I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The illustrations in this book were gorgeous. The book is sweet and covers some tough subjects for kids: new siblings and death of someone they know. Not too long that a child won't sit and listen.

A lovely book, showing a year in the life of a young Hmong girl whose family has just moved into a new house. Paj Ntaub notices all sorts of wonderful things about her new home- vegetables and flowers growing in the garden, leaves blown off the trees, worms ans snails (which she's not allowed to bring inside the house to show to her new twin brothers), and an old couple living across the street that she likes to wave to. Over the winter, the old woman, Ruth, dies, and when spring comes, she sees that Bob is sad. She talks to her mother, and they go over to visit Bob. While her mother and Bob talk, Paj Ntaub uses chalk to draw pictures on Bob's driveway, a map to help him find his way back into the world. The back cover flap reveals this is based on the author's own life- she is the mother in the story, her daughter the one that drew the map for Bob (to whom the book is dedicated). It's a sweet, quiet story, and the gorgeous, detailed illustrations perfectly compliment the text.

#AmapIntoTheWorld #NetGalley

A lovely, contemplative, insightful picture book with an inherently limited audience. A small child's experience with and understanding of grief is very limited. The central idea of grief separating us from the world is pretty high level and won't mean anything to children unless they are actively experiencing it.

Beautifully illustrated story incorporating themes that can be difficult to address, especially in a children's book. Loss and grief, loneliness and newfound friendship. And yet, through the eyes of a child there is always hope and newness of life..

I loved this gentle and deceptively simple story. It illustrates the circle of life through the seasons mixed with small details about new twin siblings and elderly neighbors. The illustrations are simply beautiful. I highly recommend this book.

This book is about an immigrant Hmong family and their elderly white neighbors. As seasons change, the characters change and grow. When elderly neighbor wife dies, young Hmong main character draws pictures on the sidewalk for elderly neighbor husband. Was confused why the focus of the book was on the white neighbors and not the Hmong family. Message about map to the heart was not clear. Disappointed because there was much hype and buzz about the beauty of this book.

4.5 stars

This is such an adorable, wholesome slice-of-life story! While the narrative arc is deceptively simple, the art and prose both show careful attention to detail — I loved watching the seasons change on-page, and Paj Ntaub's hair and clothes along with them — and speak to those quiet, universal truths about life and humanity. Of course, the Hmong representation is also great in its matter-of-factness.

In other words, this is a book that I would wholeheartedly recommend for any child old enough to comprehend the subject matter.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

Sorry for the delay in my review, life has gotten in the way.

The illustrations were beautiful. The book does touch upon some tough subjects, especially for children. BUT my children and i both did enjoy it.

A big thank-you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for giving me a copy of this book for an unbiased review.

2/5 - It was okay.

This book tackles the topics of immigration, being an older sibling, and grief. The topics it selects are interesting.

However, I felt that the execution could have been improved. Perhaps this picture book attempts to take on too much. I was hoping for more of a multicultural perspective - this book is written about Hmong immigrants, so it could have been an opportunity for children to learn more about a different culture. It also dealt with the birth of new siblings, but did not depict this relationship in a realistic or educational way. Finally, it explores the concept of grief, but barely introduces the character who dies, which makes it difficult to empathize with the loss. Any one of these topics on its own would be interesting, but together, they are shallowly explored.

I did appreciate the narrator's map of the world for Bob - this was certainly the highlight of the story.

Wonderful story about a little girl finding her way in life with so many changes happening at once. Beautifully illustrated and filled with hope this is a lovely reminder about the resilience of children and how important it is to share kindness and hope with others.

Full of hope! So much hope! Children always seem to see the world different than adults, not because they are naive. It's because they are not soiled by the world, they have hope and believe that good reigns! Who is to say that's not true? A wonderful story for people of all ages.
#Netgalley

Such a cute and sweet book. I loved it so much and will definitely pass it along to children and families in the library.

This is a lovely little book. The naif style of the illustrations is really quite pretty. The landscape illustrations are the highlight. The subtle colors with the occasional pop of flowers, along with the pacing of the text, really make this book kind of relaxing. It deals with multiple life changes, the passing of time, birth, death. It was interesting -- the only part I struggled with was how jarring the change of seasons were. It was spring; it was fall; it was winter. But in the end, this wasn't important. I really felt the ending was kind of beautiful. A lonely man who lost his wife got some much-needed company and conversation. This one will be an easy sell.

Review copy: Digital ARC via Netgalley

I'm so excited to share this book with students and community members. There are many Hmong Americans in our community and there aren't very many picture books in existence that feature Hmong characters beyond self-publishing and very small companies.

This is a beautiful story of family and empathy with the seasons as a lovely backdrop. The young girl is watching her world and finding the small yet joyful pieces of life around her like ginko leaves and snowballs. She is also seeing the larger things like birth and death. She doesn't necessarily understand all that her neighbor is feeling, but reaches out in friendship to try and bring comfort.

This story is great for seeing how we can pay attention to what is around us in nature and who we are around in our communities. When we pay attention, we can also make a difference. Also, even if the people we are around may seem very different from us, we have many ways of connecting.

I know I will be recommending this book to people of all ages. It's a book that will speak to many.

When reading A Map into the World, one feels the warmth and enchantment with which the author lovingly created the story and the illustrations. While the language is very simple and straightforward, the illustrations are intricate, colorful, and deeply moving. Kao Kalia Yang draws a telling parallel between a year of seasons and a year of her baby brothers lives. She also deals with sorrow and loneliness in such a hopefully manner all the while giving the reader and the listener beauty to enhance the tale.

I happily reviewed this book via #netgalley and am glad to have been able to do so by the publisher of A Map into the World.

This is a beautiful story of both new life and death told through the eyes of a young girl. After moving into a new neighborhood and meeting her elderly neighbors, Paj Ntaub's mother gives birth to twins. The reader watches as Paj Ntaub's brothers grow and the seasons change. When one of her neighbors die, we are gently introduced to the concept of death. A Map into the World is a lovely, quiet book, that gives us a glimpse into the world view of a young girl learning about life. The illustrations are perfect compliments to the story. I especially appreciated the inclusion of Hmong textile art. I heartily recommend this to all parents, librarians, and elementary teachers.

A Map Into The World was a great book, especially for how difficult the topic is to discuss. I think the content was great, and the overall approach about death was well delivered. The illustrations were beautiful and the colors fantastic,

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!).