LAST MAPMAKER
Grades 5 and Up
Soontornvat, Christina
THE LAST MAPMAKER
Candlewick, 2022
ISBN: 978-1536204957
368 pp.
Summary
Set in a rich, Thai-inspired fantasy world. Twelve-year-old Sai could have a bright future if she sticks with her job as assistant to Paiyoon, the Mangkon Royal Navy’s Master Mapmaker - but Sai has secrets. Born into poverty with a conman for a father, Sai constantly struggles to keep her origins a secret. When Paiyoon and Sai are asked to join a mapping expedition to the Southern Seas, Sai sees an opportunity to change her luck - but will have to decide who to trust and what sacrifices she is willing to make to chase her dreams.
Curriculum Connections
Themes: Family, fate, redemption, colonialism and privilege.
Social Studies
Create a map of the Great Southern Continent including the names Sai chose for the places she and Bo stayed: Sandflea Beach, Destitution Harbor, Starvation Point, and Deathfall Cove. Remember that Sai was trying to make the Sunderlands sound unappealing to others trying to journey there. Can you make your map look like a place people would not like to visit?
See How to Make a Fantasy Map.
Most map experience now is digital, using such resources as Google Maps or Apple Maps. What do you know about the maps in the book? With what materials are Paiyoon’s maps created? Is this true to life or just fantasy? Do we still create maps with these same materials?
Colonialism is a central theme of this book. The powerful island of Mangkon has taken over all the surrounding islands, exploiting their resources and degrading their environments. Choose a country that has been a colonizer. Who did they colonize? What did they gain? What was the effect on the colonized country? What was the impact on their language and culture? Discuss the wide-ranging effects of colonialism as seen in the real world and in the book.
Language Arts/Creative Writing
At the end of the book, Sai comes to some understanding about her father and the choices he made about her care and upbringing. She searches for him but is unable to find him. Craft a fictional letter that Sai might write to her father now that she understands his motivations.
Project ahead 10 years. What is life like for Sai and Bo?
Art
The slake that Sai and Bo encounter is a dragon-like creature. Choose a medium in which to create a slake or another mythical sea monster like Champ or Nessie.
Discussion Questions
From Candlewick Press, see the Discussion Guide for The Last Mapmaker.
Why is Sai saving every penny to escape her only living relative, her father, Mud?
How is Master Paiyoon a mentor to Sai? What does he teach her? What does he value about her? Explain why Sai thinks Paiyoon is overlooking important information on the maps during the sea journey. What is he really doing and why?
In Mangkon, how does status impact a person at a young age? What’s the significance of a lineal? What does it mean for a person to have many versus very few (or no) lineals? What would a lineal mean to Sai? How would it have made her life different? Is there anything in our culture that is similar to lineals?
Which character did you connect with the most? Why?
Master Paiyoon introduces Sai to the idea that Mangkon exploits other countries and strips them of resources. What are his examples? Why is he worried about the possibility of finding the Sunderlands? Why does he think the word “discovery” is used incorrectly? Can you think of examples of this in the real world? Discuss his comments on page 200 and relate them to Sangra’s description of Mangkon as “an empire of cowards and thieves” (page 277).
Bo says to Sai, “It’s not easy keeping up a lie day in and day out” (page 197). What lie is he talking about? What does Sai know about keeping up lies for a long time? Talk about the lies, deceits, and secrets of various characters, including how Rian deceives others. What are some of the reasons that the characters lie? Discuss Sai’s ability as a forger. How is forgery a form of deceit?
After Sai raises the alarm about Bo pickpocketing, she feels bad about snitching. She hears her father’s voice saying, “Loyalty, Sai. Even a dog knows how important it is” (page 127). What does loyalty mean, and why does it matter? What is the relationship between loyalty and deceit? When else does it come up in the story? How do the adult whales show a form of loyalty to the captured baby whale?
Author Online
Award-winning author Christina Soontornvat grew up in Texas, reading behind the counter of her parents’ Thai restaurant. She has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a master’s degree in Science Education, and spent a decade designing children’s programs and exhibits for science museums. Not surprisingly, she is passionate about STEM education. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and two daughters. Find her on X (Twitter) at @soontornvat, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
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