The vastness of the planet is something that needs to be appreciated as soon as possible. Children need to understand that the world goes beyond the state boundaries and that thousands of miles from their suburbs, there are other people with a whole new culture and way of life. Getting a geographical map with climatic info and terrain representation is impractical; and that is where the great solution that is children´s pictorial maps comes in.

There is something magical about viewing the world from a map. When this is combined with colorful drawings, pictorial representation of the kind of people living in each part, it not only becomes educational, but also fun. This is undoubtedly one of the best ways to let a child know about the world and all its dimensions. It gives a solid foundation into understanding what the world is, and the people, animals and continents that make it. In a nutshell, it helps a child in viewing the world from an extensive point of view. When it comes to working the memory, audio listening helps, but optical viewing is an added plus. That is what the pictorial maps are out to do; help in getting the children in not only learning about the world, but seeing it in colorful illustrations.

Children´s pictorial maps are especially designed to get the attention of the learning kids through the icons and illustrations of sealife, wildlife, ships, sport, folklore and many other things. After the attention is well netted, there are informative texts that are usually included to shed more light on the icon. This in the bigger picture helps the child associate certain places with certain things. For instance, if they see penguins in Antarctica, they will learn to associate them with cold areas. If they see whales and penguins in the pacific, they will learn to associate the ocean with sea life. It´s a learning process in disguise.

The concept of pictorial maps has a long history of usage since the medieval times when castle and forest icons were in the heaviest usage. This means that their effectiveness is not underscored and their message is well passed out. This is in regard to the ancient times when the levels of literacy were not stretching to the highest points.

What the pictorial maps are out to do is to help the child see the world in a whole new light. Their aim is to help the child in seeing the world as this collection of different cultures and geographies, instead of limiting their thoughts to their neighborhood where the riches of the planet are limited. They are an essential learning and enjoyment tool for any kid that is curious about the universe as a whole. With that being said, children´s pictorial maps make for great gifts on several occasions. Most of these are made of durable material with gloss finish. And if the world is too big a place to start your kid with, you can always get a pictorial map of the continent you are in!