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

by E. Andrew Martonyi, Ed Olson (Illustrator)

Learning all 50 U.S. states is easy when you learn from The Little Man In the Map!Asked by their teacher to find clues for memorizing the states, students begin to see images-a hat, a shirt, a pair of boots-formed by state boundaries. When they put some of them together, they're amazed to find the outline of a man standing in the middle of the map. Excited by their discovery, they draw a face and arms on him and create The Little Man In the Map, whom they nickname MIM. Their imaginations bring MIM alive, and with his help they discover the surprising roles all the states can play. Soon they can spot the elf, the playful dog, the spooky head, and all the others. This imaginatively illustrated story, narrated in rhyme by The Little Man In the Map, shows each state's part in its region and how it interacts with those around it. This makes learning their locations visual, easy, and fun.

Genres: Childrens, Geography

64 pages, Hardcover

First published July 7, 2007

About the author

E. Andrew Martonyi, author, public speaker, trainer, and businessman, has traveled the world to give seminars to thousands of people. His love of travel was tested early in youth when his family crossed the Atlantic to land at Ellis Island. As a young man he drove across the US, where the Rocky Mountains, the deserts and the Pacific Ocean made him fall in love with the West. He moved to California where he lived on a boat for a while, writing poems of love and adventure."

Reviews

[Peter Derk · Rating 1 out of 5]

The other day I was looking at children's books and thinking, "Hey, that would be a good way to learn some shit that I'm embarrassingly bad at. Such as science. And History. And Geography. And most of the things you were supposed to learn in school. The 3 R's, and I hear they've got some STEAM or condensation bullshit going on too."

So, I picked up this gem. No longer would Pete be confused about those damn northeastern states, the ones that they made WAY too small because they made them before we had cars (I assume. Again, DUMB!).

Well, I'm here to say I learned almost nothing. There was a weird elf guy, who was made out of states I already knew, and I feel like his memory tricks were reminiscent of Michael Scott's name remembering tricks.

Sad to say, I'm still dumb. But we'll see what comes up next.

[E. Andrew Martonyi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wrote this book with the sole purpose of trying to help change the lack of knowlege in this country about our own geography. This I believe is a fundamental knowlege all of us need to have. Knowing the name, shape, and location of every US state is the foundation that will help us learn more about US geography. My hope is that The Little Man In the Map - With Clues To Remember All 50 States, will take a subject matter that so many people find boring and laborious to remember, and make it fun and accessible to all, young or old.
I invite you to not take my word for it but to read the many reviews that are linked to my website www.Schoolsidepress.com
Also follow fun geographic facts at my blog http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Frog...
Andrew Martonyi

[Zachary]

The states

[Maria Menia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Little Man In the Map: With Clues To Remember All 50 States is a nonfiction picture book aimed toward older children from grades 5 and up. This book is about a “Little Man” made up of the states Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana who gives tips and clues to help the reader remember the 50 States names.
I chose this book because I struggle with remembering the names and location of the 50 states and was looking for a tool to my students learn them. I would use this book as the main focus of a geography lesson. First, I would give the students a large map of the US and have them try to find the “Little Man” in groups. Then we would read the book over the course of several days focusing on the tips/ hints to remember the states names and locations.

Reading grade level 5

[Jonas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a brilliant way for people to learn the states!

[K.L. Bernard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A group of students eager to learn have been given an assignment to learn the 50 states. They are literally puzzled by the pieces they must put together. One cool thing about this assignment is the teacher will give them clues that will be written in verse as a rhyme which will make learning the 50 states fun. One student picks up a piece of the puzzle laid out in front of them and it looks like a hat, it's Minnesota. Another student picks up a piece that looks like a boot, it's Louisiana. The students quickly pick out other pieces and before long there is a little man put together right in the middle. The students ban together and create a clue and a name for the states that make up the man. They laugh and smile, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana are creatively abbreviated into MinIow MisArkLou. The clue is then broken down even more to MIM, Man Inside the Map. Magically the man jumps out of the pages to help the students learn the rest of the 50 states.

Parents and teachers will love having this handy man and tool around. Fun rhymes that reference all the states that surround the man make learning the states fun and easy. Colorful pictures and creative design are very clever. Martonyi's and Olson have divided the states into regions. Each state has a picture clue of something that represents each state, such as elf's that guard the gold found in California. Alaska has old man winter representing the cold weather found in that state. The back of the book has a blank map so that children can create their own rhymes and fun ways to remember the states. This book is an excellent interactive tool that will help kids learn quickly. The book has won the Eric Hoffer Award, IPPY Award, Moonbeam Children's Book Award and was a finalist for the Book of the Year and Best Book Awards.

[Catherine Mustread · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd love to share this book about maps with my grandson -- he's only two but already says "Wow" when I show him maps! Adding some of the tips/verses/mnemonic reminders to the Waiting to be read blog.

[Louise Bendall · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the idea for this book more than the actual book. While I see the boot in Louisiana, I still don’t think Minnesota looks like a hat. Still, some of the clues were helpful.

[Sherri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read while teaching homeschool. What an AWESOME way for kids to learn where the states are!!

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great way to learn the 50 states!