Enlarge image
Photo: Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/Getty Images
For me unthinkable: People get on planes without being able to show the destination on a map or follow the navigation system without knowing whether it is going north or south.
Because I love city plans and maps, I really like to know where I am right now.
Obsolete?
Certainly – at least as long as the battery has juice.
So why read maps anymore?
At least since Tim Marshall's bestseller on geopolitics and the great children's version »What Holds Our World Together«, we have known that a certain general geographical knowledge is important for historical and political understanding.
In the children's non-fiction book, he explains the importance of geographical location and natural resources for political conflicts.
Children's atlases all seem quite similar at first glance.
But it is not enough to garnish maps with photos of sights.
In some atlases, the distinction between the EU and Europe is not so fussy or it is not possible to explain this in a child-friendly way.
The image selection is often terribly cliche and sometimes even wrong.
A Rollmops slides to Northern Europe or the port of Hamburg is called a canal.
And books translated from American have their focus there as well.
If you live in Germany, or rather in Europe, such a book is clearly more boring.
The following five atlases do it better: This is of course about Germany and our planet, but also about the Milky Way, the most dangerous corners of the earth and how world history can be represented on maps.
Here we are
advertisement
Annette Maas
My Germany Atlas
Illustrations: Stefanie Stroh
Publisher: dtv
Number of pages: 112
Illustrations: Stefanie Stroh
Publisher: dtv
Number of pages: 112
Buy for €18.00
price inquiry time
08/28/2022 5:51 p.m
No guarantee
Order from Amazon
Order from Thalia
Order from Weltbild
Product reviews are purely editorial and independent.
Via the so-called affiliate links above, we usually receive a commission from the retailer when you make a purchase.
More information here
»My Germany Atlas« by Annette Maas is a beautifully illustrated children's atlas about Germany that was published this year.
Contrary to the publisher's recommendation, I can also imagine it being good for younger children for whom maps are still too abstract.
What's going on here?
This isn't a real atlas, because it hardly has any map material, but it does have a lot of pictures.
All federal states are presented in large images from north to south based on regional specialties or geographical features.
(The only troubling thing is that a meatball in a bun is referred to as Hamburger »leftovers«.) In between, the authors have interspersed interesting overarching themes such as »language confusion«, »wild animals« or »Made in Germany«.
A beautiful and informative photo journey through Germany.
Best reading time:
Desire to leaf through.
Recommended age:
From 8 years, but also younger.
Everything in, everything on
advertisement
Manfred Baur
world atlas
Illustrations: Michael Schmeling
Publisher: Ragnar Tessloff GmbH & Co. KG
Number of pages: 232
Illustrations: Michael Schmeling
Publisher: Ragnar Tessloff GmbH & Co. KG
Number of pages: 232
Buy for €29.95
price inquiry time
08/28/2022 5:51 p.m
No guarantee
Order from Amazon
Order from Thalia
Order from Weltbild
Product reviews are purely editorial and independent.
Via the so-called affiliate links above, we usually receive a commission from the retailer when you make a purchase.
More information here
The "What is What" world atlas is my favorite.
Designed for children and clearly structured, Manfred Bauer explains what is where and why.
In addition to many maps and information texts, there is even space for funny photos.
Incredibly informative with its many colored cards, really good for presentations.
A reference work that can accompany you for a lifetime.
What's going on here?
After brief explanations of cartography, space and the origins of the earth, the journey around the world begins in Europe.
In addition to world maps, this atlas provides continent and regional maps, each with a political and physical map as well as a map of the federal states.
There is also information about culture or nature and fact pages on special topics such as the EU or the oceans.
Whether with (34.95 euros) or without (29.95 euros) »Bookii«, the contents of the books are identical.
With this so-called audio pen, which you have to buy separately, you get a summary of the content, not the complete texts read out.
Best time to read:
Before your next trip.
Recommended age:
from 8 years.
Sun, moon and stars
advertisement
Justina Engelman
space atlas
Illustration: Gunther Schulz
Publisher: Cosmos
Number of pages: 126
Illustration: Gunther Schulz
Publisher: Cosmos
Number of pages: 126
Buy for €25.00
price inquiry time
08/28/2022 5:51 p.m
No guarantee
Order from Amazon
Order from Thalia
Order from Weltbild
Product reviews are purely editorial and independent.
Via the so-called affiliate links above, we usually receive a commission from the retailer when you make a purchase.
