Look up! by Antonia Pesenti

Little Hare, 2018. ISBN 9781760125240
(Ages: 4 - Adult) Highly recommended. Themes: Architecture. Numbers. Colours. Shapes. Subtitled Numbers, colours and shapes in architecture, this remarkable book highlights some of the world's best known and significant buildings. The first section, "Numbers in Architecture" has the numbers one to ten on starkly white pages, next to beautiful illustrations of the number in architecture. So we have Two showcasing the two towers of Notre Dame, while Six is illustrated with the Sydney Opera House and its six sails, Eight is the eight columns of the Pantheon. Each of the ten illustrations is magnificent, taking up the whole page with the eye drawn to its completeness and the significance of the number applied to it. A small title appears near the building to tell younger readers what the place is and where it can be found, while the last pages have a complete set of the illustrations and their names as a handy reference. It is wonderful to be able to look more closely at each piece of architecture and take in the reason the number is there while seeing the place in its entirety without the distraction of surrounding buildings. Younger readers will appreciate these magnificent buildings from the world stage and take in their significance. A second section, "Colour in Architecture", shows different places but this time highlighting their colours. Here accommodation is the theme, while the last section, "Shapes in Architecture" displays the various shapes that have captured people's imaginations in buildings. Here we have the Guggenheim Museum, New York, and the Seattle Library as well as the Flu's Eye Dome in the USA.
The whole book is splendid in its revelation of architecture for young readers, enthusing them with the shapes, numbers and colours that can be found, giving them a basis from which to view other buildings in their vicinity.
Fran Knight