Built to Last: The How and Why Behind Buildings. An Engaging Exploration of Architecture for Kids. Includes Castles, Cathedrals, and Mosques with Full-Color Illustrations - Hardcover

Macaulay, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0547342403 ISBN 13: 9780547342405

Publisher: Clarion Books, 2010

Synopsis

David Macaulay, author of The Way Things Work, explains three of the most fascinating and enduring structures humankind has ever created.

Inspired by his classic and award-winning Castle, Cathedral, and Mosque, Built to Last offers an engaging and in-depth look into architecture and design. Macaulay has revised texts based on updated research, created gorgeous new drawings, in some cases wholly reimagined scenes, while bringing Castle and Cathedral to life in full color for the very first time. The resulting illustrations add to the reader’s understanding of these buildings, capturing intriguing new perspectives and depth of detail in structure and atmosphere.

This impeccably researched volume is not only a necessary addition to the bookshelf of any David Macaulay or architecture fan but will delight readers of all ages who are experiencing his work for the first time.

About this title

About the Author

David Macaulay is an award-winning author and illustrator whose books have sold millions of copies in the United States alone, and his work has been translated into a dozen languages. Macaulay has garnered numerous awards including the Caldecott Medal and Honor Awards, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, the Christopher Award, an American Institute of Architects Medal, and the Washington Post–Children’s Book Guild Nonfiction Award. In 2006, he was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, given “to encourage people of outstanding talent to pursue their own creative, intellectual, and professional inclinations.” Superb design, magnificent illustrations, and clearly presented information distinguish all of his books. David Macaulay lives with his family in Vermont.

Reviews

Gr 5 Up–Three of Macaulay's classic construction books, Castle, Cathedral, and Mosque, are combined in one volume, with a wealth of new material added. Rather than merely colorizing the original lines of the first two, the artist created all new illustrations and reworked most of the text for consistency and accuracy. Felt-tipped markers and colored pencils offer striking new views in Castle and Cathedral, matching the depth, detail, and clarity of the earlier versions without the extensive crosshatching used in the original black-and-white drawings. The content of some pictures has changed, frequently adding to the human stories that are told along with the construction. The architectural complexities of the church come through in both versions of Castle, for example, but the new one subtly adds the emotional element of a funeral in progress in the background. Other changes add key steps not covered previously, such as roofing the crypt in Cathedral. Some written passages are expanded and others are more concise, depending on the topic. Some steps, such as the window-making in Cathedral, are placed earlier or later within the narrative. While the first two titles are fully revised works, Mosque remains mostly unchanged, beyond some minor text editing; with a few exceptions, such as the addition of towels for the bathing men, the illustrations are identical. Though most libraries won't want to discard their copies of Cathedral and Castle, the new color artwork and updated content give this three-books-in-one volume high value and strong appeal.–Steven Engelfried, Wilsonville Public Library, ORα(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

As it was originally conceived, this title would group together newly colorized versions of three previously published single titles about some of the world’s most lasting structures: Macaulay’s Cathedral (1973) and Castle (1977), both Caldecott Honor Books, and Mosque (2003). In his moving introduction, though, Macaulay explains that after looking closely at the two older titles, he realized that simply washing the original drawings in color was not an option. Dissatisfied with “ambiguous cross sections” and “embarrassing lapses in scale,” Macaulay completely redid Cathedral and Castle, adding new drawings in beautifully redesigned formats. The new images are not only colorized but they are also humanized; more people appear on the pages. Macaulay has also tightened and rewritten text in the two older titles, creating even stronger narratives. Mosque, originally printed in color, received a few format changes and new drawings. The single editions of these watershed works still deserve space on the library shelves, but the collective impact of this celebratory, awe-inspiring compendium, which closes with a group glossary, is powerful and will draw an even wider, all-ages audience. Grades 6-12. --Gillian Engberg

Edition details

• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0547342403
• ISBN 13: 9780547342405
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272