I’m in heaven. City maps, illustrations, stamps. All beautifully printed in a generous book format! What more could a girl want? City Atlas, another gem from Wide Eyed Editions, invites us to go on a global adventure with 30 cities from around the world, expertly illustrated by Martin Haake and written by Georgia Cherry.
The cover alone is worth talking about. I love the matt printing and the title image is a stamp, stuck on the centre of the cover. Depicting different cities’ landmarks and cultural hotspots as stamps works a real treat and re-enforces the theme of travel and cities around the world.
City maps are in vogue and the latest trend is curated ones. This is a similar take but with the difference of offering all information in one big atlas, a city atlas with 30 cities. Each spread invites us to find things, like the flag-waving person bidding us welcome in their native language.
Full spread of ROME.
Detail of the BERLIN spread.
Detail of the MOSCOW spread.
The reader is invited to spot famous people, iconic buildings, cultural hotspots and child-friendly destinations. Every city is represented in the same way, giving us some trivia and facts, but mostly curates what to see or do with the most charming illustrations.
Detail of the New York spread.
Detail of the COPENHAGEN spread.
I think this is a great way of presenting city maps. There’s plenty of new information for the seasoned traveller and to the uninitiated it’s like an Alladin’s Cave. There’s a lot of creative licence when it comes to true representation within the illustrations which makes this even more alluring.
Detail of the BUDAPEST spread.
Detail of the TOKYO spread.
Detail of the SYDNEY spread.
Detail of the HONG KONG spread.
City Atlas copyright © Aurum Press Ltd 2015
Illustrations copyright © Martin Haake 2015
How gorgeous are the illustrations? Doesn’t this make learning about something so much easier and more fun? I can imagine that children and adults alike will spend hours devouring these detailed city guides and plotting many trips away. Go on, go on a global adventure!
Thank you to Wide Eyed Editions for my copy of this book.