As the Crow Flies: A First Book of Maps

by Gail Hartman, Harvey Stevenson (Illustrator)

Maps -- they help you get where you want to go. People use road maps to find their way. These maps show miles of highways that point out the right direction. But what about the crow? What kind of map does he use? Or the eagle, the rabbit, the horse, and the sea gull? What's on their maps?

Genres: Geography, Picture Books, Animals, Maps, Childrens, Nonfiction, Travel

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[J9 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book recommended to us to accompany our history geography lesson and all the children loved it, especially my 5 yr old. With studying maps of the world lately, this coincides nicely with the lessons, giving a different sort of look at creating maps, from an animals point of view. From a crow to a seagull, it takes about their different flight paths and then creates a map for each one based on where they went. Wonderful to follow along with, even my 3 yr old twins got a kick out of tracing the path of the animals on their maps. Wonderful book!

[Tatiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title sums up this book nicely. The crow flies over various areas, from the county to the sea, with each section detailing maps of individual animals' homes. Then all the small maps are collected into a big map of the community, showing how different areas and creatures can create a functioning society. I was going to use this in my second grade community unit, but it ended up not working itself in.

[Julianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of basic. Good for different perspectives, and for introducing map concept.

[Ms. B · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's exactly what it says it is, a first book of maps. I am sure it was more relevant when it was first published in 1991. Very, very basic.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a very simple introduction to maps. It would be good for very little readers and learners or people who really like birds. We have read a lot of good map books, however. So, this one was a little too basic for us. Some others that we really enjoyed are Mapping Penny's World, The Treasure of Pirate Frank and Me on the Map.

[Ardyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son (4yo) is loving this one.

It's not a book whose primary enjoyment is in the reading - there's very little text, actually.

But reading isn't its objective... this book is about maps. What does Eagle see in his corner of the world? Rabbit? Horse?

Each animal has three pages showing us what he sees, and then a personal map.

The joy of this little book comes in examining the pictures, tracing the routes with your finger, and in learning how they all come together to form The Big Map.

Really fun. Really stimulates conversation. Don't read it when you want to practice listening quietly. ;)

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good way to introduce maps to young readers. Each animal - the eagle, the rabbit, the crow, the horse, the sea gull - map their own favourite route. At the end the reader gets to see the whole picture.

[Whitney Leanhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the Crow Flies is a great book for children to learn more places around them and vocabulary they aren't as use to using. It talks about the many routes animals take and it overall shows a map of all the destinations.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A real cool book about maps based on what character: crow, rabbit, eagle , horse, gull. Then it is put all together into one big amp at the end. Children would really like this book. They could draw their own maps

[Dalton Prather · Rating 5 out of 5]

The maps in the book are awesome! I loved seeing where the animals lived and exploring the maps!

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marvelous illustrations!

[IUS F19 Katelyn Butler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good "first maps" book of detailed illustrations that show the paths of different animals.

[Jenny Hartfelder · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent introduction to the concept of different types of maps and how each of us only sees a small part of our world, but a complete map gives us a full picture.

#passportaroundtheworld #1stgrade

[Becca Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite book but I think the concept is very neat and creative!

[Nola Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great simple book on maps. It lists various animals, and shows the route they take to get somewhere. First, the book takes us step by step down the path - we leave the mountains, go down the stream, through the meadow, and arrive at the tree. Each of these steps is seperately illustrated, and described by very simple and understandable words. On the next page, a map of the entire route is shown; it is a picture map and does not use symbols. At the end of the book, all of the maps are combined.

I like the illustrations used in this book. They are colorful, and vary in location - the country, the farm, the city, the ocean. Each map puts its animal at the border, which is kind of neat. The descriptions are simple and appeal to preschool kids. It also provides a basic understanding of what a map does, without being in-your-face point-blank. It is very visual.

My 3 year old really enjoyed this book, and so did my older kids. I thought it was a lot of fun, as well as educational.

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish As the Crow Flies were only a bit more stylish, because it's great. Such a simple, subtle way to introduce the concept of maps. I think this should be read to children starting at 3-years-old. Having a concept of map-reading is not only useful when it comes to maps -- it's all about spatial intelligence! Geographical knowledge is such an important foundation for so much else, and simply understanding what maps are is the very beginning.

[Friend of Pixie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very simple, with each double-page spread showing a map from a particular animal's perspective. The eagle's map goes along a river from mountain to meadow to a tall tree. Rabbit's map goes from burrow to vegetable garden. I like this introduction to the idea that a map tells us as much about geography as it does about the map maker. We map what is important to us.

[Joanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book that introduces geography to primary students. This book also introduces new vocabulary words through bright illustrations and vivid verbs. Students will also understand how to read maps and learn about cardinal directions. It is also a creative way to have students create their own maps.

[Carla Raymer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be a good book when introducing what a map is. It goes through many different maps with visuals so that the kids can follow it. It was a bit confusing to read the first time through bit I sort of got the point at the end. I would definitely have to break it up and make sure to pause and explain a little further.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the Crow Flies is a wonderful introduction to map-making for preschool-aged children. It's purposeful (maps show how to get from point A to point B) and show maps as representations of physical space without being too abstract. It also encourages perspective-taking, which is not an easy task for young children. I have found it to be a helpful addition to our classroom library.

[Justine Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a map book that views books in the perspective of different animals. For example, the rabbit has a map of a farm, a police horse has a map of the city, an eagle has a map of the wild, and ect. At the end it shows the moon's version of a map, and it puts all the maps together. I like this because it shows that maps can be of different things, not just a city or an atlas.

[Karissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to use when studying maps. It is on a lower elementary grade level, however it could be used for all grades! This is a great book to integrate social studies into language arts!

[Katharine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great simple book. No technical information. Very simple - the eagle flies from mountain, past a stream, to a tree. Then shows the path. Then a crow, then a gull, etc. Ends with the moon and combines all the animal's "maps" to show the path the moon took as it rose.

[Bailee Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a good book for younger children to read to get acquainted with the concept of maps. It incorporates animals and their homes as well. This would be good to have a discussion over if you are starting a unit on maps.

[Paula Hollohan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great for grade 1 investigation of maps and your community. I like that all the maps come together in the end. I would have liked to see the bird's map more from "bird's eye view," but still a great buy for the grade 1 classroom. K-4

[Lillie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite part: When they put ALL the maps together! It was really cool!

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

My son loves maps and this is a good, simple picture book introduction to what a map tells us.

[Robert W.]

This book shows a day in the life of a crow; showing the reader everywhere the crow travels using illustrated picture maps that keep it simple enough for children to understand.

[Joann Park · Rating 5 out of 5]

The crow flies over parts of the community. This is a great book that teaches map skills and community maps.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very basic introduction to maps and vocabulary. Great to use with young children.