How I Learned Geography

by Uri Shulevitz

Overview

Having fled from war in their troubled homeland, a boy and his family are living in poverty in a strange country. Food is scarce, so when the boy's father brings home a map instead of bread for supper, at first the boy is furious. But when the map is hung on the wall, it floods their cheerless room with color. As the boy studies its every detail, he is transported to exotic places without ever leaving the room, and he eventually comes to realize that the map feeds him in a way that bread never could.

The award-winning artist's most personal work to date is based on his childhood memories of World War II and features stunning illustrations that celebrate the power of imagination. An author's note includes a brief description of his family's experience, two of his early drawings, and the only surviving photograph of himself from that time.
How I Learned Geography is a 2009 Caldecott Honor Book and a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780374334994
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	04/01/2008
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	205,597
Product dimensions:	10.23(w) x 10.29(h) x 0.37(d)
Lexile:	AD660L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Uri Shulevitz is a Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator and author. He has written and illustrated many celebrated children's books, including the Caldecott Medal-winner The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship, written by Arthur Ransome. He has also earned three Caldecott Honors, for The Treasure, Snow, and How I Learned Geography.

Reading Group Guide

Author/illustrator Uri Shulevitz spent the early years of his life, from the age of four, wandering with his family, in search of a home. From war-torn Warsaw, Poland to the Central Asian city of
Turkestan in the Soviet Union to Paris, France to Tel Aviv, Israel, and finally to his permanent home in New York City.

Likewise, many of the characters in his books travel too. The Fool of the World sets off in search of a flying ship. The young boy in How I Learned Geography uses a map and his imagination to travel the world. Benjamin of Tudela journeys for fourteen years to the far reaches of the known world and back again to Spain. In The Treasure, Isaac travels great distances to the Royal Palace in search of a treasure that he finally finds under his own stove. And the young hero of When I Wore My
Sailor Suit sets off on an imaginary journey to distant lands as the captain of a sailing ship on both calm and storm tossed seas.

Opportunities abound for social studies curriculum connections as well as language arts (reading,
writing, and research) and visual art connections. Invite your students to join you on a journey of fun, learning, and imagination!

SOCIAL STUDIES: Mapping

Mapping a Course

Two of Uri Shulevitz's books include maps that are essential to the understanding of the story. Begin by sharing classroom maps, including those found in atlases. After students have studied several maps, brainstorm the definition of a map (a "picture" or graphic representation of some or all of the earth's surface, including bodies of water, using lines, symbols, color, and labels, and drawn to scale as one might see them from above) and its purpose, guiding students in their understanding.

Read How I Learned Geography and The Travels of Benjamin of Tudela aloud to your students. Discuss the similarities and differences in the map Shulevitz paints in each book, recording responses on a Venn diagram. Be sure to notice the geographic area pictured in each book as well as the labels, colors, and symbols each map employs.

Ask students to notice the ways in which the maps are similar. Then ask students to discuss why the maps are different. What purpose do the maps serve in each story?

Extension Activity: Using a document camera, project the image of one of the maps from How I Learned Geography onto a white board. Then, challenge students, using atlases or flat maps as references, to label each country pictured on the map.

A Map Makes the Adventure

As the narrator of How I Learned Geography studies the map his father hangs on the wall, he becomes fascinated by the places represented there and is transported to many imagined places. Challenge students to attach each of these imagined places to at least one place on the map pictured in the book. Note that the final illustration spread will help students to locate some of these places on a map of Asia:

Burning deserts Sandy beaches Snowy mountains with icy winds Wondrous temples with colorful birds on the roof Fruit groves with tropical fruits Fresh water streams flowing near palm trees Large city with tall buildings

LANGUAGE ARTS: Writing Literacy

What's in a Name?

The young narrator in How I Learned Geography falls in love with the exotic sounding names on the map his father brings home, and he makes a little rhyme out of them. Supply your students with a map or atlas of the area of the world, country, or state you are studying, and ask them to choose their favorite sounding place names from the list. Record these on the board or chart paper. Next,
challenge them to return to the map and find at least two pairs of names that rhyme, as Uri Shulevitz did. Then help them to create a four line place name rhyme in an aa-bb rhyming pattern. [Note: Introduce or revisit the concept of stressed and unstressed syllables that create the rhythm in poetry; revise your poem to ensure that it that scans properly.]

Sailing on the Wings of Imagination

In both How I Learned Geography and When I Wore My Sailor Suit Uri Shulevitz uses imagination as the vehicle of travel. Begin by reading both stories and asking students to discuss what the two books have in common. Once they have discovered that the main character/narrator in each book travels far away in his imagination, one by flying and one by sailing, invite students to answer these three questions:

Where would you like to travel? How would you like to get there (walk, drive, fly, sail, etc.)? What would you see when you got there?

When each student has determined the answers to the three questions, invite them to write about and illustrate their imagined journey using either the listing technique Shulevitz uses in How I Learned Geography or the narrative format he uses in When I Wore My Sailor Suit. [Note: For the youngest students, ask them to draw the pictures and then help them to scribe their text at the bottom of the page.]

Editorial Reviews

Fascinating.” —The Wall Street Journal

“It is a masterpiece.” —New York Times Book Review

“Shulevitz's simply worded text can be read to preschoolers, but it packs an emotional punch that will resonate with older children and even adults. The watercolor and ink illustrations add further depth as Shulevitz switches from a monochrome palette to a chorus of colors spotlighting how the map stirred his imagination.” —Washington Post Book World

“Caldecott Medal winner Uri Shulevitz's newest picture book, How I Learned Geography, is really a love story for the world. It belongs to the newly popular genre of memoir as picture book. Shulevitz handles his autobiographical material with grace and humor. . . . Shulevitz always puts character at the forefront of his work. The expressions and gestures of his characters are believable, human-scale, and tender, full of dreaming.” —The Boston Globe

“Lyrical watercolors depict . . . the power of imagination.” —The San Francisco Chronicle

“The essence of his tale lies in the power of imagination.” —The Sacramento Bee

“The story and its triumphant afterword demonstrate that Uri masters much more than geography; he realizes the importance of nurturing the soul.” —Starred, Publishers Weekly

“This poignant story can spark discussion about the power of the imagination to provide comfort in times of dire need.” —Starred, School Library Journal

“Whether enjoyed as a reflection of readers' own imaginative travels, or used as a creative entree to classroom geography units, this simple, poignant offering will transport children as surely as the map it celebrates.” —Starred, Booklist

“Signature watercolor illustrations contrast the stark misery of refugee life with the boundless joys of the imagination.” —Kirkus Reviews

“This is a wonderful tale and a timely message of hope.” —Ellen Scott, The Bookworm, Omaha, NE

“A tribute to the power of wide imaginative horizons, this gains impact from its basis in Shulevitz's own experiences, which give it reality beyond mere wishful thinking.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

“This is a natural pair with Peter Sis's The Wall for its depiction of a gifted young artist finding inspiration and expressing himself despite profoundly daunting circumstances.” —The Horn Book

“This simple, poignant offering will transport children as surely as the map it celebrates.” —Book Links

From the Publisher