This is a beautifully written and illustrated book about a young Hmong girl's experiences in her home and neighborhood. You get a glimpse into what her life is like as a Hmong immigrant experiencing Minnesota seasons and also as a big sister to a new baby, and finally as a caring neighbor who tries to help an elderly neighbor who loses his wife. This would make a wonderful picture book to accompany a unit study of Hmong people, immigration, story cloths, seasons, new babies and nature study, and it's also just a sweet story with lovely artwork.

My rating system:

1 = hated it
2 = it was okay
3 = liked it
4 = really liked it
5 = love it, plan to purchase, and/or would buy it again if it was lost

I read a temporary digital ARC of the book for the purpose of review.

In this sensitively written, descriptive book, a young Hmong girl learns more about the world around her—her new home, her new twin brothers, and her elderly neighbors. The gilt incorporates each new detail into her understanding of the world, making connections between the various pieces. When the wife of an elderly couple dies, she reaches out to him and also connects him, too, to the world. Gentle, detailed, loving illustrations beautifully complement this book. A wonderful book for reading and discussing.

Wow. This is a lovely book. The text has a slow, thoughtful pace. It fits the story, and the writing is beautiful. It's a thoughtful book, perfect for further conversations with children. The little girl experiences life in a new house, with new baby brothers, and new neighbors, then the death of one of those neighbors. She has a big heart and wants to share the world with her baby brothers (with frequent "they're not big enough yet" reminders from her mother - quite realistic). She also wants to reach out to her neighbor whose wife died, and does so in a simple child's way, which is both beautiful and realistic, too.

While this book doesn't make direct statements about moving, birth, and death, it is a simple story that will allow adults to carry this conversation in any or all of those directions. The story is also about a Hmong family, and mentions a quilt showing the Hmong people's travels to America. While the book doesn't elaborate (which would have been nice, esp in an author's note, but maybe too long for this book), it can also be a starting point for talking about different cultures and what it may be like to move to a different place.

Pronunciations and definitions for a few Hmong words are also included (I love when pronunciations and definitions are included!).

A sad but heartwarming story about life and death, and the big and small ways in which life is always changing. The book follows a Hmong family that's just moved to a new place over the course of a year through the birth of twin boys, the changing of the seasons, and the death of a neighbor.

I loved the illustrations, and how perfectly they went with the story. Both the illustrations and words are very emotive, and make the book surprisingly impactful. I'll definitely be adding this book to my classroom library, and my son's library as well.

I loved this story of family, friendship and caring for one another. There was a thread of empathy tied into the Korean culture and I loved it. I love the thread of the importance of intergenerational relationships and bonds that are often over looked in America.

A beautifully illustrated Children's Picture book, but a kind of depressing story to be honest. Yes, children need to learn about grief at some point but I don't know if A Map Into the World quite got it's point across. And anytime the little girl tried to help or do something thoughtful she was told no or not right now. *sigh* I do like the significance of differences and ages Incorporated into the story.

This was a fantastically sweet story. I have not read many picture books lately, but this one was honestly adorable. I loved the illustrations as they really made the story come alive. The pictures were beautiful and went along with such a sweet and wonderful story. It was so interesting to see the point of view from a little girl of losing someone who you really didn't know, but seems to always be there for you. It was also interesting to see a child reacting to her new sibling. This book was able to weave those stories perfectly together and I think any fans of picture books will like this one.

Such a beautiful cover and title! The story itself was ok I suppose, but really rather boring and oddly written. I found myself a bit sad and frustrated with it by the end and that's not really a way I want to feel with a kids book.

This is a beautiful book. It tells the story of a Hmong family. They have emigrated to the U.S. and are living in a new community. This book follows the daughter of the family over many months. During this time, she gets to meet her elderly neighbors, welcomes twin brothers, spends time outdoors, watches the seasons change and offers comfort to an older man in a time of loss. I think that readers will be touched as they learn about and see the map into the world. This book is lyrically, charmingly and beautifully illustrated. The author and illustrator seem to have worked together seamlessly. All in all, a wonderful book.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this touching book. All opinions are my own.

Of note is that the book is about a Hmong family. This group emigrated to the U.S. after the Vietnamese War. I highly recommend the book for adults The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. My earlier review is below:

Product DetailsI am reading this nonfiction title for an undergraduate class, Religion and Healing. This book offers a profound look at the culture, practices and beliefs of the Hmong people and how these clash with Western medicine when the Lee’s daughter, Lia, is found to have epilepsy (in Hmong culture, the title of the book is the Hmong word for this condition.) This book is enlightening and heartbreaking. In our current political climate, it offers a poignant reminder of the importance of learning about other’s belief systems without judging. Recommended for all readers but especially for those in the “helping” professions.

This is a beautifully written and beautifully illustrated picture book. Yang's language and descriptions are wonderful. She intertwines birth and death, love and the seasons into a story that ends with hope. I would love to read this quiet, meaningful, and hopeful story to my students.

Thanks to Netgalley for the Advanced Reading Copy. I look forward to purchasing a copy for my classroom!

#netgalley #amapintotheworld

ARC provided by Netgalley

This lovely picture book is beautifully written and illustrated. It is a story of family and friendship that also touches on grief and loss.in a way that is perfectly age-appropriate for young children. Seasons change, children grow, and our young narrator deals with big changes, but her resilience and empathy, and the boundless love she shares with her family shine through on every page. This is a book that works for a family looking for stories about immigration, or for hopeful stories about loss, but it is also just a beautiful, quiet picture book for any family to read.

A Hmong family moves into a house across the street from an elderly white couple, who they make friends with. But when the wife of the elderly couple dies, the little girl, Paj Ntaub, tries to think of what she can do to help her neighbor feel better.

Paj Ntaub also means the embroidery that makes the story clothes that tells the story of the Hmong people.

This gives you an idea of how the little girl solves the problem of making the neighbor realize that he can come to them for anything. She takes her chalk and draws a map into the world for Bob, so he knows he can always come to them for whatever they wanted.

<img src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/a-map-into-the-world-1.png" alt=" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5302" />

<img src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/a-map-into-the-world.png" alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5301" />

Lovely quiet book about friendship and love.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

A sweet book for elementary school students, however I would have liked to see more info on the Hmong people as that is how it was represented in the description. It's still a lovely story.