Architecture Shapes

by Michael J. Crosbie, Steve Rosenthal

A senior editor at Progressive Architecture and an award-winning architectural photographer come together to present four colorful board books that introduce the built environment to preschoolers. Architecture Counts consists of numbers from 0-10 such as two brackets, three dormers, five arches and six ducts. Architecture Shapes explores shapes through the composition and arrangement of windows. Architecture Colors looks at the entire building as well as several details to suggest nine colors including a red barn, green roofs and a white church. Architecture Animals is an excursion into the deepest, wildest, architectural jungles around. Contains 14 animals in their native habitats--crawling across building facades, perched on top of a skyscraper or lounging at the ocean shore. Each full-color photograph is accompanied by a rhyme that provides hints of the animal's location or history.

Genres: Childrens

16 pages, Board Book

First published August 1, 1993

About the author

Michael J. Crosbie, PhD, FAIA, has made significant contributions in the fields of architectural journalism, research, teaching, and practice.
Having served as an editor at Architecture: The AIA Journal, Progressive Architecture, ArchitectureWeek.com, and is editor-in-chief of Faith & Form, a quarterly journal on religious art and architecture, he is also a frequent contributor to Architectural Record and writes about architecture and design for the Hartford Courant.
While he has appeared as an architectural expert on The History Channel, he is also the author of more than 20 books on architecture (including five books for children) and has edited and contributed to more than 20 others. Crosbie's work is also frequently featured on CommonEdge.
Additionally, he has served as an adjunct professor at Roger Williams University and Catholic University and has lectured and served as a visiting critic at architecture schools in North America and abroad, including the University of California (Berkeley), the University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, and the Moscow Architectural Institute.
Crosbie is a registered architect in the State of Connecticut and has practiced with Centerbrook Architects & Planners and Steven Winter Associates.

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

We did this kind of like a guessing game. I'd hold my hand over the right hand page and he'd guess the shape based on the photo. Nice and easy shape book for pre-readers and architectural to boot! Would be good for helping young ones to observe and be able to describe and appreciate their surroundings.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is part of a trio of books. The other two are Architecture Animals and Architecture Colors. I saw them in the gift shop of the Canadian Center of Architecture in Montreal. Really neat idea, and aesthetically pleasing!

[Angelica Bergman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this up at the library, and it is a great shapes book. Simple and can teach the kids the words too. I so wish hexagon was in there, but it is still a perfect visual book for all young kids.