Why Humans Build Up (Gregor Craigie)

 

This book is written by a Canadian author and a host of CBC in Victoria. The book starts off with a story of the Calgary Tower - a tower we can rarely find anything written about!  I love how it is organized: by all the reasons towers are built: security, spirituality, ingenuity, utility, rivalry, beauty, industry, observatories, luxury, efficiency, and sustainability. It is perfect for our structure unit. Very kid friendly!

(Introduced to us through the CPL summer reading online event June 2023)

Goodreads says:

Why did they build it so high?

People have been constructing tall buildings for thousands of years, for many different reasons. Castle walls kept people safe. Utility towers transmit TV and cell-phone signals. Observatories give people a bird’s-eye view of the world. Beautiful buildings stand out in the crowd. Skyscrapers provide housing for a lot of people. There are some good reasons for building up, and a few bad ones as well.

With a growing global population, we will need more and more space to live, learn and work in. But what does that mean for the health of the planet? Can we do it sustainably? Tall buildings may be part of the answer. From the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Leaning Tower of Pisa to the Burj Khalifa and the Shanghai Tower, Why Humans Build Up asks why and how we build higher and higher, and what that means for the planet.

Shapes, Lines, and Light (Katie Yamasaki)

 

This is an amazing story! My students had no idea about the racism towards Japanese people during World War II in the USA. The author's grandfather was a famous architect. The story mentions 9/11 and says how sad he would have felt....ironic considering the racism he faced. However, destroying a building he designed because of racism would have hurt his heart. He wasn't alive during 9/11, however. 
The story does a good job of showing parts of his life he loved and the warmth and light despite the hurdles he faced.

Goodreads says:

Minoru Yamasaki described the feeling he sought to create in his buildings as “serenity, surprise, and delight.” Here, Katie Yamasaki charts his life and work: his childhood in Seattle’s Japanese immigrant community, paying his way through college working in Alaska’s notorious salmon canneries, his success in architectural school, and the transformative structures he imagined and built. A Japanese American man who faced brutal anti-Asian racism in post–World War II America and an outsider to the architectural establishment, he nonetheless left his mark on the world, from the American Midwest to New York City, Asia, and the Middle East.


This striking picture book renders one artist’s work through the eyes of another, and tells a story of a man whose vision, hard work, and humanity led him to the pinnacle of his field. 

Hank Zipzer: Niagara Falls, Or Does It? (Henry Winkler)

 

Henry Winkler is an old friend of mine. Well, not really, but it feels like he is! I love his approach in this book. We were reading it as a read aloud amidst the time we do our structure projects so my students really got a kick out of Hanks. I also felt like it really reaches out and grabs kids because so many kids feel like school isn't easy for them, like it isn't easy for Hank. There were lots of laughs when we read this aloud. We actually ended up moving to at home learning part way through and one of the concerns my students had was how we would finish the book. Of course, we did. There's always time for a great read-aloud like this! As we were reading it, the Hank Zipzer books started being taken off the shelf by quite a few kids. Although I think it's good to read the first one first, you don't have to read the books in order and they're all hilarious. We found lots of interesting connections to Third Grade Angels and Frindle while reading this one.

Goodreads says:

Inspired by the true life experiences of Henry Winkler, whose undiagnosed dyslexia made him a classic childhood underachiever, the Hank Zipzer series is about the high-spirited and funny adventures of a boy with learning differences.

It's science project time in Ms. Adolf's class. This is good news and bad news for Hank-he loves science, but he hates the report part. So Hank turns to TV to take his mind off things. But when the program directory scrolls by too quickly for Hank to know what's on, he decides to take apart the cable box to try to slow down the crawl. Great! Now Hank has found the perfect science project! But what he wasn't counting on was his sister's pet iguana laying eighteen eggs in the disassembled cable box. How is Hank going to get out of this one?

Roberto: The Insect Architect (Nina Laden)

 

Clever language and idea! My students thought the bugs were funny and enjoyed the humor. Much of the clever language was over their head, but I enjoyed that! There are lots of ways we could use this book in Grade 3!

(e-book from CPL)

Goodreads says:

Ever since he was a wee mite (a termite, that is), Roberto has wanted to be an architect. Discouraged by his wood-eating family and friends, he decides to follow his dream to the big, bug city. There he meets a slew of not-so-creepy, crawly characters who spark in him the courage to build a community for them all.With stunning collage illustrations and witty text, the creator of the bestselling The Night I Followed the Dog, Private I. Guana, and When Pigasso Met Mootisse brings to life a funny and inspirational story that will encourage readers of any age to build their dreams.

Curious George Builds a Home (Margaret Rey)

 

Simple story but touches on some good concepts for our structures unit!

Goodreads says:

When Curious George meets a homing pigeon, he decides that his home, with im-provements, would be perfect for his new friend. This paperback picture book explores the concepts of planning and design.

