Architecture for kids

Macaulay, David. Building Big. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. Print.

Whenever I visited New York as a kid, I would try my hardest not to look up at the buildings. I didn't want to be mistaken for a tourist. As if stepping out of Grand Central Station on a Saturday afternoon wasn't a dead giveaway. It was really embarrassing to visit the city with my mom because she would unfold a map right in the middle of the sidewalk and ask street cops for directions!

Vila, Laura. Building Manhattan. New York: Viking, 2008. Print.

Now that I'm a middle-aged adult, I don't even attempt to look cool, and I know that I would never pass as a New Yorker. When I finally did live in New York, my friends would tease that I was "soooooo Connecticut."

Gerstein, Mordicai. The Man Who Walked between the Towers. Brookfield, Conn: Roaring Brook Press, 2003. Print.

A couple of years ago my mother and I spent a weekend together playing tourist in NYC, and it was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. We even rode a double-decker bus and got a close up view of architecture that I'd never noticed before. (Did you know that in the old days, stores would dress up their 3rd floor windows to attract riders on the el?)

Fischer, Chuck. Christmas in New York: A Pop-Up Book. New York: Bulfinch Press, 2005. Print.

I wish I'd paid more attention to architecture when I was younger. Aside from learning about ionic, Doric, and Corinthian columns, it's a subject that usually isn't covered in school. (Or it's entirely possible that I daydreamed straight through that lesson.)

Here are some more great books about architecture for kids:

Anno, Mitsumasa. Anno's Spain. New York: Philomel Books, 2004. Print.

Simon, Seymour. Bridges. San Francisco: SeaStar Books, 2005. Print.

Macaulay, David. Cathedral: the Story of Its Construction. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1973. Print.

Levy, Janey. The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright: Understanding the Concepts of Parallel and Perpendicular. PowerMath. New York: PowerKids Press, 2005. Print.

Greenberg, Jan, and Sandra Jordan. Frank O. Gehry: Outside in. New York: DK Ink, 2000. Print.


Munro, Roxie. The Inside-Outside Book of New York City. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1985. Print.

Doherty, Craig A, and Katherine M. Doherty. The Sears Tower. Woodbridge, Conn: Blackbirch Press, 1995. Print.

Hopkinson, Deborah, and James Ransome. Sky Boys : How They Built the Empire State Building. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books, 2006. Print.

Tomorrow we kick off the Charles P. Ferro Foundation Presents: Live at the Sherman Library! An Interactive Fine Arts Series for Youth with a hands-on building workshop. Master architect Margi Nothard is going to to show samples of her work and lead children in an exploration of beauty and structure. The event will include hands-on art activities for children and their families.