How I love drawing the maps in the Dixie O’Day books. I imagine the reader following the drama as it unfolds, tracing the routes with a small finger – the reckless shortcuts in The Fast Lane, the cliff path down to choppy seas from the Hotel Splendide in The Great Diamond Robbery…
a map gives a story another layer of verisimilitude – it really happened, it happened here!
It satisfies the young reader in me, too. I studied the map in Winnie The Pooh so carefully, knowing every bush and footstep…
and as for Millie Molly Mandy, I wonder if anyone else walked countless times in their imagination along that lane from The Nice White Cottage, past The Blacksmith’s Forge, to buy a penny-worth of aniseed balls from Miss Muggins’ Shop?
This week I am drawing the maps for the fourth Dixie book. And not only that, I am working out how ALL the maps fit together, creating the greater Dixie world.
It is making my brain go quite squiggly and involves a lot of rubbing out, but I think it is really worth it.
To Didsworth – and beyond!
If you have a favourite map from a children’s book you’d like to share, I would love to hear.
Oh I love a book with a map in it! I’ve even been known to get a map,out when reading some of Iain Banks’ books as he describes the locations so accurately. The maps of Struay in the Katie Morag books are lovely and I have vague memories of one f my sisters having a book called Trouble for Trumpets with a great map, no idea if it’s still in print. I think it inspired to make my own maps.
Thanks so much Katherine for these! Ah yes Katie Morag, how could I have forgotten?
I have just been hearing about Trouble for Trumpets and looking at the artist’s website:
http://petercrossart.com
– I hadn’t seen it before, and now realise I was missing something special.
And I now have a very good image of you consulting the maps while reading the Iain Banks novels, as he must have done while writing them!
🙂 Thank you for linking to the Peter Cross website, I had no idea there were more Trumpets books, I must tell my mum.
I loved The Milly Molly Mandy maps, too. Thank you for the reminder about maps.