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Reviewed by Carma Dutra, Picture Book Reviewer for the National Writing for Children Center

Title: How I Learned Geography
Author and Illustrator: Uri Shulevitz
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) (April 1, 2008)
ISBN-10: 0374334994
ISBN-13: 978-0374334994

How I Learned Geography is Caldecott Medal winner, Uri Shulevitz’s, newest picture book. Uri Shulevitz draws on his memories of escaping from Poland to Turkestan during World War II.

Written as an autobiographical story of a time when he was four or five years of age, Shulevitz’s recount is touching and yet simple in its meaning. At first you may wonder how a picture book about war time can be suitable for young children. Aren’t picture books supposed to be lively, entertaining and educational? Yes, How I Learned Geography is no different. It serves up a powerful set of lessons about how a child deals with hunger, scarcity of basic necessities and poverty.

The first two pages are very stark. One is without pictures and the second shows three stark figures running on a gray colored ground and a red sky in the background. Yes the story is about survival and loss but in the end it is about redemption and freedom. The rest of the book has two page spreads with vivid color and cartoon type features. Shulevitz expertly weaves his story of hunger and poverty into a story of imagination and wonder that is learned from a map.

One day the boy’s father goes to the market to buy bread but comes home with nothing but a map. The boy and his mother are furious because they are hungry and now they have to listen to their neighbors eat loudly while they themselves go hungry.

“The next day, Father hung the map. It took up an entire wall. Our cheerless room was flooded with color.” Without ever leaving their dim room, the boy is transported to sandy beaches, snowcapped mountains and exotic places all over the world. He takes imaginary journeys far away from his hunger. “And so I spent enchanted hours far, far from our hunger and misery.”

How I Learned Geography is also a book with social studies content that young readers can understand. This is a valuable benefit teachers and parents will enjoy. The Author’s Note in the back of the book is directed at adults with a few more background details.

About the Author: In 1939, when Uri Shulevitz was just four years old, wartime turmoil forced his family to flee from their native Poland. They eventually settled in Paris in 1947, but left soon after for Israel, a country that Mr. Shulevitz would call home for the next ten years. After coming to New York City in 1959, he continued his education at the Brooklyn Museum Art School. Eventually, while looking for freelance work, he came in contact with an editor who encouraged him to write and illustrate his own children’s book. His first book, The Moon in My Room, was published in 1963.

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