Iggy Peck, Architect

Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts, Abrams, 2007

My first thought when I saw this book was how perfect it would be for the GT Architecture unit taught in my local school district. With humor and rhyme, Andrea Beaty describes young Iggy Peck, who has a passion for building even as a baby.

Young Iggy Peck is an architect
and has been since he was two,
when he built a great tower--in only an hour--
with nothing buy diapers and glue.

Nether his mother, the neighbors or his second grade teacher, fully appreciate his talent. Thankfully, his building zeal is not daunted by his teacher's displeasure and he figures out how to construct a new bridge from odds and ends when the old one collapses, and traps his class on an island.

The story rolls off the reader's tongue easily. Illustrator David Roberts has made canny use of quadrille paper for the background of the cover and title page.

Iggy's architectural efforts are familiar which is half the fun of this book. The tower he constructs out of stinky diapers is the Leaning Tower of Pisa. He creates Neuschwanstein from pieces of chalk. The St. Louis Arch is constructed from "pancakes and coconut pie" and he recreates the Sphinx from mud and dirt in his yard.

I also noted the book design is by Chad W. Beckerman who blogs at Mishaps and Adventures. I was already a fan of his work.

Whether you are introducing the concepts of architecture of just celebrating the urge to build, Iggy is a splendid little fellow and there is no doubt, he has a bright future a head of him as we are left with images such as the Golden Gate Bridge, the Sydney Opera House, the Acropolis on the last pages.

Buy it for your library, now!