The Last Mapmaker
by Christina Soontornvat
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The Last Mapmaker
By Christina Soontorvant
Informational Resources:
Author Information:
Christina Soontorvant’s Website:
Presentation by Christina Soontornvat about herself and writing (49:24):
Activities & Resources:
Activities:
Genealogy:
Have fun with family history:
https://www.thefhguide.com/act-children.html
Genealogy for Kids (21:31):
Geocaching:
Geocaching for Kids:
https://www.exploremorecleanless.com/how-to-start-geocaching/
Books and videos about maps:
How they made maps in the ancient world (12:10):
Me on the Map (3:56):
There’s a Map on My Lap (8:02):
How to Read a Map by BrainPop Jr. (5:39):
Ships:
Parts of a ship:
https://www.thefactsite.com/parts-of-ship/
http://www.thewayofthepirates.com/pirate-ships-info/ship-parts/
How to sail a ship part 1 (11:56):
How to sail a ship part 2 (9:37):
MakerSpace Activities:
Making Maps:
Teach mapping skills with a treasure hunt:
https://www.treevalleyacademy.com/pirate-treasure-map/
Map drawing tutorials:
Crafts:
Make a Bracelet:
https://www.howweelearn.com/awesome-bracelets-for-kids-to-make/
Make your own ink:
https://www.nps.gov/articles/ink-activity.htm
Make your own paper:
https://www.instructables.com/Homemade-Paper/
Dragons:
Draw a dragon (20:28):
How to make an origami dragon (13:58):
How to make an egg carton dragon (1:26):
Genealogy:
Have students fill out a family tree:
https://familytreemagazine.com/kids/buildyourfamilytree/
https://www.archives.gov/education/family-history
Make a photo magnet of relatives:
https://familytreemagazine.com/kids/magnets/https://familytreemagazine.com/kids/magnets/
Discussion Questions:
Based on the title and cover of the book, what are some predictions you can make about the story?
The book opens with Sai listening to the other Assistants talking about one girls’ new lineal that shows her family history. What do you have that shows some of your family history? Why is the lineal so important to life in Mangkon?
On page 17, Sai considers spending her whole week's pay on egg cakes. What would be worth a whole week’s pay to you? Why doesn’t Sai buy the egg cakes if she is so hungry?
The image of a dragon with its tail in its teeth which forms a circle is on the city gates, the lineals, the flag and the coins. The Mangkon nation's motto is The Tail is the Teeth. On page 22, we are given several meanings for this motto and symbol. Which one do you think is correct and why?
On page 39, Sai says that The Tail Is the Teeth means you can’t escape who you were or where you came from. Sai wants to escape. Can she escape? Can you change your future? How can you overcome your past to change your life?
Describe Sai’s father. How would you describe the relationship between Sai and her father?
Paiyoon worked hard to pull strings and begged to get onto a southbound ship to the fiftieth parallel on page 52. What is something you would work this hard to achieve? Why?
Mud has asked Sai to forge a letter from the Navy to help Catfish. Paiyoon is asking Sai to make the maps for him on the voyage and not tell anyone that she is doing the work. How are these two things alike and different? Are they both good or bad? Why?
On pages 73-75, Sai gives Mud her savings and begs him to let her go to get on the ship. She tells him she would give him anything to be away from him. Later she sees him looking at his feet as all the others cheer as they leave port. Describe what you think is going on in Mud’s thoughts.
Paiyoon has many prized possessions on the Prosperity. Decide what is his most prized and why?
Prove Paiyoon is not just a mapmaker. What other roles is he fulfilling?
Is Sangra happy with being the captain of the Prosperity? How do you know?
On Pitaya Island, Sai reports Bo for pickpocketing, but then feels guilty. On page 127, Sai remembers Mud always telling her that loyalty was more important. What is Mud trying to tell Sai? Why is he right or wrong about loyalty in this case?
Describe each character's life aboard the ship. How are their lives different or the same as they would be in a city?
How are Sai and Rian alike? What about Rian gives Sai hope for the future?
Why do you think Sai decided to help keep Bo, the stowaway, a secret?
With all of the stories about the Sunderlands, like it was home to dragons and it is located in the center of the uncrossable sea, would you have talked to Paiyoon about leading the ship there? Explain your reason.
Bo says, on page 196, that no one is going to tell him that he is worth less than some other kid because they wear a lineal. Put this same statement into a more modern and real life example.
On page 197, Bo tells Sai that keeping a lie going day in and day out is not easy. How long has Sai been keeping her lies going? What other characters have told lies? Can lies be good or bad? Give some examples of each.
On page 200, Paiyoon talks about Fahlin being “discovered” by Mankgon. What are his reasons for being disappointed by this discovery? Do you believe he is right for being disappointed? Explain how you feel.
Do you think Paiyoon should feel guilty for making his maps? Why or why not?
