The Mapmaker's Daughter

by M.C. Helldorfer, Jonathan Hunt (Illustrator)

Suchen, the daughter of a mapmaker, goes on a journey through an enchanted land to find the king's son

Genres: Picture Books, Fantasy, Fairy Tales

40 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 1991

About the author

Mary-Claire Helldorfer has written numerous books for children and young adults. She lives in Baltimore, MD.

She also writes under the pseudonym of Elizabeth Chandler.

Reviews

[Julie Barrett]

The mapmaker's daughter by Helldorfer_ Mary-Claire
She was raised hearing of the tales of the witches in a far away land. She wants to go there and chart out the paths.
When the king comes to demand they be locked up the king grants her permission to go find his son...
She tries to get across the waters but they say she's too heavy. She drops some items but she's still too heavy.
She tries many different means of travel to no avail. She even tears the charted sheet of paper...
Even the lock of hair from her father is tossed aside...
The witch gives her a golden rope and she and the prince run for their lives. Reminds me of fantasy fables.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

[Dianna]

Suchen is the mapmaker's daughter. The prince secretly purchases a map to Turnings from her, but the king comes to arrest Suchen and her father the next day, because all explorers to Turnings disappear. Suchen volunteers to go after the prince and bring him back. I have to admit that the story fell a bit flat for me, but the illustrations more than made up for it.

[Michael Fitzgerald]

Story is unsatisfying and the pictures don't seem to fit the story well.

[David]

Lovely illustrations. The story is fine in concept, but the telling is a bit rough. Some key moments, especially the climax, are not clearly described in text or the pictures, leaving children very confused as to what has happened and why. If you're reading it to children, you should read the story beforehand because you may have to explain or elaborate the text in some places. The climax in particular was disappointing; it was not well foreshadowed, it was clumsily described, it did not seem to follow logically or even thematically from what came before, and it just felt arbitrary. The story's main goal seems to be to show a girl being a fairy tale adventurer, which is great, but it fails to give her an interesting personality, purpose, or way to interact with her world. She just kind of "is" whatever the story wants her to be.

There's nothing offensive in the story. It's fine to let your child read it and to admire the illustrations yourself. I'm glad I checked it out. It just won't stay around as a classic for me.

[Melanie Gaum]

I loved the writing style and illustrations. The climax was rather confusing, but I like that there wasn't any forced romance.

[Katie]

A very refreshing tale with both a lyrical narrative and evocative illustrations reminiscent of Persian and Turkish art. A mature heroine whose yearning for adventure is healthy. She has admirable qualities that are a positive to many children, able to rely on others, face opposition with both determination and grace, and make sacrifices to complete her task. Highly recommended.

[EchoHouseLibrary]

A magical fairy tale where the girls gets another adventure rather than marrying the prince. Good story but fabulous, evocative illustrations!

[The Brothers]

This is a good, old-fashioned fairy tale involving journeys, and transformations, and rescues, and witches.

Illustrations are good.