Last year I read David Macaulay's Castle - a marvelous, short (80 pages) picture laden book on castle fundamentals, geared for the grade 5-7 reader. I loved it. It was informative, easy to read and understand, and just what I needed to better appreciate visiting castles in general. Macaulay's castle was fictitious but representative.
Last month, I read Macaulay's Cathedral. It was sort of a companion book to Pillars of the Earth, which I read at the same time, and I loved examining the pictures showing how flying buttresses work, how to build a vaulted ceiling, how to support a wall that is mostly stained glass, etc. Again, the cathedral is fictitious but representative and remarkably similar to the Kingsbridge Cathedral from Pillars of the Earth.
Macaulay also has books on City, Pyramid, Underground, Toilet, Mill, and, of course, the How Things Work series. He just might be my new favorite author!
