5 of the Best Atlases for Kids

Friday Five Atlases

Earlier on this week, I introduced you to the beautiful writeable map from Lil’ollo, and promised you that I would be sharing some great atlases for kids in my next book round up. Well, here it is! All of these are quite large, oversized books, which I always think is what you want from a good atlas, and would make great Christmas gifts. Generally,  I only recommend things we have used or tested ourselves, and we only actually own two of these books, but I spent a substantial amount of time in a bookshop this week, browsing through all their kids atlases to chose the best ones for you, so these other three are ones that really caught me eye and are definitely now on our wish list. So, clockwise, starting from the top:

  • City Atlas: Travel the World with 30 City Maps, by Martin Haake – City Atlas includes 30 city maps from around the world to explore, such as London, Berlin, Tokyo and Sydney. Each city map gives you a little intro to that city, the country, population and language, and the ‘must see’ attractions to visit. Each spread also challenges you to search and find five things in amongst the illustrations, e.g. red buses in London, tea pots in Tokyo, or Koalas in Sydney.
  • Atlas of Adventures, by Lucy Letherland – We got Oskar the Atlas of Adventures a couple of years ago for Christmas, and he spent most of the holidays immersed in it. The atlas features 7 continent maps, each followed by several double page spreads dedicated to a place or an event. There are over 30 destinations to discover in total, such as the Amazon Forest or the Penguins in the Antarctic, a hot air balloon festival or a Brazilian Carnival. It’s beautifully illustrated too.
  • Atlas of Oddities, by Clive Gifford & Tracy Worrall – For something a little different, the Atlas of Oddities celebrates all the unusual things, people, animals and events around the world. As well as the kind of facts you would expect from an atlas, such as borders, capital cities and major rivers, you will discover interesting tidbits about each place, e.g. did you know that the city of El Vendrell, in Spain, installed a public toilet for dogs that even flushes! Or that Soweto, in South Africa, has the only known street in the world where two Nobel Peace Prize winners once lived.
  • The Picture Atlas: An Incredible Journey, by Simon Holland & Jill Calder – As well as countries, cities, rivers and mountains, this atlas looks at historical artefacts, natural wonders, fascinating cultures and amazing animals around the world. But what really made this book stand out among the other atlases on the shelf, were the beautiful illustrations. The artwork is just stunning!
  • The Hello Atlas, by Ben Handicott & Kenard Pak – And lastly, again something a bit different. The Hello Atlas takes you around the world by looking at language. It depicts children in their home countries, doing every day things, with fully illustrated word charts introducing you to more than 100 both well-known and lesser known languages. The book comes with a free, downloadable map (for both iOS and Android), which has recordings for all the featured phrases, spoken by a native speaker.

Do you have any favourite Atlases for kids? Please feel free to share your recommendations in the comments below!


Please note that the book links in this post are Amazon affiliate links. That means if you buy any books via these links, I receive a small percentage – at no extra cost to you! – which helps to keep this blog running. Thank you.

Comments: 8

  • reply
    20 November 2017

    I think it’s great for a child to have an atlas to explore and learn about the world – a picture atlas is a great way to ignite their imagination about the world in which they live in!

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    20 November 2017

    Wow long gone have the days of the tired looking atlas’ in school! All of these really help to bring our world alive and the illustrations on the front covers are beautiful :)

  • reply
    20 November 2017

    I can’t wait to start teaching Erin about the world. These all look great.

  • reply
    20 November 2017

    Oh an Atlas is a great idea for a kid, learning where countries are x

  • reply
    20 November 2017

    We haven’t gotten our son an atlas yet but I’m itching to get one, if only to look at places we’ve been and research places to go with him. I’ll be pinning this post for future reference, thanks!

  • reply
    20 November 2017

    These atlas all look stunning. I can’t wait to get one for my 4 year old in a year or 2.

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    21 November 2017

    I think all the atlases are beautiful but the picture atlas is visually stunning. I love that the hello atlas takes you around the world through languages x

  • reply
    21 November 2017

    These all look so lovely, I could do with one of these myself as my geography is shocking! Kaz

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