Book Description

Architects make zigzags—and they also design brackets, columns, dormers, eaves, facades, gables, houses, ironwork and all other architectural delights to be found inside this book. New Yorker cover artist Roxie Munro has created a wonderful whimsical tour through the architectural alphabet. Her 26 line drawings of the most common features of buildings and neighborhoods give a tantalizing glimpse into American architecture. ... Read more

Book Description

Rome in a Day is set in 128 AD, on a festival day and follows one day in the life ofa father and his 9-year-old son, Titus Cotta Maximus, as they spend a public holiday together in ancient Rome. Spend the day with father and son as they awake and breakf ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Absolutely one of Biesty's best
Lots of parents will be familiar with Stephen Biesty's "Cross-Sections" series, in which he provides wonderfully detailed cutaway drawings of famous old buildings and the like (e.g., ocean liners, spaceships, cathedrals, etc.). I really think this is one of the best of the series, too.

Previously our favorite was "Stephen Biesty's Man-of-War," which detailed life on a Napoleonic-era battleship. That one provided such good information that even an adult reading an old Horatio Hornblower novel could use it as a reference book.

Likewise, "Rome" depicts the main buildings and neighborhoods of Rome, maintaining a narrative about a young boy of noble family, Titus, as he investigates his native city.

An absolute must for any child or adult interested in ancient history or trying to become interested! ... Read more

Book Description

In Boston Harbor a barge maneuvers a huge floating section of a steel tunnel into place, then sets it gently onto the harbor floor.High above the Charles River workers place ten lanes of roadway on what will be the widest cable-stayed bridge in the world.Boston will never look the same.Since 1991 Boston has been the scene of the largest public construction project in American history.The Central Artery/Tunnel Project-the "Big Dig"-is the solution to problems that for decades have caused major headaches for people driving in and out of this major American city.Peter Vanderwarker takes us behind the scenes of this complex, awe-inspiring project.Informative text accompanied by remarkable photographs, illustrations, and maps explain these concepts and introduce us to some of the people who have worked on this project. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Big Dig Photography at it's best
Wonderful book for Children. Great Photography. A must for the Christmas Stocking from Santa Claus

Vanderwalker King of The Big Dig
This book is so much fun to read. The photography is wonderful. Vanderwalker has such a good "eye" for beauty, even in construction.

A must buy for the kids at Christmas

Bought it for a kid; kept it for myself
Living in Boston, you are constantly affected by Big Dig-related twists, turns, and upsets. One day the one-way street heads east; the next it has been re-routed west. Few of us venture into the heart of this truly amazing engineering feat, but this book shows us why we should pay more attention. Vanderwarker's spectacular photographs are thrilling to see and they give a glimpse of just why so much money has been poured into this project. We get to see things only the workers would normally see. But perhaps best of all is the glimpse it gives of cutting-edge engineering and technology. Seldom have I seen so clearly how yesterday's sci-fi has become today's "sci" and tomorrow's business as usual. ... Read more

Book Description

Castles and Forts is rich with factual and visual details about life inside the world"s many different types of fortifications. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

An elegant board book.
This small cardboard book features photographs of buildings and architectural details. The photographs are beautiful - curious subjects in luminescent hues; there is no text other than the names of the colors. If you are a parent bored to tears with green frogs and red balloons, this book is a lifesaver. It is not clear to me what aspect of this book interests my two year old son, but it has been among his top ten for the past four months ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Simple yet effective
This is a simple book, perhaps to simple for my 11 and 13 year old. However it's also a one of a kind. We are building a house this year, our first and the boys really wanted to know what was going on without me turning it into another school lesson. This book does just that each frame (simular to comic book style but larger) is one process of the home as is goes up. It is to the point and doesn't waste paper getting through the steps. Simple but effective. Any child wanting to understand "what's next" but not wanting an engineering lesson would appreciate this book. I do think even a 4 year old, that has it read to them could understand it.

What happens next on our house, Dad?
Our family refered to this book constantly as our own house was built. The book is filled with information for children. Plus, I admit it, there are some construction terms that I learned myself. This is a typical Gail Gibbons non-fiction, filled with relevant information combined with clear, easy-to-understand pictures.

