Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Let's face it. Macaulay wrote the book on castles: his Caldecott Honor winner Castle (1977), later reenvisioned as part of Built to Last (2010). Now he revisits the topic with a younger audience and a new purpose in mind, recalling in an introductory note that as a kid, he didn't like reading, but he found that pictures made it more fun. Actually, with lines like Archers will greet you with flaming arrows, the text here is fun, too. As the narrative begins, a castle stands on a hill, while would-be attackers skulk on another hill in the foreground. Short sentences offer plenty of intriguing information about the castle, its inhabitants, and their many means of defense. Readers are occasionally addressed informally, Are you friend or foe? Pretty soon, the attackers make their move. Despite their alarming weapons (battering rams, catapults), it's clear that in the end, the defenders will prevail. The format is slightly larger than a typical book for beginning readers, giving a bit more scope for the illustrations: strong line drawings with color washes. The use of different perspectives and cross sections is particularly fine. A promising start for Macaulay's new My Readers series of nonfiction.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Launching the David Macaulay Studio imprint (along with Jet Plane: How It Works, simultaneously available), this handsome leveled reader aims "to stimulate both verbal and visual literacy," Macaulay writes in an introduction. Well-targeted to independent readers not yet ready to tackle Macaulay's more comprehensive 1977 classic, Castle, the engaging narrative addresses readers directly, first inviting them inside a castle as a "friend," and then imagining how they'd attempt to gain access to the structure as "foe." In the first guise, they're introduced to snippets of quotidian castle life: the blacksmith forges a horseshoe while his children chase chickens in the courtyard, servants prepare the great hall for a meal, and a guard uses a rudimentary toilet. Things get more exciting in the second half, as readers receive a crash course in storming the castle as an enemy-battering rams and "germy dead animals" are involved, which should easily pique interest. Macaulay's illustrations are rich in architectural and period detail (and who would expect otherwise?), skillfully partnering with the text to create quality nonfiction. Ages 7-8. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-4-This early reader provides an intimate tour of a complex structure that budding engineers and/or young history buffs will love. The structure is first described from afar with "tall towers.and a wide moat," then in greater detail once "you get past the guards." A variety of castle dwellers are briefly introduced, from the blacksmith to the lord and lady, as are the configurations of the rooms and fortifications. Young readers will giggle at the depiction of a guard visiting the toilet while gaining an understanding of how that facility would work. Outside the castle, an attack unfolds as battering rams are used against the walls and pigs are catapulted over the fortifications. Guards successfully repel invaders with boiling water and flaming arrows, and the book ends on a happy note with a celebratory feast. This engaging introduction to castles gives just enough information to explain each inhabitant's occupation or a room's purpose while keeping the text friendly to new readers. The abundance of new words is balanced by a comprehensive glossary and accompanying castle map, and the second-person voice gives an immediate "You are there" feeling that kids will appreciate. The pen-and-ink drawings, enhanced with color, helpfully illuminate the text by illustrating unfamiliar concepts, like "a siege" while giving life to the people and places described. Macaulay's original Castle (Houghton Mifflin, 1977) is a great follow-up for readers who are looking for detailed information.-Marian McLeod, Darien Library, CT (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Jet Plane: How It Works [My Readers] by David Macaulay with Sheila Keenan; illus. by David MacaulayPrimary David Macaulay Studio/Square Fish/Roaring Brook 32 pp.Macaulay launches his eponymous imprint with the first two entries in a series of easy readers that brings his signature brand of illustrated expository nonfiction to a younger audience. Both books revisit subjects covered in earlier titles (Castle, rev. 10/77; and The New Way Things Work, rev. 3/89, 3/99), but these topics are here presented with the needs of developing readers in mind. Each book provides a narrative arc -- the tour of a castle, a flight on a jet plane -- that invites readers to envision themselves in the action through a series of directions and questions aimed at "you." Words and pictures work in tandem to effectively weave information into this framework. Jet Plane is notable for the amount of technical details packed into its thirty-two pages (how a jet engine works; how the forces of lift, thrust, and drag allow a plane to take off; how a pilot steers the plane), while Castle abounds with Macaulay's sly, mischievous wit. Of the castle feast, he writes, "Bring on the meat, the beans, onions, and puddings. And please don't forget the eel pie!" The accompanying illustration shows a young boy in the foreground offering said pie to the reader: two eyes peer out of the crust, and a bit farther behind a tail pokes through. Elsewhere, he advises readers about additional ways to use the catapult: "You can also fire germy dead animals. Fire! Whoosh! Pigs away!" These auspicious debuts will either satiate or ignite the curiosity of young readers, but it's a win-win situation as readers can either continue with future volumes in this series or graduate to Macaulay's other books. Glossaries, suggested readings, and indexes are appended. jonathan hunt(c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Hooray for the launch of a new nonfiction series for newly fledged readers! Macaulay's compact, clear and engagingly illustrated explanation of how a castle is built to thwart potential intruders (you, the reader, in this case) is the right length and depth for readers who have progressed beyond beginner books. His trademark pen-and-ink lines reveal the structural purpose of each part of the medieval stone fortress, while color wash adds appeal. Clearly among the first of a series, this title is labeled "Level 4," and the sentences are just complex enough: "Beneath the ground floor is the dark, damp dungeon." The narrative is well supported by the illustration--and vice versa: An intriguing drawing has the essential details mentioned in the accompanying passage. Readers will encounter new challenges with text set against dark backgrounds on a few pages, but the font size and line spacing are just right. The length of the book--32 pages, including glossary--seems thoughtfully calculated to bestow a sense of accomplishment. The basics get covered here in fascinating detail: the guard who stops to use the toilet; a cross section of a battering ram. Added riches: a glossary, an index and a list of resources for further study, in small type but nicely focused. And will a young scholar read it again and look for more? You bet--it's great fuel for the imagination. (Nonfiction early reader. 4-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
