Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building

Christy Hale imaginatively pairs drawings of young children building forts, sandcastles and more with photographs of fascinating architectural structures that mirror the children's creations. Each comes with a concrete poem that will bring a smile to your face. Hale's comparisons and poems are accessible to young preschoolers, but they'll also intrigue seven and eight year olds. My daughter says, "I *love* that book! The thing I love most about it is that it can be for all age groups. It does not matter if you're a grandma reading it to your little grandchild or if you're a middle school kid who's fascinated by buildings." I especially appreciate the way Hale carefully included so many different children, architects and types of buildings throughout Dreaming Up. As you can see, the children have a range of skin tones and ethnic backgrounds. In the back, you can read about architects ranging from Zaha Hadid, an Iraqi woman who designed the Vitra Fire Station in Germany, to Simon Velez, a Columbian man who designed the Bamboo Church in Columbia.

How fun! Every child loves to build whether it is with legos, blocks, boxes or couch cushions and this book is filled with many colorful images of building play. Each page shows a child's masterpiece next to a beautiful image of a famous piece of architecture that looks like it was conceived by such play. I'll never again look at La Sagrada Familia without thinking of sand castles. Parents--The text is very short allowing for many repeated reads. This book will inspire hours of creative play!

This is a great book to introduce little kids to Architecture and Structural Engineering. Photos of famous buildings like Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water, next to images of children building with everyday objects. Perfect for my Preschool classroom.

Love this book. If you have a child who is interested in building this will inspire them in so many ways. Each page has a child created building with blocks, sand, blankets and other child materials. On the connecting page is a real life image that looks similar to the adult engineered building. The words are also written in the shape of the building. At the the end the author has more information about the adult construction - where it is located and its architect. A must have for any building center in a preschool

This was a great book to encourage children to build their own creations. The pictures that showed buildings that were like the children's models serve as an inspiration to imagine and that dreams and creations can become realities.

Lovely, realistic paintings of children at work and play with a variety of construction materials are paired with photos of "matching" architecture from around the world, and accompanied by concise, playful poetry. The pairings are well selected and represent not only traditional block building, but also sand play, art activities, nature play, and more. The paintings in this book have beautifully captured the focus of a child at work. My only wish is that the architectural photos paired with each painting were of a more consistent quality. Some are truly beautiful and well composed, but others feel more like the stock photos that would grace the uninspiring pages of a ten year old textbook. The book still makes a lovely addition to the classroom, where it will support children's interest in building and in the world around them. It reflects the ways in which young children typically interact with materials very well, and is sure to inspire play and "spark" many meaningful conversations about shapes, lines, buildings, and materials. The book has a place on the shelf of every adult educator and advocate, as well. It has a subtle but strong message about how very valuable concrete, hands-on learning opportunities are for young children, in a format that can be enjoyed and appreciated by early childhood professionals, parents, and policy makers alike.

Love the illustrations and this book helped inspire building prompts as well as educate about different types of buildings. I loved the real photographs that were included of actual buildings and structures.

I bought this for my nephew and niece for Christmas. I love how it presents side by side both an architect's and child's version of building. The illustrations are delightful. I packaged my gift with a bunch of popsicle sticks and other crafts materials to inspire them.