Great book for a family building a house!
We bought this book because we wanted our children to know what to expect while we were building our first home. It was a great step by step guide of the building process with very colorful pictures. I would highly recommend it if you have young children! ... Read more

Book Description

Have you ever heard of a hotel made of snow? How would you put a building in space? And who washes the windows on the tallest skyscrapers in the world? Find out about the world's most famous and unique structures, from the ancient Coliseum to eco-friendly stadiums and more. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Not as fun as it seems
When I first heard of this title I thought it had the complete "How To" write or read hieroglyphs, but they were only stamps. There is a small book included but not what I expected.

Great
This "book" has a mini book inside with cool activities, an awesome stamp pad to make things funner and on the inside cover a full list of hieroglyphs, their sounds, their meanings, etc. This is a great book if you want to teach your kids hieroglyphs becuase Its fun, easy and very interesting.

Fun With Hieroglyphys
As a homeschooler we really enjoyed the "hands on" approach that this book with ink and stamps gave us. It was great fun and it helped us to understand the first written language a whole lot more.

I like it!
Good

This is a book and a stamp pad!!!!!
This set was awesome. I love to read the book and then use the stampers to spell out the cool stuff I learn. All my friends at the tattoo parlor absolutely love it and they use it to make original designs for tattoos. I highly recommend it!! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great teaching tool!
This model has a roof that swings open and you can view the inside, revealing a statue of Athena. Very easy to make. The pages are printed on both sides and in vivid colors. The directions are very clear. Would recommend this to anyone teaching ancient Greece. ... Read more

Book Description

New Look! Relaunched with new jackets and 8 pages of new text!

They Pyramids at Giza in Egypt have stood for over 4,500 years, and the amazing feat of their construction is shrouded in mystery.This superb collection of specially commissioned photographs tries to answer some of the riddles about them and the people who built them.Discover what archeological finds have revealed about life on the banks of the Nile during the Pyramid Age.See the pyramids and temples of Egypt and Mexico in breathtaking detail, as well as statues of pharaohs, officials, workers, and religious texts written on stone and papyrus thousands of years ago.Reconstructions show the step Pyramid Complex at Saqqara, the interior passages of the Great Pyramid, and a pyramid being built.Pyramid is a unique and fascinating introduction to the mysteries of these striking and colossal structures. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Draw Rainforest Animals
My students love this book. The step by step instructions on how to draw rainforest animals help with projects and report illustrations. It is a great gift for any child who loves to draw. ... Read more

Book Description

Building is a unique blend of imaginative activities, experiments and science facts that helps develop scientific thought. The vast "Make it Work" series teaches scientific principles through the hands-on process of making science work.It's an invaluable science series for school and home, mixing hobby and science in an effort to show kids how to observe, collate information, and reach conclusions. The easy-to-follow instructions and helpful color photos make it a great resource for children ages 8-11.

School Library Journal says the Make it Work! Science books are "A Great Series." ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great Project Book for Kids
My eight year old son has become very interested in mechanical and electrical projects. We picked this book up at the library, but quickly saw that this is a "keeper." It has many projects that will help him learn how things work as he builds a working model cable car / gondola (his first major project from this book), boat locks, several types of bridges, and other fascinating projects. I suspect he'll use at least one of these for future projects in school. The book is rated for 11 years & up, but with a little help, even kids a little younger can have a lot of fun.

A "Keeper" science book...
My eight year old son has become very interested in mechanical and electrical projects. We picked this book up at the library, but quickly saw that this is a "keeper." It has many projects that will help him learn how things work as he builds a moving model cable car / gondola (his first major project from this book), boat locks, several types of bridges, and other fascinating projects. I suspect he'll use at least one of these for future projects in school. The book is rated for 11 years & up, but with a little help, even kids a little younger can have a lot of fun. ... Read more

Book Description

J. Patrick Lewis's poems include odes to such great monuments as Angkor Wat, the Taj Mahal, the Great Pyramid of Cheops, Hagia Sophia, the Great Wall of China, Mount Rushmore, and the Guggenheim Museum. Each poem and monument will have one spread, with 13 monuments being featured in this 32 page book. There will be a spread in the back of the book with a map showing the locations of the monuments along with brief historical information on each site , some background on the photographer, and history of the photograph. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellent Work
A really well written account of two of the famous cosntructions of the ancient Romans- roads and aqueducts, though there's a lot more included in this thoughtful book. It also discuses bridges and their construction,as well as inns and stables along the roadways, maps and guidebooks, postal services, and much more. Written for high schhol students but very informative for anyone interested in the topic!

