Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
He's not driving the bus, but Speck Lee Tailfeather is more than capable of piloting this tour of world architecture, offering a pigeon's-eye perspective of structures including Canterbury Cathedral, Fallingwater, the Great Pyramid of Giza, and more. Every spread features one or more buildings from around the globe, several of which receive apt nicknames in pigeon-speak (the Great Wall of China is "The Great Worm"). Speck's informative (and informed!) commentary appears in paragraphs at the bottom of each page, while dialogue balloons offer additional tidbits. Speck's cavalier narration is often amusing, though at times his observations can be overblown ("Some of the most breathtaking moments on my trip have been when I spotted a monumental bridge soaring across the empty space of a valley, its natural curve echoing the bow of a rainbow or the hang of a spider's web"). Seki's collage-style artwork mixes photographic elements into vistas with a matte, marbled texture, offering dramatic representations of such structures as Gaudi's Basilica de la Sagrada Familia. An engaging architectural overview, courtesy of a one-of-a-kind tour guide. Ages 7-up. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-6-Who would have thought that pigeons have "a deep and abiding passion for architecture"? Tailfeather, who narrates this tour of world buildings and other structures, is well aware that humans view his kind with disgust, so he's on a mission to educate them not only about architecture, but also about pigeon intelligence. His journey includes familiar structures, such as the Eiffel Tower and the Great Pyramid of Giza as well as some lesser-known structures like the Church of the Light in Ibaraki, Japan. The bird always shares each building's pigeon name as well as its human appellation; for example, the Sydney Opera House is known to our feathered friends as Hungry Beaks Hall. His tour also includes bridges and the cities of Venice and Brasilia. While most of the structures are in Europe or the U.S., a smattering come from Asia, Africa, and South America. The locations of each are pinpointed on a map on the endpapers, and the last two spreads have additional information about the architects. All measurements listed are metric. The bird's irreverent voice makes him a charming narrator and lightens the tone; he often makes comments such as "Wowza!" or "I couldn't believe my beady blinkers!" The collage-style illustrations generally do a good job of capturing the overall look of the buildings, though occasionally the scale can be unclear. For students who need more information about architectural movements, Christine Paxmann's From Mud Huts to Skyscrapers (Prestel, 2013) would be a good choice.-Jackie Partch, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR (c) Copyright 2013. 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
Pigeon Speck Lee Tailfeather leads children on an international architecture tour, stopping at famous sites and offering both solid information and his special perspective on each one. The clever narrative concept is mostly well executed, and the flowery writing is entertaining (on the Eiffel Tower: "the latticed tower looked almost delicate, like spun sugar"). Seki's illustrations are attractive but stylized rather than technically detailed. (c) Copyright 2014. 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
A world tour of literal and figurative high spots in human construction, conducted by a feathered guide. Pigeons are, as you know (now), great students of architecture. Here, expert Speck takes readers on a looping flight past more than two dozen structures, including roundup spreads of renowned skyscrapers and bridges. He offers enthusiastic exclamations ("Fully overawed!") and occasional critical remarks--about, for instance, how Shah Jahan's tomb unbalances the interior of the Taj Mahal. He also provides insights into how creative use of materials and design contribute to each structure's purpose and emotional effect. Stops on the zigzag tour mix such usual suspects as the Great Pyramid at Giza, the Eiffel Tower and Fallingwater with Japan's concrete Church of the Light, Le Corbusier's Notre-Dame de Ronchamp, and the entire cities of Venice and Brasilia. Each gets a "pigeon name" as well as a human one (Canterbury Cathedral is "The Mish-Mash Marvel") and is depicted in a collage illustration that mixes drawings and heavily processed photo fragments in arty ways. Mannered as they are, the distant views and inset close-ups do convey adequate senses of look and scale. An annotated pictorial index on the final spreads supplies further tidbits about the structures and their architects. Airy but informative and sure to tempt young readers into taking closer looks at the buildings (and pigeons) around them. (Informational picture book. 9-11)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