More information here
My head is spinning when I see the small earth in the "Space Atlas", how it is floating in space and then the sun is so close, but actually far away, namely 150 million kilometers away.
There is also the time dimension.
That means light years.
madness
It's a good thing that there are children's books like this, so that I can finally understand it.
Because with this atlas, there are hardly any unanswered questions, even for most adults.
What's going on here?
In this non-fiction book with a modern design, the graduate astronomer Justina Engelmann explains the big picture in small steps using photos, models and drawings.
From the earth to the galaxies you move through space in four chapters.
A clever idea is to have the pages with a black background and white writing.
So you get a real space feeling right away.
Best time to read:
camping.
Recommended age:
from 8 years.
special cards
advertisement
Ophélie Chavaroche, Arnaud Goumand
Atlas of Dangers
Publisher: Franckh Cosmos
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Franckh Cosmos
Number of pages: 256
Buy for €38.00
price inquiry time
08/28/2022 5:51 p.m
No guarantee
Order from Amazon
Order from Thalia
Order from Weltbild
Product reviews are purely editorial and independent.
Via the so-called affiliate links above, we usually receive a commission from the retailer when you make a purchase.
More information here
Although the "Atlas of Dangers" is not a proven children's atlas, it is exciting and surprising in terms of text and subject matter for older children, as Johann, 13, confirmed to me.
The explanatory texts are not rambling or mature and can arouse interest in geography.
What's going on here?
Danger lurks around the world.
Sometimes they are the work of nature (torrents, mosquitoes, rock formations), others are man-made: for example, extremely short runways, mountain routes or delicate ladder constructions.
This compact atlas lives from its special view of the world combined with many large photos - and maps, of course.
Best time to read:
I'm bored.
Recommended age:
from 12 years.
Vanished empires, trade routes, war fronts
advertisement
Different authors
What happened when?
Publisher: Dorling Kindersley
Number of pages: 160
Publisher: Dorling Kindersley
Number of pages: 160
approx. €16.95
price inquiry time
08/28/2022 5:51 p.m
No guarantee
Order from Amazon
Order from Thalia
Order from Weltbild
Product reviews are purely editorial and independent.
Via the so-called affiliate links above, we usually receive a commission from the retailer when you make a purchase.
More information here
If you don't like texts, you will read "What happened when?" with profit.
The pictorial representation of this impressively versatile history book stimulates the imagination and much only opens up through the geographical context.
What's going on here?
It begins with »the cradle of Africa« and ends with »the rise of China«.
But instead of texts, events and facts from the early days to the 21st century are presented in interestingly illustrated maps and graphics.
The variety of topics is modern, because it is about events from all over the world, such as Gandhi's struggle for independence, the colonization of the Pacific or Africa's kingdoms.
Best Reading Time:
When the History Book Fails.
Recommended age:
from 8 years.
Background: Product tests in the Tests department
Open areaWhich products are reported on?
We decide for ourselves which products we report on in the test department and which we test or not. We do not receive any money or other consideration from the manufacturers for any of the test reports.
It can happen for various reasons that we do not report on products even though we have corresponding test products.
Open areaWhere do the test products come from?
Test devices and review copies of games are usually made available to us by the manufacturer free of charge for a certain period of time, sometimes even before the official release.
This allows our test reports to appear in time or close to the release of the product.
We only test pre-release versions or devices from pre-series production in special cases.
As a rule, we wait until we can get test devices or game versions that are identical to the retail versions.
In some cases, if they are already available in stores or online, we purchase test devices at our own expense.
Expand areaCan the editors keep the products?
As a rule, test devices are returned to the manufacturers after the end of the test.
The exceptions are review copies of games and long-term loans: For example, we have game consoles and smartphones in the editorial office that we are allowed to use for a longer period of time before they are returned.
For example, we can report on software updates, new accessories and new games or make long-term judgments.
Such products and review samples are often collected at the end of a year, for example, and sold at a company flea market, with the proceeds being donated to charitable causes.
In some cases, review copies are donated directly to charitable organizations.
SectionWhat's up with the affiliate ads in some articles?expand
Articles in the testing department contain so-called affiliate ads that contain links to online shops.
If a user visits one of these shops via such a link and makes a purchase there, DER SPIEGEL receives a share of the sales in the form of a commission, but never the author individually.
The ads appear in articles regardless of whether a product test is positive or negative.
You can find a detailed explanation of affiliate links by clicking on this link.
