The Book Basket's Author Feature: David Macaulay
Good books to share in November
Hello!
Today’s Book Basket is dedicated to a man who’s devoted to details. His books were favorites of ours during history—but actually, anytime at all. You might know David Macaulay from his popular title The Way Things Work. However, we got to know him best through his picture books, which go by simple one-word titles. The details in his illustrations turn his books into a treat for investigative kids.
These nonfiction books vary in length; I wouldn’t want to try Mill as a read-aloud for starters, for example. But Cathedral might be OK over one or two sittings. Just do your homework ahead of time.
If you have a child in your home who just must know how things work, they will gobble these up.
A note: we have the black-and-white versions of these books, so I’ve linked to those. It looks like some of them have been redone in color. You might want to check those out instead!
Castle: Winner of the Caldecott Honor Award, this book follows the construction of a castle during the reign of Edward I (in the thirteenth century). Battlements, parapets, and a drawbridge—this is probably exactly what your kids think of when you say the word “castle.” Macaulay also gives some time to the relationship between a castle and the town nearby.
Mill: This is perhaps the most exhaustive work, and it’s definitely meant for older children or even adults. It’s the story of a New England mill built in the nineteenth century. The detail that went into building and sustaining such structures is extensive.
Pyramid: How were the pyramids constructed? It seems impossible. Given the lack of machinery, these are some of the most mind-boggling buildings! Even the process of locating true North for orienting the structure is remarkable. “A manmade mountain of more than two million blocks of stone.”
Cathedral: This one won the Caldecott honor. It tells the fictional story of the construction of a typical medieval cathedral, over the span of one hundred-plus years. It looks a little bit like Notre Dame. I think this is my favorite—it was his first one.
See also: City, Underground, Mosque. Plus more not listed here!
A note on purchase links: I’m a happy supporter of independent bookshops, so the links I provide will almost always go to my affiliate link at bookshop.org. For my local readers, I heartily recommend you buy them through our favorite, Goldberry Books, but you might have a shop closer to you. Of course, you can always find these selections on That Big Website That Ships Quickly, But Not As Quickly as It Used To, and Remember How They Sucked Us All In By Being a Bookstore to Begin With? I’m also a big fan of saving money and patronizing your local library. Happy reading!
Ahhh I have never heard of him! And Robert is going to LOVE these books. Building that engineering mind …