Cat, Daf and the Map

Catrin and Dafydd are staying with their aunt and uncle on Maes Plwm farm. After Uncle Harri directs a lost lorry driver to Wern-las farm, Cat and Daf plan a journey to Wern-las using Aunty Gwen's OS map. As we follow their journey on each page, sights of interest are noted, and a fragment of map shows the way. An entertaining story that teaches young readers how to read maps.

Review :
What do you need for a journey in an unfamiliar place? Nowadays, many would automatically reach for technology but as is shown here, a map and the knowledge to read it not only indicates the way but reveals much more. In an era of satnavs and apps, Sin Lewis and Peter Stevenson have produced a book suitable for juniors and even interested adults, which makes clear that there is more than one means of finding your way from A to B. Little could be better for a young brother and sister from the city than a summer holiday in rural Wales with their aunt and uncle. Catrin and Dafydd are used to noise and bustle at home, but an unexpected din disturbs their peaceful breakfast at Maes Plwm Farm when a lorry driver slavishly tries to follow his satnav along the lane outside. Having redirected yet another driver to a suitable route to the small town of Wern-las, Uncle Harri, Cat and Daf pack a drink and snack and use an Ordnance Survey map and its symbols on a cross-country ramble to the lorry's destination, following lanes and paths. On the way, by matching symbols with natural and man-made features on the map and overview drawings, the geography of the area is revealed its topography, geology etc but also its rich social and industrial history; past and present co-exist. The map and commentary picture book is not a new idea but a homage to the creations of the late former airman Ronald Lampitt, whose mid twentieth-century illustrated works with text by Henry James Deveson are available to see on-line. What Sin Lewis and Peter Stevenson have done is to revive and bring the concept up to date to produce what is a rich, enjoyable and educating experience for contemporary readers. The text is clear and readable whilst being informative as it tells the family story. The graphics follow the pattern of the original work, with extracts from the linear map matching the bird's eye view double page spreads, but this is no pale imitation. As well as following the plot with its many encounters and discoveries, legends, industrial heritage and so on, youngsters will have fun matching symbols with real features which they can see, and also following the visual tales of country life, soaring wildlife, escaping farmyard creatures pursued by their owners, rural traffic, hangliders, walkers and the like. Whilst Cat,Daf and the Map highlights the possible weaknesses of drivers using technology and in rural areas in particular it also serves to show the practicality of map reading skills and the richness of Ordnance Survey maps. If you are aged eight to eighty and have ever been mystified by maps, this is the book for you: it should find its way to many a school and home bookshelf! Lorna Herbert Egan It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgment should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council. Gellir defnyddior adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatd Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru. -- Welsh Books Council