Or: how this 4YO learned world geography from monsters and ghosts
T loves monsters. This has led him to learn world geography. How? Through sheer repetition. Can you read Pete the Cat with your eyes closed or rattle off what the Very Hungry Caterpillar ate each day? Repetition leads to memorization. That is what has been happening with T as we've been reading spooky stories and playing a "monster hunt" game. We repeat the same stories over and over, find the monsters' homes on the map over and over, and cannot help but learn the oceans, continents, and countries.
If your child is even half as wild about monsters and mythology as T is, I have no doubt they will love learning world geography this way.
T and I play a game in which we hunt monsters; you could be as elaborate or as simple as you like. Some days we are elaborate (crafting monsters and then letting them crawl all over the map to find their proper homes), and other days we just match the creature to the ocean. Sometimes we start with a continent, sometimes with a country, and sometimes with a monster. We pore through the anthologies to find what we are looking for, then locate that area on the big map. Each day, we review the names and locations of the oceans. As we have "hunted" the different monsters in each country and on each continent, I add those locations to our review the next day. T delights in this game.
We reference three books in our adventure. I recommend all of them.
Atlas of Monsters and Ghosts
By Federica Magrin and Laura Brenlla
Published by Lonely Planet Kids
This book inspired our game. The premise is that readers join Van Helsing as they hunt monsters across the globe. The book is divided geographically, with a handful of monsters from each continent. Monsters' descriptions include not only traits, but how readers can defeat each monster. Some monsters have two-page spreads with more in-depth information. You can hop around or read it straight through, hunting alongside Van Helsing. T wanted me to read it straight through. When I had to take breaks between continents to rest my voice, he was not pleased.
What I particularly liked about Atlas of Monsters and Ghosts was that we were introduced to monsters we had not come across before (and T has checked every monster book out of our local library). This is an excellent book for all ages.
What T loves about this book:
I love that it has a section, separate from all the sections, for sea monsters and for ghosts of famous figures. I love that it has different scraps of information on each page, not just like one on each page, but more than one on each page.
I love that it has a section, separate from all the sections, for sea monsters and for ghosts of famous figures. I love that it has different scraps of information on each page, not just like one on each page, but more than one on each page.
A World Full of Spooky Stories: 50 Tales to Make Your Spine Tingle
By Angela McAllister and Madalina Andronic
Published by Frances Lincoln Children's Books
These stories are grouped thematically, with the country of origin noted. Each story is beautifully illustrated and narrated, and only a page or two long; this makes for pleasant reading aloud and enjoyable listening. The stories are easy to follow and have just enough of a scare-factor to thrill a young audience. (The only story T finds "too scary" is "Hansel and Gretel.") Most of them we did not know, but some were recognizable. Because A World Full of Spooky Stories is organized by theme (graveyards, castles, farms, oceans, etc.), it provided a bit of an extra challenge when "hunting" in a particular country. For example, we might read an Irish story, find Ireland on the map, and then check the table of contents for more stories set in Ireland. Then we'd flip over to the two atlases and see what we could find for the Emerald Isle. What I like particularly about A World Full of Spooky Stories is how much ground McAllister covers and how well she narrates foreign tales for an American audience.
These stories are grouped thematically, with the country of origin noted. Each story is beautifully illustrated and narrated, and only a page or two long; this makes for pleasant reading aloud and enjoyable listening. The stories are easy to follow and have just enough of a scare-factor to thrill a young audience. (The only story T finds "too scary" is "Hansel and Gretel.") Most of them we did not know, but some were recognizable. Because A World Full of Spooky Stories is organized by theme (graveyards, castles, farms, oceans, etc.), it provided a bit of an extra challenge when "hunting" in a particular country. For example, we might read an Irish story, find Ireland on the map, and then check the table of contents for more stories set in Ireland. Then we'd flip over to the two atlases and see what we could find for the Emerald Isle. What I like particularly about A World Full of Spooky Stories is how much ground McAllister covers and how well she narrates foreign tales for an American audience.
What T loves about this book:
I love spooky stories. I love that the girl becomes friends with the monster and he turns back into a good person [in "The Girl and the Chenoo"]. I'm glad there's not a scary story that's scarier than Baba Yaga and scarier than "Hansel and Gretel."
The Atlas of Monsters
We had used this as a springboard into traditional literature (see my article about that here). We pulled it out again as our game took shape. (To be honest, though, it's often out since T is monster-crazy.) The premise of this atlas is that it was recently "discovered" and the reader has to solve a mystery contained in the cartographer's margin notes. Regional maps depict the monsters, accompanied by numbers. The following page lists and describes the monsters by number. You can read it straight through, seeking out the clues, or hop around like we did. Older readers will enjoy the mystery and the monsters, while younger readers will enjoy the novelty of monster maps.
T's takeaway from them all:
I like the different relations to Nessie in all the different books.
I love spooky stories. I love that the girl becomes friends with the monster and he turns back into a good person [in "The Girl and the Chenoo"]. I'm glad there's not a scary story that's scarier than Baba Yaga and scarier than "Hansel and Gretel."
The Atlas of Monsters
By Sandra Lawrence and Stuart Hill
Published by Running Press Kids
We had used this as a springboard into traditional literature (see my article about that here). We pulled it out again as our game took shape. (To be honest, though, it's often out since T is monster-crazy.) The premise of this atlas is that it was recently "discovered" and the reader has to solve a mystery contained in the cartographer's margin notes. Regional maps depict the monsters, accompanied by numbers. The following page lists and describes the monsters by number. You can read it straight through, seeking out the clues, or hop around like we did. Older readers will enjoy the mystery and the monsters, while younger readers will enjoy the novelty of monster maps.
What T loves about this book:
The legendary things. The legends.
T's takeaway from them all:
I like the different relations to Nessie in all the different books.
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Note:
Publishers provided review copies upon request in exchange for an honest review.
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