Architecture: Cool Women Who Design Structures (Girls in Science) by Schmermund Elizabeth, Chandhok Lena (Illustrator)

Great book for our structure unit! Has good info on Stonehenge as well as women who built/designed cool structures.

Goodreads says:

What style building do you live in? Is it a skyscraper, a Victorian home, or a modern building? In Architecture: Cool Women Who Design Structures, readers ages 9 to 12 examine the stories of women who are today designing the houses, schools, museums, and public spaces where we spend our time.

Architecture is the planning, designing, and construction of buildings and other structures. It’s architects who figure out what style of building fits best in a certain space, what the structure should look like, how it needs to be built to withstand the environment, and what materials best suit the needs of the people who are using the structure. Art, engineering, science, technology—architecture involves all these disciplines, and more!

Architecture: Cool Women Who Design Structures examines the history of architecture and the journey of three women who are working as architects today. Patricia Galván works in commercial and interior architecture and is the chairwoman for the American Institute of Architects’ Women in Architecture committee. Farida Abu-Bakare was born in Qatar and raised in Canada. Today, she is an architect who designs science labs for universities and other institutions. Maia Small works as an architect and urban designer at the City of San Francisco Planning Department. She has also taught architecture at Harvard University, Rhode Island School of Design, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Sidebars on important female architects throughout history, quotes, and essential questions for readers are included throughout the text in order to encourage critical thinking and self-drawn conclusions. The book also includes a timeline, glossary, and further resources for readers to further investigate the topic. 

Brick by Brick (Charles Smith Jr)

I picked this book to read because it is about a great structure my students are often interested in. It brought about a whole different conversation though! We had just read a book from a series called Girls in Science and my students asked why they always write about girls in science and math. I told them that girls used to never go into jobs for people good at math and science. We started talking about lots of other things girls also used to not be able to do. They asked why it was this way and I said, "I don't know, but one day someone asked the same question. They said why is it this way? This is dumb." Because of this, people started changing what they thought girls and women could do. Then I told them, "If you think girls had it bad, you should read this story!" We had a very interesting discussion about racism, slavery and the history of it all. At the end of the book, it says that the British burned down the first White House. I told them that this was before Canada was a country and so it was the people who lived in Canada before it was formed that burnt down the White House. That brought about another interesting discussion on politics and working well together and more. What a great discussion. One student said, "This is why I love reading so much! This is so interesting."

I agree my dear student. I agree!


Goodreads says:

The president of a new country
needs a new home,
so many hands work
together as one.

Black hands,
white hands,
free hands,
slave hands.

In this powerful story of the building of the White House, Coretta Scott King Award winners Charles R. Smith Jr. and Floyd Cooper capture the emotion and toil that created this incredible structure, the home of our president. The White House was created by many hands, several of the slaves', who will be remembered throughout history for their extraordinary feat. Many slaves were able to purchase their freedom after earning money from learning a trade through this work, which speaks to their unbelievable strength. The title reflects how this towering symbol of America was created by hand, human hands, working toward their freedom, brick by brick. 

Monumental Verses (Patrick Lewis)

What a neat book. Poems about structures. Many of the structures we focus on or use as structure projects are in this book:

- Stonehenge
- Easter Island
- Golden Gate Bridge
- Great Pyramid of Cheops
- Empire State Building
- Arc de Triomphe
- Rose city of Petra
- Palace of Versailles
- Statue of Liberty
- Machu Picchu
- Eiffel Tower
- Mount Rushmore
- Great Wall of China\

(Is in our school library)

Goodreads says:

Award-winning poet Lewis invites readers to climb aboard for an eye-opening, lyrical journey to some of the world's greatest monuments, including lush photographs. The back matter features a map showing each site's location, historical information on each one, and a brief history of the photographs. Teachers looking to integrate language arts into their social studies lessons will find this book a delight.

Who Was Frank Lloyd Wright (Labrecque)

I love Frank Lloyd Wright's work so I was keen to read this biography. He didn't have good role modeling in his life from his dad and that had a great impact on his family life. It was interesting to read about how he valued play and simplicity.

I've heard in places that this series is targeted to middle school. I hope my grade 3s are okay with it because I have a lot of them! I guess I'll have to read more of them to make sure they're okay.



Goodreads says:

Born in Wisconsin in 1867, Frank Lloyd Wright became obsessed with a set of building blocks his mother had given to him on his ninth birthday. He grew up to become the father of organic architecture and the greatest American architect of all time, having designed more than 1,100 buildings during his lifetime. These included  private homes – such as the stunning Fallingwater, churches, temples, a hotel, and the world-famous Guggenheim Museum in New York City.  When asked how he could create so many designs, he answered, “I can’t get them out fast enough.” Frank Lloyd Wright was a man ahead of his time who could barely keep up with his own ideas! 

Rosie Revere, Engineer (Andrea Beaty)

This story from a series. We read Iggy Peck and my students loved that he showed up in this book. Rosie's style and smarts were great. It was nice that something that she thought was a mistake turned into a great learning experience. Great character lesson on perseverance.

