Cartoon kids

Illustrator Raúl the Third and artist Elaine Bay created this caricature map for the Map Center. Unlike other kinds of maps, caricature maps are less concerned with showing precise locations and detailed information, and more interested in telling a story about something. Though Raúl and Elaine's map is based on a choropleth map made from geospatial data from the Census Bureau, they have interpreted that information to create a map that appeals to our sense of fun with an important message.

Look closely at the map’s title, the way the artists’ used color, and the kinds of pictures they used to tell their map story.

What group of people is being explored on this map?

How are pictures and color used to share information? What can you learn from this map?

This map was made this year, in 2020. In what way might the map be useful? What might its purpose be?

All map makers have to decide what to show and what to leave out. For example, this mapmaker decided to include symbols that helps us imagine what areas of the map are like and what the viewer might find there, but not a compass to help us figure out directions.

What else doesn’t this map tell us? How might it not tell the whole story about kids in Boston

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