Marvelous Historical Writing
Once again, historian Don Nardo has turned out an information-filled,useful, and just plain interesting study of an aspect of ancient times. His discussion of Roman roads, aqueducts, and bridges is extremely well researched, clearly written, and his many details and anecdotes about how people used these facilities is highly entertaining. Included are discussions of tunnels through mountainsides and the difficulties of keeping them straight, the probelm of people diverting and stealing water from the aqueducts (and the penalities they received when caught), the gangs of slaves who maintained these facilities (with tomb epitaphs they left behind), the scaffolding used by Roman construction workers, and much much more. Along with Nardo's other books, this one deserves to be in every library and classroom. ... Read more

Book Description

Even though Neuschwanstein Castle was only built in the 19th century, it looks like a story-book image of a medieval palace.It was the model for Walt Disney's fantasy castle and was used in the famous children's film "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". ... Read more

Reviews (1)

DO NOT BUY!
I thought this was going to be an informative book on this wonderful castle, but it has been dimished to a child's fairytale that tells you absolutely nothing about Ludwing or Schloss Neuschwanstein. Has a few pictures, not that great. It's like twenty pages, and even a child would call it lame. DO NOT BUY! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Fun to build with lots of nice details
Excellent! A very three dimensional model that can actually be played and not just to look. One of the best paper models I've built. Had lots of details with hidden surprises,i.e, moving parts, dragon in alcove,etc. ... Read more

Book Description

Huge, noisy, quaint yet cosmopolitan, and altogether striking in its contrasts, the city of London is examined in all its complexity in this dynamic book. Learn how this city on the Thames, dating back over 2,000 years, developed from a small settlement consisting of only a river crossing and a garrison to the city it is today, famous for London Bridge, Westminster Abbey and so much more. Learn about its most famous inhabitants--from Queen Elizabeth I and Shakespeare to the Beatles and Margaret Thatcher--to understand how they all contributed to make London the city it is today.

Starting with the city’s Roman roots, continuing through the Saxon, Medieval and Tudor periods and into its growth in the Georgian and Victorian ages, we see London come alive as a vibrant, modern city. Through original artwork, photographs, maps, and time lines, we learn about its increasing relevance on the world stage as the British Empire touches every corner of the globe.The devastation of the two World Wars, the rebuilding of the city, the increase in immigration and London’s continued role as a "capital city" complete the story told in this engaging and lively book.
... Read more

Book Description

Was there ever a people like the Inkas?

Using slingshots, clubs and stone-tipped spears, this small Andean tribe conquered an area spanning 2,500 miles. Without the use of the wheel, they built a vast and sophisticated network of roads. Without an alphabet, they administered a population of ten million people. With the most primitive of tools, they built cities of stone.

Machu Picchu is as astonishing as its builders. Set in a remote, inaccessible area of the high Andes, this breathtaking city was never found by the Spanish Conquistadores. It is an untouched example of the genius of the Inkas.

"Machu Picchu" tells the story about the rise of the Inkas and the building of this great city. Award-winning author Elizabeth Mann has become justly famous for engrossing narratives that make distant worlds comprehensible and complex engineering feats accessible. In "Machu Picchu," these talents are displayed to their fullest.

Amy Crehore's paintings convey a fabulous world that seems at once intensely real and dream-like. Her luminous pallette is an Inka tapestry unfaded by time. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Inka magic
This book is a delight. The vivid colors and imagination are what separate this book from your typical, dry non-fiction children's book. Obviously, the Inkas had access to all of the colors of nature(not just earthy colors as some might think) and no piece of faded cloth can tell the true story. Just like the Sistine Chapel, the Inka garments were once vibrating with color. The building of Machu Picchu speaks volumes - they had supreme skills in the area of art and design. Highly recommended to students and adults alike.

Too much blue clothing
Loving Peruvian textiles and having visited many exhibits in museums, I was very disappointed at the extensive use of blue and blue-green in the clothing. The Inkas used only natural dyes including indigo but not mostly the textiles were reds, golds, oranges and browns. I wouldn't use this book with students. An excellent book on Peru's textiles - though not a child's book - is "Hidden Threads of Peru" Rowe and Cohen. These are not ancient textiles, but they do show a Peruvian choice of color.

a reader from oregon
I received this book as a gift and it is simply beautiful!If you want to know about the Incas read this book,or just look at the pictures...exquisite! ... Read more