How did life on the Prosperity change after Captain Sangra became sick?
Sai makes an amazing discovery about Captain Sangra on page 277. How does this discovery change the direction of the story?
How did Grebe help to change Sai’s opinion of Mud?
How does Sai help to protect the Slake? How can you help endangered species in our world?
Describe something you learned in this book that can help you in life.
Book Talk Teasers:
Read the reader’s theater for The Last Mapmaker.
Watch the book trailer on the Texas Bluebonnet Award YouTube channel.
Watch the author's interview on the Texas Bluebonnet Award YouTube channel.
Christina Soontornvat talks about The Last Mapmaker (2:28)
Colby Sharp’s book talk about The Last Mapmaker (3:30)
Read Alikes:
Brave Female Main Character
Avi. The true confessions of Charlotte Doyle. As the lone "young lady" on a transatlantic voyage in 1832, Charlotte learns that the captain is murderous and the crew rebellious. Includes ship illustrations in an appendix. (NoveList)
Higuera, Donna Barba. The last cuentista. Habâia una vez...There lived a girl named Petra Peäna, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita. But Petra's world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children--among them Petra and her family--have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race. Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet--and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard--or purged them altogether. Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again?--. (NoveList)
Kelly, Erin Entrada. Lalani of the distant sea. Finds a young girl embarking on a quest normally reserved for boys in the hope of saving her village from life-threatening hazards, including a deadly plague affecting her mother. (NoveList)
Lee, Yoon Ha. Dragon Pearl. Min, a thirteen-year-old girl with fox-magic, stows away on a battle cruiser and impersonates a cadet in order to solve the mystery of what happened to her older brother in the Thousand World Space Forces. (NoveList)
Woods, Matilda. The girl who sailed the stars. Oona, nearly eleven, has longed to sail with her sea captain father but when she stows away on his ship headed to the far North, she faces great adventure and danger. (NoveList)
Reviews:
Soontornvat, Christina. The Last Mapmaker. Candlewick Press, 2022.
Booklist
The Last Mapmaker
By Christina Soontornvat (author)
Apr. 2022. 368p. Candlewick Press, $17.99 (9781536204957) Grades 4-7.
REVIEW: First Published February 15, 2022 (Vol. 118, No. 12) (Booklist).
Though 12-year-old Sai is playing the role of an upper-class girl fulfilling her year of service as an apprentice to Paiyoon, master mapmaker for the Mangkon Royal Navy, she has actually led a hardscrabble life. Wanting nothing more to do with her con man father’s schemes, she leaps at the chance to join Paiyoon on a voyage that might discover the legendary Sunderlands. Once she’s aboard, Sai avoids a crew member who might recognize her, while ingratiating herself with dashing Miss Rian. Meanwhile, she discovers a stowaway, a boy named Bo, and secretly helps him survive. When disaster strikes, their only option is to escape the ship and seek shelter on a small, desolate island. The novel touches on many themes, from class structure to the effects of colonialism to the bond between children and their parents. Action drives the narrative forward, creating a real page-turner with intriguing characters whose individual goals lead to inevitable, sometimes violent clashes. Blending Age of Sail historical fiction, adventure, and fantasy within a Thai-inspired setting, this original novel will leave readers hoping for sequels. —Carolyn Phelan
Used with the permission of Booklist https://www.booklistonline.com/
School Library Journal starred (May 1, 2022)
Gr 3-6-Living a squalid life helping her conman father with his get-rich-quick schemes, Sodsai Mudawan uses her own cunning to secure an Assistantship with the Master Mapmaker of the Kingdom of Mangkon. Fortune favors her bravery even further when a declaration from the Queen provides an opportunity to join her master Paiyoon on a daring voyage to chart the shadowy Sunderlands, a region rich with secrets and sea monsters. The monetary prize attached to the expedition is just what Sai needs to free herself from her troubled past, but as her master wrestles with his culpability in the kingdom's expansion, Sai begins to have her own conflicted feelings over what she is willing to do (and sacrifice) to make her dream a reality. The spare, evocative prose immediately places readers in the hold of the story, and the Dickensian colorfulness of the characters and Sai's clipped delivery will have kids tearing through pages at an eager pace. Soontornvat brings a naturalness to her worldbuilding in this Thai-inspired landscape that will allow fans of magical realism and high adventure to find a tale worth cherishing. VERDICT A gripping story with multiple layers, including action, magic, and a thought-provoking through line of colonization and the role of manifest destiny, this original novel will leave middle grade readers wanting to journey through this land of dreams and dragons again and again.-Jose Cruz © Copyright 2022. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Reprinted with permission from School Library Journal ©2022
Additional Reviews Available
Horn Book Magazine, 03/01/22
Kirkus Reviews starred, 02/01/22
New York Times, 04/10/22
Newbery Honor, 2023
Publishers Weekly starred, 02/14/22
School Library Connection, 03/01/22