Is there such a place as far away?

This paper forms the first of two parts spanning a year, and pertaining to the creation and wonderment of new knowledge and ways of looking and seeing in the field of Cartography, Cartographic understanding and Cartographic output, with particular emphasis on Picture Story Books for pre-school and infant children from the point of view and artistic journey of the cartographer as Picture Book Maker in the creation of this art form.

From the perspective of the Picture Book Polymath I look at what the role and understanding of a cartographer and cartography is, whilst discussing practice-based research through the Cartographers eyes and how this relates to the creation of an artefact for such a young age group that encompasses narrative, image and cartography in the picture book as a tool for learning spatial awareness and more developed Geographic understanding. To this end I explore how children read such texts in tandem with illustrations and cartography. I also ask ‘What is a Picture Book’ and question its conventional and unconventional possibilities in terms of format, size, scale and layout.

Paper two will follow in 2020 and discuss and outline the methodology and creative processes employed by the Picture Book Maker on their journey to production of a fictional Story Picture Book based around Cartography, and of the highest quality for young audiences. Children’s reactions to the artefact and digital developments will be documented and results discussed with reference to further elaboration of the ideas outlined in this paper, paper one.