Brainstorm Vol 82: Architects and architecture books

When you think of occupations highlighted in children’s literature, architects aren’t normally anywhere near the top of the list. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t out there. It is an occupation that combines art, culture, math, and engineering principles and often has to take into account local geography, climate and ecology so the books below can be used in many different classes, not just art. Here are six architect and architecture books for kids. Several of them lend themselves well to being used together.

Picture Book Resources

Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beatty, ill. by David Roberts
Iggy Peck shows a penchant for creating creative buildings out of whatever materials are on hand from a young age. But when he gets to 2nd grade he meets teacher Miss Lila Greer who had a traumatizing experience because of architecture in her childhood and bans building creations from the classroom. But when the class is on a field trip to an island and the bridge collapses, Iggy's love of architecture may just save the day.
(Note: Do check out the link to my full review by clicking on the book’s title before picking this up to read in front of a group of kids as there are some things you might want to know about in the illustrations beforehand.)

Activity Tie-ins/Target Readers:

• Architects/Architecture: Iggy makes for an entertaining introduction to the architecture field.
• Rhyming: This story is told entirely in clever rhyming text. It’s a fantastic example of well done extensive rhyming. And Beatty includes some impressive vocabulary to make this work.
• Art: Obviously, this is an occupation that could appeal to the artistically inclined, and this picture book displays how this art form can also be useful.
• Problem Solving/Ingenuity: Iggy has to use his noggin’ and do some quick problem solving to save the day. Ask young readers if they can think of any other solutions to the delimma using the resources on hand.
• Teamwork: Iggy and his classmates are great examples of the power of teamwork. Iggy may come up with the solution for how to save the class field trip, but it takes the entire class working together to save the day.
• Overcoming Trauma: Iggy's teacher has to overcome a legitimate fear due to a past trauma in this story. It seems silly to most readers, but kids who are scared of something due to a past event may find in her example the courage to confront their own fears. At the very least, it could make an interesting discussion point.
• Fans of Rosie Revere: If you’ve read Andrea Beatty’s other book, Rosie Revere, Engineer and enjoyed it. Keep an eye out. She and Iggy share the same class. Don’t know Rosie? Well, if you like this one, you definitely need to check out her story and keep an eye out in September for the newest addition to the gang, Ada Twist, Scientist.
• Fans of Kids Saving the Day: If you or someone you know like stories about kids saving the day, you'll probably like this story.

Young Frank, Architect by Frank Viva
Young Frank wants to be an architect like his grandpa, Old Frank. But Young Frank's designs seem to be a bit too strange, so Old Frank takes him to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see how the professionals do things. At the MoMA both Franks discover designs by several Franks who did things rather unconventionally, inspiring them to let loose with the creativity when they get home.

Finally, a Frank Viva color scheme that didn't grate on my eyes! I really liked Young Frank and Old Frank's interactions, and the empowerment to get creative.

Activity Tie-ins/Target Readers:

• Art: This was a nice way to introduce lesser-known art forms to kids, like furniture design and architecture. 
• Real Artists/Architects: Brief biographies of the artists highlighted in the visit to MoMA are included in the back of the book, including Frank O. Gehry, Frankl Lloyd Wright, Charlotte Perriand, and Arthur Young.
• Metropolitan Museum of Art: If you are looking for a picture book tour of an art museum that may be too far away to visit in real life, crack the cover of this book. You can also take a virtual tour of the artwork in their collection at http://www.moma.org/collection/ Creativity: If you are trying to inspire kids to think outside the box and fire up their creativity, Young Frank and Old Frank are here to do just that.
• Frank Viva & Thinking Outside the Box: Viva himself fully embraces bending the rules of conventional art in his picture books. The color palette he chose for this book is perhaps the most mild of all his picture books. Want to see how he bends the rules and steps out a bit in creativity? Check out some of his other picture books. He uses strange colors, creative die-cuts and other atypical picture book illustrations in his books such as Outstanding in the Rain, and Young Charlotte, Filmmaker. The illustrations aren't always my favorite and they may not be yours, but you can respect his creative bravery.

Library Mouse: Home Sweet Home by Daniel Kirk
When the library where Sam lives gets renovated, he has to find a temporary new home. He and Sarah decide to research architecture styles and each tries making their own new home in the attic. While satisfied with their architecture and building skills, Sam just isn't satisfied with the hominess of his new building. So Sarah suggests they make some more. They both make many different homes, but nothing feels quite right until Sarah figures out what Sam is missing.

