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

Isaacson, Philip M.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0679806490 ISBN 13: 9780679806493

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 1988

Synopsis

A fascinating introduction to architecture takes readers on a tour of buildings the world over, from the Taj Mahal to New York's TWA Terminal, and discusses the main elements that give buildings their character. Reissue.

About this title

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.

About this edition

• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 1988
• ISBN 10: 0679806490
• ISBN 13: 9780679806493
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 121