England Week - Cathedral

One of the predominate topics from my inspiration for this week’s theme, Sarum: The Novel of England, was Salisbury Cathedral. This amazing structure was built between 1220  and 1258. In trying to find a related book for children, the closest I could come was Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction. It follows the process of building a cathedral in France, so is not based on an English style cathedral (does Westminster Abby come to mind?), but hey, you’ll get the idea.

This book is laden with pen and ink illustrations as is David Macaulay’s custom. He shows us, in amazing detail, 80 years of cathedral creating effort in just about 80 pages. And what an effort it was: design the plans, harvest the wood, quarry the stone, ready the site, build the foundation, erect the walls, hoist the trusses, install the windows and cast the bells and so much more. Like the pyramids, the Great Wall of China, and today’s skyscrapers, Cathedral: the Story of Its Construction will leave you in complete awe of human achievement.

Ages 9-12
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Activity: Create your own stained glass window.

Great Heights Week - The Empire State Building

During the depths of the Great Depression a majestic symbol of fortitude arose. And it rose high. In fact it was the world’s tallest building for over 40 years. Besides providing a nation with much needed jobs (seven million man hours!), it also provided much needed national pride. In Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building, big pictures and minimal text show the process: from the demolition of the pre-existing hotel to the arrival of the steel and then the methods involved in building the skyscraper. This is an excellent choice for children interested in construction.

Ages: 6-9
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Activity: Build your own Empire State Building with this project from papertoys.com

P.S. Older children working on research papers would be well-served to get their hands on two other titles I found. In Unbuilding, David Macauley masterfully illustrates the imagined demolition of the Empire State Building. A great way to learn how it was built, in reverse. And Empire State Building: When New York Reached for the Skies by Elizabeth Mann is chock full of interesting information.