thunguyen's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book as it satisfies a particular taste of imagining the detailed process of building a medieval castle. While the black and white illustrations are straightforward, it's still lovely if you're a fan of stone castles. The writing is rather mechanical and dry, makes it a very short book, almost non-fiction although the whole thing is imagined.
mrsbond's review against another edition
4.0
Uses the building of fictional Lord Kevin le Strange's castle to explain the purpose, architecture and culture of castles in 13th century Wales. Large black and white illustrations (ink and pen) scattered throughout the text help to clarify and extend the text. Reference aids: glossary.
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
4.0
Caldecott Honor children's book concerning the building of a fictionalized castle and town in Wales. It makes a good compromise between being not detailed enough and too detailed. As a grownup, I'd like to see one detailed enough to build, if only you had the army of builders. Way more words then typical for a Caldecott.
snowbenton's review against another edition
3.0
Macaulay has the unsettling ability to present fascinating facts, historical information, and precise drawings in an incredibly yawn-inspiring way. Great for information but not something I would give to someone for fun reading.
bibliothecarivs's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Despite loving David Macaulay's PBS programs Castle and Cathedral since childhood, I had never read this book until now. The programs followed me through my education from elementary school to community college and I later bought them on DVD so I could continue watching them at home and share them with my children. His drawing style influenced my own, which I believe later influenced my daughter's. I had the opportunity to meet Macaulay after a lecture at Utah State University in October, 2014 and he was as smart, kind, and creative as I always thought he was. He not only signed our copy of Cathedral, but he also left an original drawing on the title page. I'll treasure it forever.
drpschmidt's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a great fit for Robby; although not technically an 'early chapter' the content was a bit more challenging than a typical PICTURE book...he loved how descriptive the text was and noticed many small details in the illustrations. Hope to find more like this at NCTE this year.
reading_instead_of_sleeping's review against another edition
4.0
Really informative. I’ll definitely be using this as a reference when I write anything an a medieval setting. However, it is a horrible children’s book
nairam1173's review against another edition
3.0
This is a fun book to read, but it is worth noting that it explains a very particular kind of castle from a very particular era (very, very LATE in medieval terms). He does say this in the opening, but I think in reading it you might get the idea that /all/ castles looked like this, which is not anywhere close to the case. I also thought it a little strange that both castle and town came from scratch, instead of being built into something already in existence. I think this did happen part of the time, but again it's not a universal.
It does give you a good idea of a number of different structures castles could have and their military benefits. The actual construction process isn't discussed very much by kids' books on the period, either, so that was cool to see. And yes, I loved the pictures.
(I'm probably overly critical due to the number of things I read last year on how while castles were used for defense, that's not /all/ they were used for, and so many have some structures you can't explain defensively.)
It does give you a good idea of a number of different structures castles could have and their military benefits. The actual construction process isn't discussed very much by kids' books on the period, either, so that was cool to see. And yes, I loved the pictures.
(I'm probably overly critical due to the number of things I read last year on how while castles were used for defense, that's not /all/ they were used for, and so many have some structures you can't explain defensively.)