The Scary Places Map Book

Title: The Scary Places Map Book: Seven Terrifying Tours

Author: B.G. Hennessy

Illustrator: Erwin Madrid

Publisher: Candlewick
Publication Date: July, 2012
Genre/Format: Fantasy/Map Collection

Goodreads Summary: Grab a flashlight for an after-dark exploration of seven very scary places. Giggles and goose bumps are in store!

     Take a tour of seven spooky places, among them the Wicked Woods, a Ghostly Galleon, and the Western Terror-tories. Along the way, avoid booby traps, search for hidden objects, and learn basic map reading skills! A map key, items to look for, and points of interest, such as Dracula’s Castle and Dr. Frankenstein’s laboratory, are included for each eerie region. Tips for touring (never take the Transylvania tour during a full moon) add to the fun. Kids who love to mix the ghoulish with the humorous will pore over the atmospheric pictures time and again, transported to strange, mysterious, very scary places.

What Kellee Thinks: This book tells you seven stories through an interactive tour of a map. Each map has a different theme and starts with an introductory story. 

     While reading, I thought of so many different ways that this book could be utilized in a classroom:

     First, the book teaches map skills because it has a key and directs the reader to different sections of the map by using the grid system and the scale. 

     Second, the setting of each map would be a great jumping off point to writing a story.

     Third, many of the settings are based off of books or history and would be easy to connect to novels. For example, the first map is "The Ghostly Galleon Cruise of the Seven Seas" which could be connected with the Young Jack Sparrow books. "Land of Mythical Monsters" is set in Greece so could connect to mythology and any book like The Lightning Thief. "Roundup of the Western Terror-tories" to The Case of the Deadly Desperados, "Tour of the Wicked Woods and Witchfield Village" to Tales of Dark and Grimm, "Trip Through Transylvania" to Dracula Doesn't Drink Lemonade, "Sleepwalking Tour of Nightmare House" to All the Lovely Bad Ones, and "Museum of Haunted Objects" to The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. 

     I am sure there are even more ways I am going to keep thinking about it. I, personally, cannot wait to use this in my classroom. (I also found out there is a facebook page for the book where teachers and the author can share their ideas- https://www.facebook.com/ScaryPlacesMapBook)

What Jen Thinks: I am not a huge fan of scary books...but I have known soooooo many kids who are! Lots of kids, especially boys in my experience, although not all, enjoy scary, creepy, spooky books. I've read books by Mary Downing Hahn and Lois Duncan and that's about as scary as I can handle. This book, while scary, is actually very interactive and fun so I wasn't so distraught over the scariness. Like Kellee explains, it helps kids practice map skills in a very fun and engaging way. It also helps brings the time periods or stories to life. Visualizing is something that I have really developed as I have read more and more and more. It was really cool to have a visual of even a place like where pirate ships sail...I love Pirates of the Caribbean but I so couldn't have drawn you a map of all the place in the movie. This book gave me such a great visual!

Read Together: Grades K to 9

Read Alone: Grades 3 to 8

Read With: Lightning Thief (series) by Rick Riordan, Dracula Doesn't Drink Lemonade by Debbie Dadey, All the Lovely Bad Ones (and others) by Marry Downing Hahn, The Case of the Deadly Desperados by Caroline Lawrence, A Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz, The Coming Storm (series) by Rob Kidd, The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, Stranger With My Face(and other books) by Lois Duncan, Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride

Snatch of Text: "Land of Mythical Monsters: Who better to lead a tour through the birthplace of the foulest, ugliest, and fiercest monsters of all time than Hercules, a legend himself. This tour is for experts only. Pack your best hiking shoes and sunscreen. Mighty Hercules will meet you at Athena's Temple. You will trek through snowcapped mountains, sail to the sunny island of Crete, and hike back to the dark door to the Underworld. Test your skills and see if you can make it through the Minotaur's famous labyrinth." (p. 7)
Mentor Text for: Narrative, Making connections, Map skills, Setting, Characterization

Writing Prompts: Using one of the maps in the Scary Places Map Book to be the setting of a narrative that you write. Challenge yourself and try to include at least 5 of the events or characters mentioned in the map. 

Topics Covered: Integration - Geography - Map Skills, Folklore, Pirates, Ghosts, Mythology

Kellee and Jen *heart* It:

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