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In:Maps and Mapping in Children's Literature: Landscapes, seascapes and cityscapes
Edited by Nina Goga and Bettina Kümmerling-Meibauer
[Children’s Literature, Culture, and Cognition 7] 2017
► pp. 75–91

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Chapter 4
Metaphorical maps in picturebooks

Published online: 14 August 2017
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/clcc.7.05kum
Abstract
This chapter focuses on the cognitive and narrative functions of metaphorical maps in picturebooks. In contrast to maps that present real or fictional city- and landscapes, metaphorical maps are used to visualize abstract concepts. In particular, two types of metaphorical maps in picturebooks are distinguished: maps of (existing) cities and countries that are shaped like animals and humans, and entities such as the heart and the brain that are structured like maps. In order to understand this map category, children have to develop a basic knowledge of the symbols and functions of maps in general, and to learn that metaphorical maps are imaginative guides which symbolize specific patterns of thinking.
Article outline
  • What is a metaphorical map?
  • Relating maps and metaphors
  • Metaphorical maps in descriptive picturebooks
  • What can children learn from metaphorical maps?
  • References
References (32)
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