Round Buildings, Square Buildings, and Buildings that Wiggle Like a Fish - Softcover

Isaacson, Philip M.

3.64

33 ratings by Goodreads

9781101933206: Round Buildings, Square Buildings, and Buildings that Wiggle Like a Fish

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1101933208 ISBN 13: 9781101933206

Publisher: Ember, 2016

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What do we see when we look at a building? From the classical Parthenon in Greece to the simple fisherman's shacks in New England to the post-modernist Pompidou Center in France, Philip Isaacson explores what gives buildings their character. From the materials, form, color, ornamentation, placement in the landscape and the way the light strikes them, there are so many elements that contribute to shaping architecture into art. This is a perfect introduction to the complexities and wonders of architecture for children and adults.

"This wonderful book will change the way you see buildings forever." –New York Newsday

"The photographs are marvelous and the text clear and interesting."—The New Yorker

"Isaacson's book could be the beginning of a lifelong love of architecture."—The Chicago Tribune

A Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book: Nonfiction, a Notable 1988 Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, and winner of the Scientific American Young Readers Award

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About the Author:

Philip M. Isaacson was an attorney and art critic for the Maine Sunday Telegram. His other book for young readers was A Short Walk Around the Pyramids & Through the World of Art. Mr. Isaacson passed away in 2013.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 4-7 This obtuse collection of photographs takes readers on a tour of major and minor buildings around the world. In the accompanying text Isaacson discusses the elements that give a building its character and attempts to explain how the harmony of these elements makes a structure beautiful. Unfortunately, the organization of the book is so fragmented, jumping from place to place, backwards and forwards through time, that the result is more a travelogue than a survey of architectural styles. After looking at the Taj Mahal, the Parthenon, and Chartres, Isaacson examines building materials, windows, doors, roofs, and ornamentation. Some points are belabored, while others are not clearly defined, and the ``gee-whiz'' tone quickly becomes annoying. The 93 color photographs are mostly of high quality, and each is numbered for reference within the text. Because each building generally is allotted only one photograph, even when a different element is being discussed, readers are frequently required to turn back to a previous picture. An appended list of the photographs purports to offer additional information about the buildings and structures discussed but, for the most part, simply repeats information previously given. The lack of a bibliography, a glossary, and an index limits the book's usefulness. Jeanette Larson, Mesquite Public Library, Tex.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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