Activity Tie-ins/Target Readers:

• What Is Home?: This story provides a cute lead in to a discussion of what makes home home. You could branch this out to a persuasive writing assignment, or just have students discuss it.
• Architecture Styles of the World: Not only is this a cute story about what is home, it is also a great introduction to a broad range of architectural styles from around the world. There's further information on each style used in the back of the book. 
• Social Studies/Geography: Because this covers worldwide home styles, it could fit in with several social studies or geography lessons.
• Animal Lovers: Sam and Sarah are two cute mice sure to appeal to animal lovers. 
• Research Skills/Library Lovers: There are some of us who just can’t resist a story set in a library. So, this is a no brainer pick for library lovers. But Sam and Sarah not only live in the library, they treasure its resources and know how to research. This could also be used to introduce researching skills.

Home by Carson Ellis
Ellis explores the numerous structures that can be called home.

Activity Tie-ins/Target Readers:

• Architecture Styles of the World: A fantastic survey of a wide variety of homes both real and mythical.
• Real vs Imaginary: Young children especially can have a hard time distinguishing between real and imaginary. A lot of the homes featured in this book are real homes for real creatures, but a few are imaginary. See if they can figure out which are real and which are imaginary.
• Social Studies/Geography: Because of the variety of homes featured, this can inspire readers to think about how their home may be different from others down the block or around the world. A great book to include in studies of community and culture. 
• Art Lovers: The illustrations are sure to beg readers to revisit this book more than once.
• What Is Home?: Like Library Mouse: Home Sweet Home, this book can spark a conversation about the definition of home. I definitely recommend watching Candlewick's Book Trailer for this book which is more of an interview with the author/illustrator about home.
• Compare/Contrast: Read this with Library Mouse: Home Sweet Home and compare/contrast the homes featured, the definition of home, etc.

Nonfiction Resources

Houses and Homes by Ann Morris, photos by Ken Heyman
A survey of houses from all over the world, the different styles they can take, places they can be, and materials they are made from.

Activity Tie-ins/Target Readers:

• Architecture of the World: The words in this are very simple, but it does a great job of exploring the diversity of structures that can be called home through the few words and fantastic photographs. The only thing that dates this a little are the clothing styles of some of the Western people, but overall, the variety of structures hasn't changed so this is still a great resource. The back of the book includes further information on each house pictured, where it is located, and the materials used in it's construction.
• Geography/Climate/Environment’s Impact on Architecture: This book provides an opportunity to really examine why an architectural style developed the way it did in a specific location. It could branch off into further research on the impact of geography, environment, climate, local resources, common jobs in that area on that specific house style.
• Nonfiction/Fiction Book Pair: Use this with either Library Mouse: Home Sweet Home or Home or both as a fiction/nonfiction pair. Or read them together for compare and contrast activities. 
• Curious Readers: Hand this one to curious readers who like to learn about their world.

Who Built That? Skyscrapers: an introduction to skyscrapers and their architects by Didier Cornille
A quick survey of famous skyscraper architects and their most recognizable or revolutionary designs.

This is a rather simple book with quick, one-page biographies of architects followed by simple introductions to some of their famous buildings and/or designs (a couple haven't been built). A great introduction to architects and architecture that proves a quick, but informative and eye-catching read.

Activity Tie-ins/Target Readers:

• Architect Biographies: The architects highlighted include eight men from all over the world starting in 1889 and reaching into present day: Gustave Eiffel, Louis Sullivan, William Van Alen, Mies van der Rohe, Fazlur Rahman Khan, Ken Yeang, Jean Nouvel, and Adrian Devaun Smith. 
• International Architecture: I really appreciated that this book is international in scope. The skyscrapers covered in this book area found all over the world: America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. The architects are from all over the world too.
• Environmental Studies: Some of the modern designs and architects featured men who were/are working on some very interesting bioclimatic ideas that are ecologically friendly. Recommended for those doing environmental studies or ecology projects.
• Quick Nonfiction Read: This looks longer than it really is thanks to the layout and all the illustrations of the skyscrapers included. It is a quick and interesting nonfiction read.