Goodreads says:

Rosie may seem quiet during the day, but at night she's a brilliant inventor of gizmos and gadgets who dreams of becoming a great engineer. When her great-great-aunt Rose (Rosie the Riveter) comes for a visit and mentions her one unfinished goal--to fly--Rosie sets to work building a contraption to make her aunt's dream come true. But when her contraption doesn't fl y but rather hovers for a moment and then crashes, Rosie deems the invention a failure. On the contrary, Aunt Rose inisists that Rosie's contraption was a raging success. You can only truly fail, she explains, if you quit.

Iggy Peck Architect (Andrea Beaty)

I didn't get to read this with my class because I was away at a workshop. I love workshops, but I hate missing our book-a-days!




Goodreads says:
Meet Iggy Peck—creative, independent, and not afraid to express himself! In the spirit of David Shannon’s No, David and Rosemary Wells’s Noisy Nora, Iggy Peck will delight readers looking for irreverent, inspired fun.

Iggy has one passion: building. His parents are proud of his fabulous creations, though they’re sometimes surprised by his materials—who could forget the tower he built of dirty diapers? When his second-grade teacher declares her dislike of architecture, Iggy faces a challenge. He loves building too much to give it up! With Andrea Beaty’s irresistible rhyming text and David Roberts’s puckish illustrations, this book will charm creative kids everywhere, and amuse their sometimes bewildered parents.

 Also from the powerhouse author-illustrator team of Iggy Peck, Architect, is Rosie Revere, Engineer, a charming, witty picture book about believing in yourself and pursuing your passion. Ada Twist, Scientist, the companion picture book featuring the next kid from Iggy Peck's class, is available in September 2016.

Cleonardo: The Little Inventor (Mary GrandPre)

Another: You do you book, like Foxtrot.

The illustrations are very detailed and would definitely capture a class' attention as you read it to them. This could be a fun story to read around Father's Day.

Would be fun to read this with a non-fiction book on Leonardo DaVinci, perhaps during a structures unit.

Goodreads says:

Cleonardo's father is an inventor. So was her grandfather, her great-grandfather, and all the great-greats before them. Cleo wants to be an inventor too. She tries to help her father in his workshop, but he never uses her great ideas. Can Cleo invent something big and important and perfect all by herself?

This imaginative story of a father and his daughter brings the magic of creativity to little inventors everywhere. 

The Wonderful Towers of Watts (Patricia Zelver)

Kids love REAL stories. This one is a true story of a man with an interesting hobby (fettish?) for building towers. It turns out there really was a Simon Rodia and he built so many amazing things there is now a center called The Watts Towers Arts Center. I want to visit it the next time I'm in LA!

Goodreads summary:

One man's monument to his neighborhood.

This House Once (Deborah Freedman)

This would be great to read at the beginning of our structures unit.

Emily Arrow shares what this book is about best of all:


Goodreads says:

Deborah Freedman’s masterful new picture book is at once an introduction to the pieces of a house, a cozy story to share and explore, and a dreamy meditation on the magic of our homes and our world.

Before there was this house,
there were stones,
and mud,
and a colossal oak tree—
three hugs around
and as high as the blue.

What was your home, once?

This poetically simple, thought-provoking, and gorgeously illustrated book invites readers to think about where things come from and what nature provides.

The House that George Built (Suzanne Slade)

This book was a great introduction for our Structures and Design in science. It is a good mix of facts and poetry! It talks about problems in building it, its stability (they use the word sturdy), etc. It's great! We could easily have a discussion about quality of life from this book. It also gives some good history lessons on the US breaking away from England and becoming a nation.

Goodreads summary:

THE HOUSE THAT GEORGE BUILT takes readers through the process of how the president’s house came to be—starting with the contest George held to choose the perfect design for this legendary landmark, all the way to President John Adams’s move into the grandiose home. Cleverly written in the familiar format of "The House That Jack Built," author Suzanne Slade supplements her rhyming verse with lively conversational prose, describing how George was involved in this project from beginning to end, from selecting the location to figuring out how to get the thousands of heavy bricks to the construction site. Rebecca Bond’s watercolor illustrations help readers follow the steps to what became the White House as we know it today.(

Three Little Pigs: An Architectural Story(Steven Guarnaccia)

Goodreads summary:

In this quirky, artsy retelling of "The Three Little Pigs,” the pigs and their homes are nods to three famous architects—Frank Gehry, Phillip Johnson, and Frank Lloyd Wright—and their signature homes. Each house is filled with clever details, including furnishings by the architects and their contemporaries. Of course, not all the houses are going to protect the pigs from the wolf’s huffing and puffing. Which one will? The wolf, and readers, are in for a clever surprise ending.

This book would be a great one for our Structures and Design unit! It would be interesting to teach them about the three great architects mentioned in the book (Frank Gehry, Phillip Johnson, and my personal favorite: Frank Lloyd Wright). Frankly, I think this book would be a great one for all ages)