Architecture, Building, and Blocks

In Tina Skinner’s Christopher Wren: The Avian Architect (Schiffer, 2008), kids learn about a wide range of architectural styles as a creative wren (named Christopher) tries to build the ultimate birdhouse. For ages 5-8.

Andrea Beaty’s Iggy Peck, Architect (Abrams, 2007) is the rhyming story of the talented and irrepressible Iggy, who has been an architect since the age of two (when he built a tower of diapers and glue). For ages 5-8.

Also see the accompanying Iggy Peck’s Big Project Book for Amazing Architects (Abrams, 2017), a collection of 40 cool projects and activities, among them designing a dwelling on Mars, drawing a gargoyle, and building a spaghetti-and-marshmallow bridge. For ages 7 or so and up – there’s a lot of drawing.

Stella Gurney’s Architecture According to Pigeons (Phaidon, 2013) stars Pigeon Elder Speck Lee Tailfeather, who takes readers on a tour of world architecture from Canterbury Cathedral to the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Great Wall of China, and more. For ages 7 and up.

Annette Roeder’s 13 Buildings Children Should Know (Prestel, 2009) has background information and great color photos of such famous architectural sites as the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Parthenon, the Tower of London, and Neuschwanstein Castle. For ages 8-12.

Simon Armstrong’s Cool Architecture (Portico, 2015) is packed with fun facts about architecture through history and worldwide. Readers find out how bridges work, how to tell a Doric from a Corinthian column, why there’s only one way to build a medieval castle, and how to draw like an architect. For ages 9 and up.

David Macaulay’s wonderful building books, illustrated with exquisitely detailed black-and-white drawings, trace the building of a (fictional) historical structure step by step, from planning stage to completion, with a reader-friendly text and enough illustrative detail to satisfy even the most demanding young architect or engineer. Titles include Cathedral (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1981), Pyramid (1982), Castle (1982) City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction (1983), Mill (1989), Mosque (2008), and more. For ages 9 and up.

In Macaulay’s Built to Last (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010), the author combines and updates his earlier works Castle, Cathedral, and Mosque. Illustrations in the new version are in color. For ages 9 and up.

James Gulliver Hancock’s All the Buildings I’ve Drawn So Far series (Rizzoli Universe) is a delightfully illustrated and labeled building-by-building tour of world cities, among them New York, London, and Paris. A great architectural and geographical resource for all ages.

Patrick Dillon’s The Story of Buildings (Candlewick, 2014), with spectacular illustrations by Stephen Biesty, is a history of architecture from the pyramids through Greeks, Romans, and Renaissance to the Sydney Opera House and beyond. Features include London’s 19^th-century Crystal Palace, Beijing’s Forbidden City, and the Taj Mahal. For ages 10 and up.

Barbara Beck’s The Future Architect’s Handbook (Schiffer, 2014) takes kids through the process of designing a house. Learn how to do site plans, floor plans, sections, and elevations. For ages 9 and up.

Patricia Brown Glenn’s Under Every Roof (Wiley, 2009) is an excellent guide to why houses look the way they do, along with info on architectural styles, and terms for the various architectural elements that make up our homes (what’s a gable?). Great watercolor illustrations feature 60+ different houses from all across the United States. For ages 10 and up.

Pair Glenn’s book with an Architecture Scavenger Hunt.

By Lisa Herrington, Totally Strange Buildings (Childrens Press, 2017), illustrated with color photos, features a selection of bizarre buildings from across the United States. Lots of questions make for an interactive read. (Check out the building shaped like a giant picnic basket!) For ages 5-9.

Joan Marie Arbogast’s Buildings in Disguise (Boyds Mills Press, 2010) is a great collection strange buildings that look like everything from elephants to binoculars. A fun look at some truly odd architecture for ages 7-11.

See pictures of some of the world’s strangest buildings here.  

ArchKIDecture has a large collection of architecture-related lessons and projects for all ages, plus annotated book and resource lists.

With the LEGO Architecture series, kids can build the skylines of such famous cities as Chicago, Paris, Tokyo, London, and Sydney, as well as famous individual structures such as the Empire State Building, the Guggenheim Museum, the Capitol Building, and the Eiffel Tower. Generally recommended for builders ages 12 and up.