I've written before and spoken often on the Storyformed podcast of how my oldest son has been bitten by the architecture bug. Before he could even talk well, he was often attempting to build copies of famous buildings and landmarks using blocks, various toys, and even things like toast or marshmallows. I have tripped over Lego castles, books stacked like pyramids, and cathedrals made out of cups more times than I can count. After using various media to build his little landmarks, it wasn’t long before he came to me and said, “Mommy, how did they really build that?” Fortunately, award-winning illustrator David Macaulay has published an exquisite series of picture books that accurately answer his question and fit the bill perfectly!
Macaulay is a Caldecott medal winner with a background in architecture, and he showcases his talent and extensive knowledge through outstanding pen and ink drawings in his architecture-themed books. The first book that we acquired, and the first one that Macaulay published, was Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction. It chronicles the building of a fictional medieval cathedral in France, from its conception to completion. It wasn’t long before we also collected Castle, which traces the planning and construction of a fictional castle in 13th Century Wales, and City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction, which explains how a typical Roman city was designed and built. We also own and love Pyramid, where Macaulay unravels the mystery of how the ancient Egyptian pyramids could have been constructed. Mill and Mosque are on our wish list. All of these books are similar in style and are outstanding for so many reasons.
Illustrations
Each of Macaulay’s architecture books is exquisitely illustrated with black and white pen and ink drawings. The detail that he captures is extraordinary! He uses cross-hatching and other artistic techniques to produce an almost 3D effect in the architectural elements. The intricate pictures are realistic and often humorous (like a stereotypical culprit in the castle dungeon and a detailed drawing of a medieval toilet). Each page contains these large-scale illustrations, and my boys and I enjoy examining the drawings and trying to find details that we missed in earlier observations, like oxen in the field or a dog begging for table scraps. Although the book does contain text, the illustrations are so thorough and detailed, you can easily follow the progression of the story from the pictures alone. Macaulay has won several awards for these books, including a Caldecott honor, and it is easy to see why! (Note: In recent years, Macaulay has released revised editions of Cathedral, Castle, and Mosque that contain color illustrations!)
To read more and to view the Storyformed book suggestions, click HERE.