A Map into the World

"Filled with wonder and sorrow and happiness." —Alison McGhee, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Someday

A heartfelt story of a young girl seeking beauty and connection in a busy world.

As the seasons change, so too does a young Hmong girl's world. She moves into a new home with her family and encounters both birth and death. As this curious girl explores life inside her house and beyond, she collects bits of the natural world. But who are her treasures for?

A moving picture book debut from acclaimed Hmong American author Kao Kalia Yang.

"Full of heart. And hope. This is exactly the kind of book I want to read to my daughter, and I wish I could hand a copy to every kid. Powerful, beautiful, and transcendent."—Newbery medalist and New York Times bestselling author Matt de la Peña

"With the clear, careful, and beautiful language we've come to expect from her, Kao Kalia Yang unfurls her first children's book, a journey waiting to reward our every step. This sad but heartening work reminds us how important it is that we care for our neighbors, and in so doing, we may discover we are not so different—a message that our children need now, more than ever."—Bao Phi, author of A Different Pond

"A young Hmong girl settles into her new home, and as the seasons change, so does the world around her. A Map Into the World is a beautiful and hopeful story about love and loss, family and friendship, and it belongs in every reader's hands."—Sarah Park Dahlen, Associate Professor in the MLIS Program at St. Catherine

“"Yang (The Song Poet for adults), a Hmong writer making her picture book debut, offers a story about a girl who notices things. Young Paj Ntaub (both a girl's name and a term that nods to needlework tellings of Hmong experiences) moves with her family to a green house and helps to hang their story cloth 'about how the Hmong got to America' on the wall. When her twin baby brothers cry too loudly, her father takes her outside, where they wave to their elderly neighbors, Bob and Ruth. In lovingly detailed spreads, Kim, making her U.S. debut, draws all the things that Paj Ntaub sees: gingko leaves ('yellow like apricots'), winter snow, a worm. When Ruth dies in the winter, and Paj Ntaub notices Bob grieving come spring, she chalks a wealth of previously regarded details on his driveway--'a map into the world,' she explains. Though age separates them, Paj Ntaub's accounting of everyday details reaches Bob--and gives voice to the child's experience, too. A distinctive story that weaves together threads of family life, community and culture, the natural world, and the power of stories."--starred, Publishers Weekly”

"A distinctive story that weaves together threads of family life, community and culture, the natural world, and the power of stories."—starred, Publishers Weekly

Kao Kalia Yang is a Hmong American writer, teacher and public speaker. Born in the refugee camps of Thailand to a family that escaped the genocide of the Secret War in Laos, she came to America at the age six. Yang holds degrees from Carleton College and Columbia University. Her work has won numerous awards and recognition including multiple Minnesota Book Awards, a Charlotte Zolotow Honor, an ALA Notable Children's Book Award, the 2023 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, Dayton's Literary Peace Prize, and a PEN USA Award in Nonfiction. Seo Kim received her MFA in Illustration Practice from Maryland Institute College of Art. A South Korean native, she divides her time between Busan and Baltimore. Seo lives with her family in Baltimore, Maryland, where she teaches illustration at Towson University.

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