I love it when I can pair a female trailblazer with a male icon in the same field. Don’t you agree?
Prairie Boy: Frank Lloyd Wright Turns the Heartland into a Home
Author: Barb Rosenstock
Illustrator: Christopher Silas Neal
Publisher/Date: Calkins Creek, an imprint of Highlights/2019
Ages: 7-10
Themes: organic architecture, STEAM, biography
Short Synopsis (from Goodreads):
Frank Lloyd Wright, a young boy from the prairie, becomes America’s first world-famous architect in this engaging and inspirational nonfiction picture book introducing organic architecture–a style he created based on the relationship between buildings and the natural world–and transformed the American home.
Frank Lloyd Wright loved the Wisconsin prairie where he was born, with its wide-open sky and waves of tall grass. As his family moved across the United States, young Frank found his own home in shapes: rectangles, triangles, half-moons, and circles. When he returned to his beloved prairie, Frank pursued a career in architecture. But he didn’t think the Victorian-era homes found there fit the prairie landscape. Using his knowledge and love of shapes, Frank created houses more organic to the land. He redesigned the American home inside and out, developing a truly unique architecture style that celebrated the country’s landscape and lifestyle. Author Barb Rosenstock and artist Christopher Silas Neal explore the early life and creative genius of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, highlighting his passion, imagination, and ingenuity.
Read a review at Kirkus Reviews.
The World is Not a Rectangle: A Portrait of Architect Zaha Hadid
Author & Illustrator: Jeanette Winter
Publisher/Date: Beach Lane Books/2017
Ages: 5-10
Themes: STEAM, biography, architecture
Short Synopsis (from Goodreads):
Get to know Zaha Hadid in this nonfiction picture book about the famed architect’s life and her triumph over adversity from celebrated author-illustrator Jeanette Winter.
Zaha Hadid grew up in Baghdad, Iraq, and dreamed of designing her own cities. After studying architecture in London, she opened her own studio and started designing buildings. But as a Muslim woman, Hadid faced many obstacles. Determined to succeed, she worked hard for many years, and achieved her goals—and now you can see the buildings Hadid has designed all over the world.
Read my review.
I paired these books because they are picture book biographies of world-famous architects, both of whom changed the practice of architecture. In Wright’s case, he originated the idea of a prairie home that was part of and complemented its natural surroundings. Hadid was not only the first female architect to head her own firm, but her designs were rooted in her Muslim and Middle Eastern heritage. Interestingly, Wright’s Guggenheim Museum and Hadid’s residential building along New York City’s High Line combine curved facades which complement their surroundings well.
Wander, Ponder, Write 