dog, Penny, helps with the map. This gives Lisa an idea: Why not map Penny's world? Making maps is so much fun that Lisa and Penny decide to visit some of the exotic places that they've drawn-but they won't forget to take a map along! (review from Amazon)

Lesson: What is a Map?

When Lisa's class turns to map-making, the young girl decides that, in addition to mapping her own bedroom, as part of her school assignment, she will also map some of the places frequented by her beloved Boston terrier, Penny. From that oh-so-convenient dumping ground for canine treasures (bones, squeaky toys, purloined shoes) that is also known as the front and back yard, to nearby Meridian Park, with its spaces for running and romping, Lisa captures Penny's world, creating clearly-labeled and well-organized maps that convey all the important and necessary information.

One of those books that I like more in concept, than in actuality, Mapping Penny's World is a low three-star title for me. The 'story,' such as it is, wasn't particularly engaging, and while I like the idea of mapping one's world, the execution just didn't interest me that much. Leedy's illustrations, created digitally, were no more appealing than the text, and struck me as rather flat and dull. The image of Penny peering into a fish-tank, superimposed on an image of Lisa's bedroom, seemed particularly poorly done, as if the artist had accidentally stuck part of one scene onto another. This seems to be very well liked by other online reviewers, so take my own view with a grain of salt, but this was only a so-so book for me. ( )