Mapping Sam by Joyce Hesselberth (2021) at first glance looks like a book Sam the cat's night time travels. And it is, partially. It's really about maps. It's a narrative introduction to many kinds of maps. After Sam's family is asleep, this tabby slips out the back door. We see her leap over a fence, trot through grass, roll across a yard, and climb her favorite tree. Turn the page and we see a top-down diagram of where's she's been, a map complete with compass and scale. Turn the page and there's a two-page spread of Sam's skeleton and internal organs, a map of Sam. Sam doesn't just smell a flower; this flower is labeled: stamen, petal, pistil, and so on--a map of the plant. The illustrations continue this theme to measure the depth of water, a water molecule, the earth, solar system, and so on. The illustrations contrast Sam's bright orange coat against shades of blue and green and fill every square inch of the pages. The final page has a glossary featuring thumbnails and descriptions of each map in the story.
