The Map Trap / Andrew Clements / 130 pages

Alton Ziegler's affinity for maps began the day he was born.  On the way to the hospital, his mom and dad consulted a map, and perusing the alphabetical listing of Illinois cities, decided upon Alton as the name for their soon-to-be-born baby. The map was mounted in his room, near his crib.  New baby gifts included a light-up globe night light and a map of the U.S. rug.  When he was 7, he discovered the maps in his mom's National Geographic magazines and used them to cover the wall and ceiling of his room - a major mapquake.  Not surprisingly, he's into geocaching and his nickname is Sirmapsalot.  Unfortunately, Alton's secret maps have been mapnapped and the mapnappers are blackmailing him.  Is a preemptive strike and honesty the best policy?  As is always true of Andrew Clements' books, this is an excellent read-a-loud.