Castle: How It Works (My Readers) - Hardcover

Macaulay, David; Keenan, Sheila

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1596437448 ISBN 13: 9781596437449

Publisher: David Macaulay Studio, 2012

Synopsis

Take a tour of a medieval castle.

Every part of the castle has a function. Walls keep the enemy out. Towers protect the lord and the soldiers. From the moat and portcullis to the great hall and dungeon, see how a castle works as an enemy army tries to storm the walls.

Castle: How It Works is a Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book of 2012

About this title

About the Author:

David Macaulay is the author and illustrator of more than twenty-five books including Cathedral, Pyramid, and Castle. His ground-breaking The Way Things Work has become a modern classic. He won the Caldecott Medal for Black and White. He lives in Vermont.

From Booklist:

*Starred Review* Let’s face it. Macaulay wrote the book on castles: his Caldecott Honor winner Castle (1977), later reenvisioned as part of Built to Last (2010). Now he revisits the topic with a younger audience and a new purpose in mind, recalling in an introductory note that as a kid, he didn’t like reading, but he found that pictures made it more fun. Actually, with lines like “Archers will greet you with flaming arrows,” the text here is fun, too. As the narrative begins, a castle stands on a hill, while would-be attackers skulk on another hill in the foreground. Short sentences offer plenty of intriguing information about the castle, its inhabitants, and their many means of defense. Readers are occasionally addressed informally, “Are you friend or foe?” Pretty soon, the attackers make their move. Despite their alarming weapons (battering rams, catapults), it’s clear that in the end, the defenders will prevail. The format is slightly larger than a typical book for beginning readers, giving a bit more scope for the illustrations: strong line drawings with color washes. The use of different perspectives and cross sections is particularly fine. A promising start for Macaulay’s new My Readers series of nonfiction. Grades K-3. --Carolyn Phelan

About this edition

• Publisher: David Macaulay Studio
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1596437448
• ISBN 13: 9781596437449
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32